Circle of corruption and ineptness

My perception and understanding of civil servants in Indonesia’s decentralized and thus heavily bureaucratic government has wavered with my time and experiences here (see previous encounters with health and immigration officials).  From what I had heard before coming and though my introductory experiences in government offices here, I came to the conclusion that civil servants are generally inept, some go ahead and do their work without complaint, but most men (because there are few women employed in this capacity) sit around chain smoking kretek and sipping overly sweetened coffee behind closed doors and unorganized stacks of files and ledgers.  It is even to the point that I know the provincial immigration office staff will not check my visa application thoroughly but I need to make sure I bring everything for the city immigration office.

A while back when I accompanied a few of my coworkers on their attempt to pass the civil service entrance exam they presented this hurdle as actually quite challenging and only the most intelligent passed.  With that information I decided to give the immigration officials a second chance and a little more respect.   

This morning though, I overheard that it is not passing the entrance exam that is important, but the amount of money you pay the entrance committee in becoming a civil servant.  The majority of my coworkers take the test every year in an almost vain effort to enter through the “traditional” way.  The going price I heard from Helfi is $10,000 to enter the provincial civil service and $7,000 to enter the city government.  But that is just to receive a monthly wage of $150, the same I am receiving for my living stipend!