Indonesian Customs Wish for Qualified Equipment
7 July 2014 06:18 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Customs General Directorate stated that they required qualified equipment and reliable human resources to monitor and thwart people from smuggling illegal goods in Indonesia.
“If hoping, Customs want (equipment) like the ones in James Bond movies. But, our budget is limited,” said Customs and Excise Office chief Agung Kuswandono at the finance ministry office, Friday, July 4.
According to Agung, the arrest rate of smuggling practices tends to increase every year, meanwhile he admitted that their equipment and human resources are not optimal yet. The chief had taken various methods to increase the number of workers and strengthen supporting fleets. “It is not easy to add a hundred workers,” he said.
The vastness of Indonesian waters has caused it difficult to stop smuggling practices. Currently, the total number of customs employees has reached 10,665 people; meanwhile there are merely 85 patrolling ships. “Not all of them are working, because some are being fixed on decks and others,” he uttered.
Thousands of new employees are planned to be placed in a number of regions that have fairly high rates of illegal smuggling practices. “If there are additional fleets, then it is clear we also have to add more workers,” he explained.
JAYADI SUPRIADIN