Official sees problems in launching ID number plan

JAKARTA (JP): The implementation of the city administration's program to give every Jakartan an identification number will likely be hindered by various problems, including the coordination of related offices, an official says.

Herusuko, head of the City Citizen Registration Office, told reporters over the weekend that the lack of coordination, for example, can be found in the difference between the numbering system practiced by his office and the one by the City Population Office, or by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

"Each office still insists that its numbering system is the most valid," Herusuko said, adding that the implementation of the program will also be hindered by a lack of personnel and the lack of awareness on the part of the public to register themselves.

"The estimate of the number of newborns, recently deceased residents and others who move to other cities or enter the capital, is still poor," he said.

Herusuko said that ideally all city administration officials at the subdistrict and district levels should monitor the latest number of residents in their areas.

Due to the many problems, he projected that the implementation of the program, under which about nine million citizens in the city will be registered, will take more than two years.

Under the program, each citizen will be given an identification number for administration purposes. President Soeharto will be presented the first identification number at the launching of the program on Aug. 17 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Indonesia's independence day.

Identification numbers will also be given to all newborns. Birth certificates, citizenship cards, driving licenses and other administration documents will be issued based on the number.

To facilitate the implementation of the program, Herusuko called for the establishment of a one-stop administration office in charge of citizenship registration.

"The idea of the one-stop office is similar to the vehicles registration office in which several institutions work and cooperate in the same building," Herusuko said.

Herusuko also said that he disagreed with a plan to hand over the management of citizenship data to a private company because citizenship data are classified confidential.

He said it is feared that the management of the data by a private firm would enable certain people to use the data for their own benefit.

"I definitely disagree with handing over the management to a private company," Herusuko said.

He explained that the citizen data consists of various aspects such as family backgrounds, including information on whether any family members were involved in the 1965 aborted coup attempt by the communist party.

The citizenship records are currently held at subdistrict offices. (yns)