Civil servants skip work after holidays

More than 100 civil servants at the Medan Municipal Administration, North Sumatra, were reported to have skipped their first day at office without official notice on Monday following the New Year holiday.

The administration’s public relations division head Hanas Hasibuan mentioned a total of 102, mostly employees from middle and upper levels who played truants. “Sanctions have been prepared for those who have not come to the office today without providing notice,” said Hasibuan on Monday pointing out a previous warning by regent Rahudman Harahap regarding the matter.

He said the sanctions would be given according to the government regulation on civil servant discipline, which among others mentions a postponement in salary payment and promotion as well as a cut in meal allowances.

Hasibuan also said that starting this month the city administration began implementing tight rules on civil servants with sanctions for lazy employees and rewards for diligent ones. Rewards would be given in the form of wealth allowances for those whose amount ranged between Rp 1 million (US$100) and Rp 5 million depending on their level of position and rank.

“The allowance is given to help improve the employees’ performance and discipline, and to prevent them from playing around or asking for illegal levies while performing their duties,” he said.

Separately North Sumatra Police reported that the New Year celebration in the province ran relatively smooth without reports of crimes or fatal traffic accidents.

The police chief Insp. Gen. Oegroseno said his office deployed its personnel to a number of locations where celebrations and festivities were held such as entertainment spots, shopping centers and churches. “We had our personnel on guard in anticipation of things that we did not want to happen,” he said Sunday.

He added the anticipation was part of the police’s task of providing service to the public.

Medan was not that busy this weekend as most holiday makers were celebrating the new year out of the city. As a result, recreational spots and resorts such as Brastagi in Karo regency were crowded with visitors, creating traffic jams on routes heading to these places.

Medan Police’s traffic unit chief Comr. I Made Ary Pradana said that among the worst traffic jams were in Sogo subdistrict, Deli Serdang regency, that heads to Brastagi due to a landslide. “The landslide caused some 5 kilometers of traffic jam in Sogo,” Ary Pradana told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Ary said his office had deployed 60 personnel to secure the place until as far as the Alam Sembahe area. He also said no report of deadly traffic accidents were received during the New Year celebration in the region. “Everything runs smooth despite the traffic jam on the route to Brastagi,” he said.