Illegal fees at Soekarno-Hatta

Illegal fees at Soekarno-Hatta

From Kompas

On Oct. 18, my Thai guests arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, and were only permitted to leave the immigration checkpoint after they had each paid US$10 to the immigration officers in charge, who had detained their passage for no clear reason.

Earlier, a Singaporean guest also experienced the same thing at the same airport, even though nationals of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries are exempt from visa-on-arrival fees.

If every single foreign guest pays an illegal fee of $10, imagine how much money immigration officers at Soekarno-Hatta -- the country's main port of entry -- can collect in a month.

More importantly, however, the collection of these illegal fees will only tarnish Indonesia's reputation and bring shame to our citizens.

It is time that appropriate action was taken to ensure that our immigration officers perform their duties professionally.

H. SUBUR Jakarta