Kediri officials travel en masse to Bali

ID Nugroho and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya/Jakarta

Some 200 officials of the Kediri municipal government, mostly high-ranking officials, will enjoy a vacation in Bali from Thursday to Sunday, leaving public services in the municipality in limbo.

As of Friday, for example, most offices in Kediri's government buildings were visibly deserted. Only a few employees were seen wandering around offices on Jl. Basuki Rachmat. Knowing that their superiors were on holiday in Bali, some employees even screened video compact discs (VCDs) of dangdut (local genre of music that incorporates Indian and Arabic elements) shows at astonishingly loud volumes.

Parking lots, which are usually packed with cars and motorcycles, were also empty.

Muhaimin, the head of the administration's Welfare, Nationhood and People's Protection Body, admitted that he had been told to head the administration while Maschut and other government officials were in Bali.

The trip to Bali was aimed at celebrating the elections of the new mayor and deputy mayor, Maschut and Bambang Edianto, who will lead the administration for the 2004 to 2009 term, he said.

"Why can't we celebrate the outcome of the elections? That should pose no problem for the public service, because the office will be deserted for only one day. The officials will be back on Monday," he said, as quoted by Antara on Friday.

Government offices were closed on Thursday for Imlek (the Chinese New Year).

Meanwhile, an employee of Nikki Hotel in Bali confirmed that the officials were staying in a no-star hotel, located on Jl. Gatot Subroto in Denpasar, the capital of Bali.

The officials departed from Kediri on Wednesday night aboard four buses. The receptionist, identified as Ketut, said that the officials had booked 59 rooms from Thursday until Sunday.

"They will be back in Kediri on Sunday," he told The Jakarta Post by phone.

It was not clear whether the mayor had personally funded the trip, or whether the money had come from the municipal budget.

Unfortunately, the officials were not in their hotel rooms when the Post attempted to contact them late on Friday night.