Over 11,000 rebuked for absenteeism

JAKARTA: The government looks certain to rebuke over 11,000 civil servants nationwide for extending their Idul Fitri holiday arbitrarily and without permission from their superiors, State Minister of Administrative Reform Feisal Tamin said on Friday.

Feisal said as of Friday, 1,745 civil servants had been officially reprimanded, with the rest to follow suit.

"It requires administrative procedures to issue the official reprimands, but it's certain that the number of civil servants sanctioned will reach 11,000 or more," Feisal said.

Topping the list of absenteeism is the Ministry of Health, followed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration. Feisal had earlier promised to disclose the names of absentees.

The government ordered all civil servants to take their holiday leaves from two days before and one day after Idul Fitri, which fell on Dec. 6 and 7, in an effort to stimulate the national tourism sector that had hit a slump following the Oct. 12 bomb attack in Bali. The extended holiday was also meant to curb the absenteeism that had become a common practice during the first week after Idul Fitri. -- Antara