Misleading ad due to 'poor coordination'

Misleading ad due to 'poor coordination'

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso admitted on Tuesday that
shoddy coordination between the city administration and the
Ministry of Home Affairs was behind the publication of a job
vacancy advertisement which misled hundreds of job seekers.

Acknowledging it was caused by "bad coordination between us",
Sutiyoso said the Sept. 12 advertisement's recruitment figures
were based on outdated ministry data from last year.

According to the advertisement, the ministry planned to
recruit 7,204 people to work in both central government and local
administrations. It said the Jakarta administration alone would
recruit 318 people.

"I have to reiterate now that the city administration will not
accept new recruits this year. About 1,000 vacancies available
last year have all been filled," he said.

"We will only recruit new employees after the battered
economic condition recovers."

About 200 job applicants had their hopes dashed last Thursday
when they learned the administration had no plans to recruit new
staff.

Administration officials tried to shift blame onto each other
when applicants demanded clarification on the snafu.

Adjat Wiraatmadja, head of the city's employee affairs bureau,
claimed his office had asked the city's public relations bureau
to place a new advertisement to clear up the misunderstanding
over the earlier ad.

Instead, the public relations bureau posted clarification
notices at City Hall.

Head of the public relations bureau Kamaludin Santos denied
that he was instructed to place advertisements.

Asked whether the administration sent notification to the
ministry, Sutiyoso said: "The fact was that the advertisement
suddenly appeared in the newspapers even though the one who knew
precisely (about new recruitment) was actually me."

The governor steered clear of stating the ministry was to
blame and should apologize. "I can't say that the ministry was
wrong," he said. (ind)