PT Pos to relax monopoly on letter delivery: Official

PT Pos to relax monopoly on letter delivery: Official

JAKARTA (JP): Director General of Post and Telecommunications
Sasmito Dirdjo said on Tuesday the monopoly on letter delivery
held by state postal company PT Pos Indonesia would be lifted
gradually.

Sasmito said the government would eventually agree on the
demand to deregulate postal services by allowing private couriers
to deliver letters weighing a minimum of 50 grams, as demanded by
the Association of Indonesian Express Delivery Services
(Asperindo).

Asperindo insisted on Monday the bill currently being drafted
to modify Law No. 6/1984 on postal service contain drastic
changes to the weight regulation, which it said only benefited PT
Pos Indonesia.

"We'll do it step-by-step. The process isn't even finished and
the government has not yet agreed on the bill," Sasmito said.

The bill is still being discussed by a team of officials from
the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, PT Pos
Indonesia, former officials of PT Pos, philatelists, the Chamber
of Commerce and Asperindo. They have all agreed that the weight
regulation is inappropriate.

The government has proposed private companies be allowed to
deliver letters, documents and other packages with the new
minimum weight of 500 grams, a sharp cut from the five kilograms
stipulated in the existing law.

Sasmito said discussions of the bill had not yet concluded and
the bill, therefore, would not be submitted to the House of
Representatives soon.

"It's still in the discussion phase. It is not final yet so
Asperindo should not panic. Besides, they are also on the team,
so why worry? It is fine if our proposals are not always
accepted, isn't it?" Sasmito told The Jakarta Post by phone.

"The weight regulation in the (current) law is five kilograms.
If we accept Asperindo's demand of 50 grams, it is just too
drastic from five kilos to 50 grams. So we chose 500 grams."

Wrong way

Separately, PT Pos public relations manager Mohammad Sabarudin
told the Post the company's monopoly was perceived in the wrong
light.

"It's not in PT Pos' interest, it's for the benefit of the
people," he said.

According to Sabarudin, with its monopoly PT Pos is obliged to
deliver letters which private companies have the right to refuse.

He added that PT Pos also was obliged to guarantee the
confidentiality of letters and documents.

"Private companies do not have that obligation. That is
actually the meaning of the monopoly and the purpose of the
weight regulation," he said.

"So why does Asperindo keep making its demands? If you ask
them to deliver letters under 500 grams, will they take it? The
market mechanism has been working all this time."

As for Asperindo's demand to redefine a "letter" because
everything which comes in an envelope is considered a letter,
Sabarudin said they were only referring to international postal
service law. (hdn)