Information ministry employees face uncertain future

Information ministry employees face uncertain future

JAKARTA (JP): Ministry of Information employees across the
country were in an uproar over the government's decision to
abolish the department.

The 55,000 employees of the ministry came to work on Wednesday
feeling uncertain about their future.

Most reacted calmly, but some, however, immediately expressed
discontent, with threats of a pending mass employee
demonstration.

They expressed aversion to the government's move, saying that
they were sacrificed for political motives.

The ministry's Director General for General Affairs
Soedarjanto urged employees to remain patient and calm as they
would be channeled into other government bodies in the near
future.

However, even as meetings were held with senior ministry
officials to find a solution, 5,000 employees at the ministry's
office on Jl. Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, threatened to hold
a demonstration on Thursday, rejecting the ministry's abolition.

The ministry's spokesman, Eddy Noer, said on Wednesday the
employees demanded the government build a new information body
which could be called the National Information body.

He said they also rejected being transferred to other
ministries since they would not fit in with employees of that
ministry.

"If needed, we will hold a big rally at the State Palace so
our demands are heard," he said.

Eddy also regretted the actions of outgoing information
minister Muhammad Yunus for not meeting his employees and giving
them an explanation.

"Yunus is the person who is responsible for the abolition. He
is the first person who talked about the ministry being ...
abolished," he said.

The Ministry of Information and Ministry of Social Affairs
were not mentioned when President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice
President Megawati Soekarnoputri announced the new Cabinet list
on Tuesday.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said on Wednesday that the city
administration was ready to accept about 580 employees from the
ministry.

"We are still awaiting guidance from the central government,"
Sutiyoso said.

But he said the administration would place the employees in
city offices according to employees' skills.

He said some employees who could not be employed would be
offered early pensions.

Meanwhile, President Abdurrahman ordered on Wednesday State
Minister of State Administrative Reforms Rear Adm. Freddy Numberi
to find the best solution for the thousands of civil servants
from the two abolished ministries.

Freddy said the government would post the employees from the
Ministry of Information and Ministry of Social Services to other
ministries or state agencies, although he acknowledged that it
would be difficult to accommodate all of them.

"Please give me time to resolve this issue," Freddy said after
meeting with Abdurrahman at the State Guest House.

Separately in Central Java, about 3,000 staff members from the
ministry's provincial office also threatened to conduct street
protests if the President continued with his plan to abolish the
office.

"We are being sacrificed by the President without any
consideration about what will happen to us," said an employee,
Wardjito, in Semarang.

In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, employees of the ministry's
office there said they were in shock.

"This came out of nowhere, we never thought the President and
Vice President would do such a thing," Ulbadus Gogi, head of the
local information division, said.

Jerry Pelokila, the head of the administration department of
the ministry's provincial office, said the reason behind the move
was political revenge.

"I think there are strong political sentiments against us
because during the New Order era the ministry was always used as
a tool to disseminate their propaganda," he said.

"During our morning gathering, I called on all employees to
pray that God can help the President to change his mind,"
Pelokila told Antara. (jun/har/prb)