Most public offices stay closed after Idul Fitri

Most public offices stay closed after Idul Fitri

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Medan/Surabaya

Public offices in many cities throughout the country remained
empty on Wednesday as civil servants skipped work after an
extended holiday.

The government had extended the Idul Fitri holiday this year
through a presidential decree, apparently in an effort to try and
eliminate the bad habit of civil servants' skipping work after
the celebration. Unfortunately, many civil servants stuck to
their old habits, even after the official holiday extension.

There were no obvious signs of activity at public offices in
Aceh and Medan in North Sumatra, Makassar in South Sulawesi, and
Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi. Meanwhile, the situation in
Semarang, Central Java, and Surabaya, East Java, fared a little
better.

North Sumatra Governor Rizal Nurdin regretted that many civil
servants had failed to show up on Wednesday, while spokesman of
provincial administration Eddy Sofyan who accompanied the
governor during an inspection, said the provincial administration
would issue warning letters to the errant employees.

"All the civil servants who skipped work today gave no
explanations for their absence. This is a breach of discipline
which, of course, deserves punishment," Eddy told the press.

The trend was not confined to the offices of the provincial
administration, but was also apparent at many other offices
including the provincial legislature, the mayoralty and the
judicial courts.

For example, of about 1,800 employees in the Medan mayoralty,
only half showed up for work and the rest were absent without
explanation. Worse still, the agenda of the provincial
legislature (DPRD) had to be rescheduled because none of the
councillors showed up for work. Spokesman of DPRD P.L. Tobing
revealed that all hearings scheduled for Wednesday had been

Spokesman of Aceh provincial administration Iskandar Djamil
said that he understood the behavior of the civil servants.

"It is a tradition for the Acehnese to extend their stays in
their hometowns," Djamil said, adding that he hoped all offices
would resume activities on Thursday.

In Bandar Lampung, Sumatra, most public offices were also
closed.

In Java, spokesman of Central Java administration Anwar Cholil
said that the number of civil servants who reported to work
immediately after the Idul Fitri holiday was higher than last
year.

Similarly, after inspecting a few offices in Surabaya, East
Java Governor Imam Utomo said that although some civil servants
were absent on Wednesday, most had come in to work. He added that
the extended holiday had improved the discipline of the civil
servants, and statistics showed that attendance rose from 60
percent last year to 90 percent this year.

In Southeast Sulawesi, public offices were still deserted, and
although Mayor of Kendari Mashur Masyie Abunawas and his deputy
Musyakir Mustafa were at their offices, most of their staff were
absent. The mayor pledged to issue warnings to state employees
who did not turn up for work within the next two days.

Ironically, the Southeast Sulawesi legislature building was so
completely deserted that staff who did report to work could not
enter their offices as the rooms were still locked.

A similar situation was observed in Makassar, where the office
of the South Sulawesi Governor was quiet and only a few officials
could be seen in the building complex.

The front yard of the South Sulawesi DPRD, where
demonstrations are often held, was empty and silent on Wednesday.
Only a few councillors were around chatting with fellow
legislators, and all the meeting rooms were still locked.

On the other hand, speaker of local legislature Amin Syam was
greeted by his staff and security guards before entering his
office.

"Well, this office is still quiet. Most civil servants have
not reported to work, possibly because they are still in their
hometowns," said one official there.

Unlike most civil service offices which were still closed,
public service institutions such as hospitals, banks and police
stations had resumed activities.