More on airport

I agree wholeheartedly with Mark Ogilvie (The Jakarta Post, Nov. 10, 2001: Make the airport more pleasant). I would like to add that, from personal experience, the toilets' cleanliness leave much to be desired. The toilets are usually smelly and slippery because people use them to perform ablutions before praying and they are seldom cleaned up afterward. There should be a separate area for this and more frequent cleaning.

Also, seven out 10 visits I make through immigration and customs, I get stopped and harassed for money, either from the porter, the customs officer or the immigration officer. I once tried to call one of the numbers displayed on a poster in the baggage area "if there are any complaints please contact shift manager ..." It is not filled in, of course. However, I persisted, and only got an hours' worth of grief. I was transferred from one extension to another with everyone denying to be the right department for complaints. They are all in cahoots with one another!

When my friends want to visit Indonesia, which is very rare, the first thing I warn them is "not to give any money to touts of any shape or form". There is no international feel to Soekarno- Hatta International Airport beyond all the international carriers flying there -- everything else is still basic and close to primitive (the attitude of the staff certainly is). I bet it depresses long-time residents and tourists alike to step into Soekarno-Hatta airport after transiting in clean and efficient Changi or Kuala Lumpur airports. The relevant minister has appeared twice in The Jakarta Post denouncing the airport staff for this practice. But when is something concrete going to be done about it -- like a clear extension number (better still, a direct line to him) for customers to report their complaint when they are harassed at the airport? I get absolutely nothing for the Rp 150,000 airport tax that I pay. Perhaps next time I should refuse to pay this.

R. WAN ALI

Jakarta