Jakartans to use new ID cards by early next year

JAKARTA (JP): City administration will start implementing a new type of identity card early next year, a high-ranking city official announced yesterday.

Deputy Governor for Government Affairs Idroes said that first, city administration should provide some additional equipment, such as computer hardware, and make an adjustment to the current regulations on identity cards.

"City administration will adjust itself to the new system as soon as possible, after we have completed the necessary procedures, and the city population agency has predicted that we will be ready by the end of this year," Idroes told reporters.

He explained that the city administration has been equipped with computers to process the new identity cards. "But we still need additional equipment and it will take time."

Another aspect to prepare, which will take longer, is city rulings governing the issuance of identity cards, such as a decree that stipulates the fee charged to get the new card. Based on the current decree the fee is only Rp 1,000 (45 US cents) per card, while the new cards will cost Rp 3,000 each.

"We have to propose a new decree, which should be approved by the City Council, and this process will take longer than the process of adding to the number of computers," Idroes said.

He said that, in the meantime, the city administration will keep issuing the old type of identity cards to Jakartans whose current cards will expire in the near future.

"The city administration will still issue the old type of cards and we will be implementing the new one later," Idroes said.

The new identity card, which will also contain a citizenship number, was initiated last week, by giving President Soeharto and First Lady Tien Soeharto the new identity cards.

Through the citizenship number the government intends to improve its population management, by developing its data base, because the number is valid for life and will be stated in every document necessary, such as in birth certificates.

It is also hoped that Indonesians will be more familiar with, and more serious about, population data.

The card, valid for three years, also contains personal information, such as name, address, religion and date of birth.

The card is valid nationally because of the citizenship number. Therefore, it will be impossible for Indonesians to have more than one card.

The minister of home affairs has stressed that the implementation will be carried out in phases, with the first phase to be carried out in January 1996, in all capital cities of the country's 27 provinces. (yns)