Residents complain over high cost passport process

BOGOR (JP): Most Indonesians still prefer to use a shortcut to realize their purpose, no matter how costly it is.

The scurrilous way, however, affects others who cannot afford to pay for such practices.

Two Panojer villagers from Sukaluyu district, Cianjur regency, who are seeking job opportunities overseas, express their grief recently after they were forced by brokers hanging around the Bogor Immigration Office to pay Rp 650,000 -- instead of the official rate of Rp 110,00 -- for a speedy passport process.

"Upon our arrival at the office's gate, a broker was already blocking our way and said: 'do you want to take the toll road or the normal route (to obtain your passport)?'," said Dedi, who wanted to leave for Brunei.

The broker, he said, assured them that his rate could produce passports in one day, compared to the official way, which would give applicants' a headache due to complicated procedures.

"At first, we objected to his price because the legal fee written on the announcement board of the office is only Rp 110,000," Dedi said.

But usually the procedure for obtaining a passport using the official rate takes a long time and is complicated, he said.

"It could even take a week.

"Our fellow villagers also prefer to choose the brokers' service, and they can get their passports on the same day," Dedi said.

When asked to comment on the illicit procedures, head of the immigration office's supervision unit, Muhammad Yusron, blamed the villagers for using the brokers.

"Well, it's their own fault if they choose the brokers' service and have to pay a lot. They must be fooled," he said on Thursday.

He said that through an announcement on the office notice board, his office has urged applicants to avoid such practices.

"Through the announcement, we suggest applicants obtain their passports only through the legal counters," Yusron said.

Out of the official rate of Rp 110,000, Rp 75,000 is for the passport book and administration fees, Rp 30,000 for passport photos and the remaining Rp 5,000 for the fingerprinting process, he explained.

"We have made adequate appeals but still many people ask the help of brokers to arrange their passports," he repeated, adding that his office could not prohibit anyone, including the brokers, from entering the office and even offering their service there.

"Everyone is free to enter this office. We cannot easily accuse anyone here of being a broker. If we forbid people from entering this place, unless they have things to do here, we're afraid that rallies will be held here," he argued.

Yusron did not say with whom the brokers shared their big fee collected from the applicants.

The brokers refused to comment.

According to Yusron, each passport is usually completed in five days, as long as all the prerequisites are fulfilled by the applicants.

"All of the applicants should be processed," he said.

"But we can speed up the process if an applicant really needs the passport to be finished in one day, as long as he or she can show supporting references stating that the passport must be ready in one day."

He said his office received 25 to 30 passport applications per day. (24/ivy)