Improvement of bureaucracy needed
Improvement of bureaucracy needed
From Republika
Some time ago President Abdurrahman Wahid said that the
government would issue a new identity card valid for 10 years. I
agree to this plan. But I would like to suggest that the
procedures needed to get ID cards should be improved. Up until
now, the procedure for applying for an ID card is full of red
tape.
In Surabaya, for example, although the design of the ID card
looks fashionable, like that of a driver's license, red tape is
still quite evident. This is because you have to get letters of
recommendation from the offices of the neighborhood chief and the
village chief. In all these bureaucracies you have to pay a tip
or an administrative fee.
To avoid these illegal fees and to make the procedure much
simpler and quicker, I suggest that ID cards should be issued by
the district office with a recommendation from the village chief
only. Even so, there must be supervision because district office
employees also tend to exhort money from citizens.
By excluding neighborhood chiefs from the process of getting
an ID card, they can assume their real function i.e. as a
societal institution, instead of being a tool of the village
office. In this context, the Ministry of Home Affairs should
improve the organizational structure of its bureaucracy.
ZAINAL ABIDIN
Surabaya
From Republika
Some time ago President Abdurrahman Wahid said that the
government would issue a new identity card valid for 10 years. I
agree to this plan. But I would like to suggest that the
procedures needed to get ID cards should be improved. Up until
now, the procedure for applying for an ID card is full of red
tape.
In Surabaya, for example, although the design of the ID card
looks fashionable, like that of a driver's license, red tape is
still quite evident. This is because you have to get letters of
recommendation from the offices of the neighborhood chief and the
village chief. In all these bureaucracies you have to pay a tip
or an administrative fee.
To avoid these illegal fees and to make the procedure much
simpler and quicker, I suggest that ID cards should be issued by
the district office with a recommendation from the village chief
only. Even so, there must be supervision because district office
employees also tend to exhort money from citizens.
By excluding neighborhood chiefs from the process of getting
an ID card, they can assume their real function i.e. as a
societal institution, instead of being a tool of the village
office. In this context, the Ministry of Home Affairs should
improve the organizational structure of its bureaucracy.
ZAINAL ABIDIN
Surabaya