Multa Fidrus , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Tue, 03 18 2008 City
Isa bin Mursidi, 45, a resident of Neglasari district in Tangerang, could not afford to pay his family's medical bills. For the government to cover the bills, Isa needed a letter from officials stating his family was in the low-income bracket.
A man claiming to be a government official offered to help him obtain the letter quickly, provided Isa paid him Rp 300,000 (US$31).
"I didn't even have Rp 30,000, let alone Rp 300,000 to pay the official," Isa said.
Isa said he did not understand the procedure at all, and therefore needed help.
"So, I asked for the assistance of Bu RW (wife of community unit chief) and luckily she was willing to accompany me to the office," he told The Jakarta Post at the People Empowerment Office (KPM) office on Monday.
Isa is only one example of many poor residents who have been offered a quick service for Rp 300,000 to get the required letter.
Reports show many poor people have shared Isa's experience. To help poor residents get free access to health treatment at hospitals, the Tangerang municipal administration produces a letter known by its acronym SKTM, which applies to six hospitals in the municipality including the Tangerang General Hospital, Sitanala, and privately run hospitals Usada Insani, Bakti Asih, Sari Asih and Global Medika.
The administration processes an application for the SKTM after residents obtain letters of recommendation from their neighborhood unit and subdistrict chief.
The procedure is complicated, thus opening an opportunity for people to act as middlemen at a price.
Consequently, people have started making allegations against the empowerment office, which is responsible for issuing the letter, saying that it charges poor people for the SKTM.
Partini, an official at the empowerment office, denied the allegation.
"We also have received reports from residents who were charged Rp 300,000 for the arrangement of the SKTM. We suspect that this is done by some activists from a local NGO who act as middlemen," she said.
She said the middlemen in particular offer their services to poor people who come to her office to get a SKTM at short notice.
"The middlemen approach SKTM applicants and some of them try to net their victims at hospitals," she said. Partini said arranging the SKTM was free of charge.
She called for residents to arrange their own SKTM.
"If they have no knowledge about the application process, it would be better if they asked for the assistance from their neighborhood unit chief, or subdistrict and district administration officials," she said.
According to Partini, the office issued 8,715 letters in 2007. Data at the office shows there were 28,550 low-income families living in the municipality in 2007.
The number is expected to increase this year due to a rise in unemployment.
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