Stuck in the Hey-Day of Bureaucracy...

I've never thought I would have to wait for more than one hour at the immigration office. The last time I was there it was in 2003. Everything was 80% manual back then. The bribery was inclusive. I remembered I had to ask someone to pick up the number early in the morning, and by the time the number was up, he would notify me to be present there at once. But not today.

My passport will be expired in several days. Since I don't have to travel, I'm in no rush to get a replacement passport until today. (what is my rush then now?) I'd been told that I have to come by myself, preparing all the paperwork needed. There, they will review the applications, have myself a lineup number to be photographed and wait for several days for the passport to be done. It wasn't like this in 2003. Today, the cost of getting a new or replacement passport is less than US$30. You have to wait for 7 working days.

What about when you're in a rush? One said, if it was in 2003, anything in rush was anything less than 6 hours. Anything over it, it was just a normal time.

What about when you're in a rush now? In 2003, you can say that you' re in a rush, and you have to pay a rushing fee. In other word, it's a 'pelicin' fee. Or, in other word, it's 'a blast for government for paying them a low salary' fee. There was no KPK back then.

Pssssst, who said you cannot have your passport in one day? Now! Yes, despite the vigilant eyes of KPK and all the bullshits the present government had created. Damn!

I came to the immigration office around 11 O'Clock. Everything is different than the last time I was there, 5 years ago. Now, computerized almost in every corner.

There is a touchscreen computer that ask your purpose of being there. There is an LCD screen that updates the passport that are ready to be picked up. Even, the photo session procedure is now being totally computerized.

Back to the totality of being computerized and shit, you don't have to go for a so called 'personal assistant' which was so pervasive in the past. The proper procedure is 7 working days. The photo session will be taken the next day if you are lucky. But, there is a but. There is a discreet bidding around that can get your passport ready within days or even 1 day. I had to go through this bidding. The bidding started at US$85 (I prefer not to quote in rupiah), but ended in US$50 after grueling fight that I will go for the proper 7 days instead of paying that high in the opening. Basically, I won.

The photo session. It took me 3 hours of waiting to be called inside the photo session room. I could say that the computerized photo session is not better than the one they had 5 years ago. In every table, there is a small pocket digital camera (could be a 6MP consumer camera) that linked to the computer. Why is not better? Because, those immigration officers are not photographers. They cannot distinguish the result taken from the camera wide angle or the telephoto. The result: my picture, and the picture of the guy next to me, and the lady across my table are somehow distorted because of their wide angle position placed in front of my face. Many have said that passport photo are never your best picture, but my new passport will have the worst picture of all the passport book I've ever had.

Damn! I have to live with it for the next five years, hoping that in 5 years there will be more improvement especially in the practicality of waiting in the non A/C immigration office.

Hmmmmm....There should be an online form and a confirmation date to take a picture.

I think that is a MUST to curb down the bureaucracy there.