Official sees problems in launching ID number plan
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)