T

he old building that once housed members of the West Sumatra Legislative Council, was transformed into the police's One-Stop Administration Unit (Samsat) on Thursday.

There was much devastation caused by last week's powerful earthquake that shook the province, including the near-collapsed Samsat building, which many people walked past to get to the makeshift office. The temporary office was recently constructed for people who needed to pay vehicle tax or renew vehicle registrations.

Perlin, 27, smiled when he collected his renewed registration, as if oblivious to the collapsed building next to him.

"My registration expired on Oct. 3, but the authorities didn't fine me for defaulting," he told The Jakarta Post. "The process was very quick and it only took one hour."

Comr. Zulpardi Sani, head of the province's Samsat office, said defaulters were exempted from paying fines until Oct. 31. "We do this to ease the burden for quake victims," he said.

Hundreds of people began arriving at the temporary Samsat building from 7 a.m. The police would likely extend its service time, the officer reported.

He said police would use the old council building until a new building for the Samsat was built.

Most government offices in Padang resumed activities on Monday, including the center of administration and business in West Sumatra.

But not all civil servants could go back to their offices.

The province's regional development agency (Bappeda) said most administrative buildings were damaged by the quake, and 25 had been damaged and needed to be repaired.

"Some officials have had to find different offices to work in," he said. "The majority of officials have resumed business."

The Bappeda building also collapsed, as did the province's archive and library building.

Officials fortunately had file backups. They were also able to recover some hardcopy documents after the quake, said Hardimen, an employee at Bappeda.

The West Sumatra Administration Office was badly damaged, but government officials were told by the governor that the office was safe to work in. "We are committed to serving the public," said Hermanto, a staff member at the administration office.

However, they only used the first floor for fears another earthquake could occur.

"The second floor was where the governor and his deputy used to work," he said.

Data from the province's disaster mitigation office showed the latest death toll from the Sept. 30, earthquake stood at 739. Officials said the death toll could reach the thousands.