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)