Tangerang offices open on Saturday

Tangerang offices open on Saturday

TANGERANG (JP): People here hail the decision of the regency
to rearrange Saturday as a working day .

Many residents were seen flocking to government offices, such
as the civil registration office and the building supervision
agency, which issues building permits.

"Now I can arrange the birth certificate of my child by myself
on Saturday. If Saturday were a holiday I would have to ask
somebody else to do it," Sanusi, a resident of Tangerang said.

For the past year, Saturday has been a holiday for civil
servants here, following the policy in Jakarta.

The policy to make Saturday a working day again came into
effect as of Aug. 5.

Regency's spokesman Nurhayat said the new policy made by Mayor
Djakaria Machmud is aimed at stepping up services to the public.

"People who want to arrange their businesses on Saturday were
forced to do it on Monday because Saturday and Sunday were
holidays," said Nurhayat.

"This hampered the regency's services to the people."

However, among the public, notably the civil servants, there
are still those for and against it.

"If I could choose, I would prefer Saturday as a holiday
because I can rest and have time with my family," said Agus, an
employee of the regency.

"I used to do my gardening on Saturday but now I have been
forced to find another day to do it," said Rachmat, an employee
of the regency's husbandry agency. (28/bas)