No perks, no village chief

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie SM is concerned that fewer people will want to become village chiefs because the perks, such as the provision of free land, are no longer available.

Yogie said Monday at least 600 villages across the country do not have a village chief because they now have to work on a voluntary basis since the government can no longer provide financial incentives.

He said in Java people are traditionally more interested in becoming a village chief if they are provided land, traditionally known as tanah bengkok, which the village chief and his family can cultivate as a source of income.

They can either exploit the land themselves or lease it for as long as they hold the post of village chief.

"The absence of tanah bengkok in other provinces is one of the reasons people are attracted to the position," Yogie said Monday in Tarakan, East Kalimantan.

But the situation is changing, especially in less-developed villages in Java. The position of village chief has become less attractive for villagers because they can earn more money by working as laborers in big cities such as Jakarta.

Sunyoto, head of village affairs at the Tegal regency in Central Java, said recently that the free land was no longer attractive for villagers.

He said a village could now provide five hectares of land at the most.

"From the land, they can sometimes only earn Rp 100,000 (US$17.80) each year," Sunyoto said.

He said about 172 chief positions are vacant in Tegal alone because people prefer to work in big cities which is more promising.

"Becoming a village chief is more of a social function, because they do not receive any payment either from the government or from the village," said Sunyoto.

Yogie said his ministry will launch a massive campaign to attract more people to serve their village and not just think about money.

"We will do our best to fulfill the 600 vacant positions," Yogie said. (prb)