Traveling councillors

Traveling councillors

The behavior of the Jakarta city councillors makes every
sensible person sick. As read in The Jakarta Post on Nov. 27 and
Nov. 28, as many as 32 councillors recently accompanied city
officials on various trips to different countries.

What makes us sick is that according to Jakarta Governor
Sutiyoso, the councillors forced the city administration to
include them on these trips (although not in the programs),
leaving the work of the City Council unattended.

In terms of money, these councillors received at least Rp 50
million each, which accounts for over Rp 1.5 billion of the city
budget, excluding air tickets and lodging.

It is so easy for them to spend tax payers' money. And they
are completely insensitive to the hardships faced by the ordinary
people they are supposed to represent.

However, the same thing should be said of the city
administration officials who are fond of visiting other countries
under the pretext of comparative studies, sister-city
cooperations and the like. They forget or are intentionally
forgetting that this country is grappling with lots of problems
that need require a sense of crisis and urgency.

They have apparently set aside State Minister for
Administrative Reform Letter No. 357/M.PAN/12/2001, dated Dec.
24, 2001, requiring all civil servants to arrange official visits
both within the country as well as abroad, limited only to very
important/urgent activities.

Do they realize this? I think the state minister for
administrative reform should reprimand these officials and ask
governors (and also regents) to heed this letter, and to consider
the urgent problems the ordinary people are facing.

For the state minister, it is time that this letter be
reviewed as it will shortly already be a year old.

M. RUSDI, Jakarta