Happy Idul Fitri

Monday will be the end of the holy month, which many Muslims have observed in accordance with the guidance given by the Prophet Muhammad. And on the following day Muslims will celebrate the eagerly awaited Idul Fitri, which according Islamic teachings is the day when Muslims return to their state of purity.

For Indonesian Muslims, Idul Fitri also means a time to join their families and relatives in a spirit of thankfulness and celebration. It is therefore also a time for the annual "exodus". This year, more than 2 million residents of Jakarta leave for their hometowns in West, Central and East Java as well as other towns and villages on other islands.

Like the previous exodus, this annual exodus also brings problems for both the revelers and the government. It is not easy for the government to provide this immense number of people with adequate and proper means of transportation. Problems arise annually: People have to stay up all night at railway stations to make sure they will get tickets to travel to their hometowns.

This, apparently, is also the time for ticket scalpers to do their lucrative business by forcing travelers to buy tickets at twice their normal price. Huge traffic jams plaguing motorists heading for the West, Central and East Javanese hinterlands is another question.

No one has yet explained why the government always fails to improve its service to the public during this time; why the government fails to learn from the problems of previous years. The annual Idul Fitri exodus is, after all, part of the people's tradition.

And despite the strong spirit of solidarity among Muslims, this year's Idul Fitri brings grief to thousands of families, whose houses have been demolished by the Jakarta administration. Many of the demolition victims are in the low-income bracket groups, and for most of them it is hard to find a new place to live in.

As Muslim families, like any other, dreams of celebrating Idul Fitri under "normal" conditions, this must be a stimulus for Muslims, especially those living in Jakarta, to be more aware that zakat fitrah (tithes in rice or money, paid on the last day of Ramadhan) or zakat maal, (tithes paid or donated by rich people) alone, helpful as they are, won't be enough to help their evicted brothers and sisters. More must be done to help those people, as such solidarity is an obligation among Muslims.

This year's celebration of Idul Fitri is still haunted by the specter of violence. Aceh is still troubled by unrest. Can we feel the suffering of those more than 7,000 Aceh residents who are now living in refugee camps? They must miss the warm atmosphere that many Indonesians elsewhere in the country feel as they observe Idul Fitri in their own villages.

Unfortunately, no one can guarantee that there will be no killings or rights violations during the holidays. Poso, Central Sulawesi, remains tense, not to mention other potential hot spots in the archipelago.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar's assurance that there will be no bombings during Idul Fitri festivities are meant to convince people that they will be able to observe the sacred Idul Fitri holiday in peace. However, the statement could also be seen as a reflection of the government's anxiety that something might happen to upset the holidays.

In any case, so as to keep his word, Gen. Da'i has put more than 120,000 police personnel on standby nationwide to safeguard the festivities.

Jakarta Police alone will deploy about 15,000 personnel, despite the fact the capital will practically be empty during the holidays as almost one-fourth of its residents will have left for their hometowns.

What is also interesting to note, meanwhile, is the government's generosity to let civil servants enjoy the Idul Fitri holidays until Nov. 30. While this decision is welcomed by the country's corps of civil servants, it is a cause of apprehension for the public. The holiday fever usually discourages people from going to work, offices remain closed and official business is at a standstill, and we must agree that this has become an accepted habit among employees.

In such a situation, what can people do if the power supply in their homes is disrupted? Are there any electricity company (PLN) employees on duty during the holidays? And what about telephone services, hospitals, fire departments and other government institution offices?

Government offices, especially those dealing with public services, should be kept on alert and ready to serve the public. In a bid to maintain good services to public, the Minister of Administrative Reform, Feisal Tamin, has threatened to punish civil servants who fail to go back to their offices on Dec. 1.

Experience shows, however, that such threats of punishment never stops civil servants from violating the rules. Muslim civil servants should be aware that according to Islamic teaching, doing their job properly and maintaining good public service is in fact a part of iman (faith).

Given this tenet, civil servants who are not on official leave should be back at their offices for the sake of the public good. Let's hope that there will be no violence and no violations during the coming holidays.

Happy Idul Fitri, and let there be peace and compassion on earth.

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