Jobseekers cheating upsets Siswono

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Transmigration and Resettlement of Forest Squatters Siswono Yudohusodo said Tuesday he would punish any of the ministry staff who had cheated 288 job seekers.

Siswono promised to investigate the problem, and threatened to take action against any official involved.

He said people should not contact brokers to get jobs. "They should have been extra careful before accepting job offers."

Last Friday, 288 job seekers from Sumatra and Java arrived at the ministry carrying written job offers.

The ministry's secretary-general, Ignatius Hardoyo, told them the ministry had not sent any letters of appointment to 1997/1998 job openings.

He showed them the signature of the ministry's personnel bureau chief, Junaidi, which was different to the signature on their letters.

Some of the job seekers said they had paid between Rp 4 million (US$1,649) and Rp 10 million to the brokers who promised them the jobs. They had high school or university qualifications.

"I've spent more than Rp 10 million. This is really heart breaking," Purwito, a university graduate from Lampung, was quoted by Antara as saying. (ste)