Letter: The immigration system

I am a Malaysian and have visited most Indonesian cities and villages. This country has all it takes to make it a great tourist attraction. It offers numerous historical sites and a rich traditional culture. However, other than Bali, there haven't been a significant number of tourists visiting this country.

Indonesia is rich in natural resources and has an abundant manpower supply but, sadly, it is not exploited to its full potential. By comparison, if you walk around Kuala Lumpur or its International Airport, you'll see that a third of the people around you are tourists. But you can hardly see any foreigners if you are in Jakarta or at the airport.

I agree with the negative comments about the Indonesian immigration policy, it's not helping to attract potential visitors/tourists as far as I can see. For your general information, anyone (from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei or other Asian countries) visiting Indonesia on a visitor's visa will be given a 30-day stay only, which cannot be extended!

A "nonextendable" clause is rubber-stamped in the passport. By hook or by crook, you must exit the country on or before the thirtieth day; overstaying a single day will make you US$20 poorer (paying a "fine" without an official receipt as proof of payment) and with the humiliation of asking for forgiveness.

No such "nonextendable" clause exists, other than in Indonesia. You can imagine the inconvenience of having to pay for a flight to Malaysia or Singapore (to get another 30-day visitor's visa) and back to Indonesia, just to comply with the immigration laws, in case you have to continue your travels to other cities in this country. I am amazed to think of why the government of Indonesia wants to collect the much-needed cash from this one source of revenue.

Patrick J.B.
Surabaya