Supervision on expats

Supervision on expats

I read with dismay the front page story on Thursday, Feb. 26,
Special team set up to supervise expats.

Zaiman Nurmatias said: "We have no choice but to tighten
supervision and control on expatriates."

We expatriates apparently commit the heinous crime of
overstaying our visas and violating our work permits. Perhaps we
are overstaying our welcome?

Evidently, since 1993, expatriates have committed an average
of 1,000 work permit violations per year. Zaiman further said:
"The bottom line is that now we are becoming stricter with
comings and goings in this country."

How much stricter can it get? Right now, expatriates have to
leave Indonesia every year to renew their KITAS CARDS. We pay
return airline tickets to, and hotel accommodation in, the
nearest foreign county (usually Singapore). We now pay Rp 1
million each in fiscal tax to leave, and we are finger printed on
our return. (Believe me, my fingerprints haven't changed since
last year).

We are subjected to rude (and sometimes corrupt) officials as
we leave the country. My husband is now beginning to think that,
next time, maybe we'll leave and not come back, thereby putting
eight Indonesians (his employees and our household staff) out of
work.

I am getting rather concerned at the "expat bashing" that now
seems to be a weekly feature of the newspaper. I am particularly
concerned because I wonder how much of these news stories the
average "man on the street" will understand. Will he realize that
the expatriates bring economic benefits to the country (just
think of all that fiscal tax), or only that 1,000 of us per year
"break the laws here"?

CAROLYN E.

Jakarta