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.