Patience has its limits

Patience has its limits

From Kompas

I am a teacher in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta and was transferred from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara in June 2000. I was only paid my salary until April 2001 so I asked the relevant authorities at the office of the National Education Department in Sleman regency and at the finance division of the Sleman administration but they advised me to wait patiently for it.

I have been waiting with patience, but I have a wife and three children to look after. Two of my children are going to private junior high schools while the third is only three years old and they all do not understand about waiting and patience. My wife is staying in Kupang to handle the settlement of my salary. What we most feared has now become a reality. It is ironic that a teacher is not only unable to support his family but also to send his children to school. Is this what regional autonomy means?

Other fellow teachers have claimed the increase in their salaries as well as their backpay, but I have no idea when my salary will be paid so I have had to borrow some money to keep my family alive.

I, therefore, call on the relevant authorities to pay attention to the matter and to ensure that it is immediately settled. Indeed, there is a limit to my patience.

Y MARIATMOJO

Yogyakarta, Central Java