YLKI needs to promote activities among the public
YLKI needs to promote activities among the public
JAKARTA (JP): What do people know of the Indonesian Consumers
Foundation (YLKI)? What are their expectations of the foundation?
The following is excerpts of interviews with four people,
including a director of a state-owned company.
Aziz Sabarto, PLN's distribution director for Jakarta and
Tangerang.
Along with other large-scale public services companies, PLN
receives a lot of complaints from its electricity users
nationwide. "We do apologize for failing to respond to customers'
complaints immediately because of various constraints," said
Sabarto.
He said that often people lodged complaints with lower-ranking
officials who did not pass them on to their supervisors who, as
the result, often thought everything was all right.
"We can provide better service as long as we know what the
real problems are," added Sabarto.
The role of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation's (YLKI) was
crucial in building a bridge to link producers and consumers, he
said. "The foundation is a good mediator between both sides,"
noted Sabarto.
YLKI, he said, had been actively organizing special forums
where producers and consumers were able to achieve effective two-
way communication. In the case of PLN, which took part in such a
forum last Monday, Sabarto said that through that kind of event
PLN's officials obtained crucial facts directly from consumers .
For the last few years PLN, in cooperation with YLKI, has been
holding a producer-client forum in order to better serve the
public.
"The forum always works effectively. We gain valuable
information and, at the same time, the forum is aimed at
encouraging customers to be more open and more critical," he
said.
"I encourage consumers to be more critical if they happen to
find any problems with the company's electricity services," he
said.
He said many people ignored the importance of the company's
electricity register card, which contains the number of kilowatt
hours of energy they consume each month.
"When a PLN official makes monthly visits to consumers' houses
to take a reading, they (the customers) never follow the official
to double check that he writes the number correctly. If he writes
the wrong number it will certainly affect the size of their
monthly electricity bill," he said.
He went on to say that people should not hesitate to report
any impropriety on the part of PLN employees. "If they are
found guilty, we will immediately impose administrative sanctions
against those unscrupulous employees. They will really ruin our
public image," he said.
Conceding that PLN was still widely criticized for poor
service, Sabarto said that the company was currently undergoing
intensive reorganization to improve its services to the public.
He said that most critics cited the company's inability to deal
immediately with blackouts, a poor installation system that leads
to various electrical disturbances and, most importantly,
unsatisfactory public service.
PLN currently has two million customers who use about 6.4
million KwH of electricity.
"We are now working extremely hard to improve our public image
and to provide the best service to our clients," he said.
PLN had, he said, launched new services, including the
installation of machines which enable clients to pay their
electricity bills in 24 hours. Presently, people have to wait
patiently in a long queue just to pay their monthly bills.
With the new facility, he said, customers could just pick up
the phone and apply for new electricity installation. PLN would
process the application within only a day, he said.
"However, we need input from the public so that we can do our
best," he concluded.
Natalia, a female worker who lives in a new housing complex,
Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD), in the Serpong area, 15 kilometers
southwest of Jakarta.
In her opinion, YLKI should work more actively in protecting
local consumers. The foundation should also promote its
activities in order to increase public awareness of consumer
rights.
At present, only a few people know that YLKI exists as an
organization that can help protect consumer's rights, Natalia
said. Most people, especially those living in rural areas, do not
have any idea about YLKI because they have never been informed,
she added.
Concerning public services, in particular, consumers always
stand in a very weak positions, she said. People cannot do
anything to protect themselves, she said, even against actions
that inflicted moral as well as material losses. When she applied
to have electricity installed at her new house, she said, she
went to the nearest PLN branch office and a number of the
company's officials agreed to immediately carry out the
installation. Several months later, however, she received a
warning letter from PLN, reprimanding her for illegally using
PLN's electricity. Natalia had to pay a fine of Rp 1.6 million.
She was also 'terrorized' by a number of PLN officials, she said.
"I thought I had already applied in accordance with the
existing procedures. The fact that it was illegal hurt me so much
as consumer. I was cheated by those officials," Natalia said.
Nenny Siti Hasanah, a public relations officer of the state
railway company Perumka.
YLKI is a good organization. It provides significant input,
mostly for government or private agencies which deal with public
services," Nenny said.
The foundation might function better if the public were aware
of their rights, she said. On the other hand, she said,
government agencies and other organizations should accept
information from YLKI in order to improve their public services.
In the case of Perumka, she stressed, the company should
regard service to the public as its first priority.
She said Perumka still had difficulties in meeting clients'
demands for better service.
"But customers are encouraged to complain to us if they feel
dissatisfied with our services," Nenny said.
Nanny Budiman, manager of Diamond Information Center.
"Most Indonesian people still adhere to the Javanese principle
of nrimo, meaning accepting whatever you get without being too
critical," Nanny said.
If a woman buys a dress and then finds out that it is slightly
damaged, she may feel that it is pointless to complain to the
store attendant.
"She will receive a classic answer saying that goods sold are
not returnable. Consumers have no right to complain," she said.
(raw)