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