On stay permits

On stay permits

I am referring to the letter regarding foreign investment in
Indonesia by Frank Zieschank (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 11).

What the gentleman says here is only the tip of the iceberg. A
friend of mine who is married to an Australian and arranging for
stay permits for her kids is going through hell going from
regional immigration office to the directorate general of
immigration.

She faced moral and sexual harassment by one of the staff in
the directorate general (and she is not the only one). Zieschank
is asking for respect for foreigners who want to live and work in
Indonesia, but these government entities do not even respect
their own citizens.

May I suggest to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that he
fire all the people involved in these departments and replace
them with ones who have a modern and humanitarian way of
thinking, just like yourself. These people are not only inhumane
but also brutally extort money from Indonesian citizens and the
foreigners they "serve".

MELINDA TAN
Jakarta