Life gets slower for civil servants

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Bendungan Hilir subdistrict office was half-empty on Friday, two days before the Idul Fitri holiday.

Of the office's 15 staff members, only seven were at work, while the other eight had already gone on holiday. Those who were at work walked aimlessly around the office or sat without averting their gaze from an old Indian movie on television.

"Pak Lurah (subdistrict head) left after Friday prayers to visit a relative, and the guy who collects electricity bills closed his counter before prayers," said Syarifuddin, one of a few employees who opted to stay at the office, apparently to avoid the midday sun.

The Minister of Religious Affairs, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration and State Minister for Administrative Reform had issued a joint decree declaring the Idul Fitri holiday would fall on Nov. 14 and 16, and recommending an extension of the holiday to include Nov. 17 and Nov. 19.

The policy was introduced in the wake of the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings with the aim of rejuvenating the tourist industry.

The move was also aimed at encouraging civil servants, who often skip work on the days before and after holidays, to change their behavior.

Pleased with its effectiveness, the government maintained the policy until the current holiday season.

In reality, the expected result was anything but what the government had wanted, as life gets slower for public servants before and after the designated holiday period.

Syarifuddin defended his colleagues' early leave by saying that there was not much they could do at work. "There were less and less people coming to our office to get ID cards," he said.

Similar conditions were observed at the Tanah Abang tax collection office in Central Jakarta, where only a handful of staff members were receiving payments from taxpayers.

Only one employee was on standby in the registration booth.

An employee said that a large number of employees had taken leave for the Idul Fitri holiday. "The remaining personnel are those who works in shifts," he said.

The same scenario will likely occur in the first few days after the holiday.

"Although the government decreed that the extended holiday would last until Nov. 20, I believe that the bureaucracy will function as usual in early December," said Bambang Haryadi, head of West Jakarta municipality's civil service department.

He said that, although public servants would register their attendance on the designated date, they would, according to custom, take time out to meet their colleagues to ask for forgiveness.

"The 'forgiveness exchange' will probably last for a week. Judging from past experiences, things will be slow after the holiday," he said.