Yesterday, acting governor of Jakarta Soni Sumarsono conducted a surprise inspection) of City Hall's offices. He found three empty desks, promising to hand out warnings and cut the missing employees salary. Sumarsono was trying to curtail an Indonesian tradition, Hari Kejepit Nasional (National Caught In-Between Day) or harpitnas, a day that everyone around the nation skips work because the day happens to fall between two holidays.Indonesia has 15 national holidays, far less than India or China. But Indonesians have come up with this unique solution to squeeze the most out of their days off.One of Indonesian's favorite harpitnas happens after the observance of Christ Ascension day, which always happens on a Thursday, the Friday in-between turns into a harpitnas for most people. The same happened yesterday, since today is a holiday in observance of the Day of Silence in Balinese culture."At that time, it wasn't intentional. My parents asked me to drive them back to our village, Muntilan, because my grandmother was in the hospital. I just thought that this was such a great excuse, why not to used it for my greater good," says Fakhri Zakaria, a Civil Servant at a government research center. "So, I extended my holiday."Fakhri admitted this wasn't the first time he took leave, he even goes through his calendar to mark the best dates to take leave. Playing hooky eventually caught up to him. "My supervisor called me to his office because I skipped work when I was sick, had a family thing, and once when I wasn't in the mood. When he asked me about it I told him honestly that I skipped work, and it was fine if he wanted to cut my salary. Those are the consequences I have to face," says Fakhri.Sociologist Nia Elvina said that the peoples willingess to take days off are linked with the lack of upward mobility for many Indonesians. "People's drive to accomplish things are low. This is because developing institutions in Indonesia are not based on a meritocracy so it doesn't push people to achieve," Elvina said. "To overcome that, the government has to change the whole system."Just as harpitnas have become a tradition, so have the "surprise" office inspections on those days. Regional governments in Banten, Jambi, and Tasikmalaya, just to name a few, have aggressively tried to snuff out bureaucrats skipping out on work."If they think that inspections can curb the culture of skipping work, or harpitnas, thats not right method, because that's not going after the source of the problem. I think it's wiser if the government changes into a meritocracy," Elvina said. "Providing a service for citizens isn't a priority in governmental institutions."
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