KIM-S and fiscal tax
On July 5, 1995, two hours before take-off, we checked in for a flight to Holland, where the grandmother was enthusiastically waiting to see her grandchild for only the second time in her life. Neither my brother, nor my sister in Holland, has children.
I was surprised to find out that my son, only one year and two months old, had to pay the "fiscal" tax because it is clear that such a small child never had even Rp. 1 income in his life. But, without comment, I paid a total of Rp 540,000 at Ngurah Rai airport for my wife's and my son's fiscal tax and the airport tax for my wife and myself. All these transactions were done on the ground floor and we encountered no problem.
Afterwards we had to go upstairs where we had to present our passports to the immigration officer. After examining our passports, he gave only the following comment: "The mother and the father are OK, but the child is not OK, so you can go back home."
Upon inquiry, I was told that our child, who has a KIM-S (temporary stay card) must have an ERP (exit and re-entry permit) stamp on his papers and that we had to arrange for that first before we could leave the country.
I told the Immigration officer that our luggage was already inside the plane, and the grandmother was awaiting her grandchild. Also we told him that we had already paid Rp 540,000. Finally, because the situation caused us a big problem, I asked this immigration officer if he could phone the head of the Provincial Office of the Department of Justice, because I know that he is a nice and friendly man. The officer told me to go downstairs to make the phone call myself. Because I didn't know the phone number I asked him to speak with his boss. This officer apparently did not know that "friendliness costs nothing," and handled us in a very unfriendly manner.
After a long and difficult argument, he gave me the phone number of Mr. Soehadi, the head of the Provincial Office of the Department of Justice. But it was already after 4 p.m. when the office must have been closed. In my despair I remembered the name of the coordinator of the same department, Mr. Lapian. I was lucky I could get him at his home at that moment. He advised me to cancel the KIM-S of our small boy, so that we could leave the country. And although we will have to get those papers processed again, we decided to do that.
While I was busy with the boss of the immigration office who had handled things for us previously, the immigration officer at the airport asked my wife: "Mbak dari Banyuwangi?" (Do you come from Banyuwangi? Banyuwangi is in the eastern regency of East Java).
Such a question implies that the woman being addressed is a prostitute. I realize that I made a mistake in not previously arranging for the exit and re-entry stamp for my son's papers. This was purely due to my ignorance. But no matter what fault I might have made, there was no call for the immigration officer to ask my wife such a rude question. He had no right to do that.
My wife did not tell me what he had said to her until we were on the plane, which had to wait for us due to the above. Although she is fairly used to hearing similar comments from people who notice her with an older Caucasian man, she was particularly indignant about this incident. That's understandable isn't it? After all, she certainly didn't need that kind of question and its implications during a moment of such stress.
I really wish I had had the chance to say to that man, "... Hold your own dirty thoughts in your head, don't speak them out. ... that could cause a much larger problem."
Anyway, may this letter serve as a warning to people who have a KIM-S and want to travel not to forget to arrange for the exit and re-entry stamp so as not to upset their trips.
TOON FRANSSEN
Denpasar, Bali