Special address for public complaints

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration has set up a special post office box for people to freely lodge their complaints on public services provided by its employees.

Governor Sutiyoso, who introduced PO Box 0008, Jakarta 10900, said it was being launched as part of his office's efforts to implement massive reforms across the administration to meet the public's expectations about the quality of the city's services.

"It's also a response to the public's demands for reforms," he told city officials in a meeting Wednesday.

The administration hopes that all activities related to public services could be monitored and later improved through people using the mail box, Sutiyoso said.

All people are invited to write letters of complaint about public services as well as illicit conduct by city officials, he said.

"Any city official found guilty should not be surprised if he or she has to face serious punishment," the governor told reporters yesterday.

All letters mailed to the post office box should contain the writer's name and full address, he said, but did not disclose whether senders should also attach a copy of their identification cards.

According to city public relations official Azwar, all letters sent to the address will be handled by a special team, called the Commission on Reform Control and Supervision, led by deputy governor for development affairs Abdul Kahfi.

The team set up June 12 by Sutiyoso is charged with cleaning up the city administration from any practices of corruption, collusion, cronyism and nepotism.

The commission is required to regularly report their findings and the public information to the governor.

Within 10 days of the team's establishment, 37 officials were fired for violating regulations and codes of conduct and 214 others were sanctioned for misconduct.

Of the 214 disobedient employees, 27 were demoted, eight had their salaries slashed, 14 were given an official notice of poor performance, 69 were given a less stern written reprimand and the remaining 96 officials were warned verbally. (ind)