Many government agencies in Indonesia have social media accounts now, providing the public with another way to interact and get information from them. Most are quite dull and serious, but the admin of the Directorate General of Taxation (Ditjen Pajak) seems to enjoy getting cheeky with his tweets (we’re assuming it’s a man, for reasons that will soon be clear), but one of his latest attempts at humor has become a topic of controversy on social media.
A Twitter user who goes by the name Rizqi Ayuni Lestari asked @DitjenPajakRI about the possibility of getting a job at the Tax Directorate.
https://twitter.com/ayuderal/status/834217855730098176
Admin, if you want to be a tax officer but are not a STAN graduate is it possible or not?
Untuk rekrutmen terbuka, kami menginduk ke @KemenkeuRI. Dinda ayu nggak mau jadi istrinya pegawai pajak aja? #ehem https://t.co/28JVLJHQ8N
— #PajakKitaUntukKita (@DitjenPajakRI) February 22, 2017
For open recruitment, we recruit from the @KemenkeuRI (Finance Ministry). You don’t want to just be a tax official’s wife? #ehem
For her part, Rizqi did not seem too offended by @DitjenPajakRI’s response, replying:
https://twitter.com/ayuderal/status/834221874183704576
Sure I’d want to be a tax officer’s wife or even an admin’s wife
Kapan boleh ketemu orangtuamu dinda? https://t.co/hbZ4WF5hQR
— #PajakKitaUntukKita (@DitjenPajakRI) February 22, 2017
So when can I meet your parents?
Some netizens clearly didn’t find this use of an official government Twitter account to be very funny.
mbok ya pake akun pribadi kalau mau cari jodoh. Jangan bikin malu department
— Anak Hilang (@kebetulanbatak) February 22, 2017
Use a private account if you want to look for a girlfriend. Don’t embarrass the department.
https://twitter.com/wijikawih/status/834258785841524736
This smells like sexism. Not cool.
https://twitter.com/tunggalp/status/834226925920976896
“What perspective is this? Is this the way you treat women asking for job opportunities? This is not right! Sexist!”
To that last tweet, @DitjenPajaRI replied:
Pagi Kak @tunggalp. Terima kasih atas tanggapannya. mohon maaf twit yg dimaksud bersifat humor tanpa bermaksud merendahkan lawan bicara. *1
— #PajakKitaUntukKita (@DitjenPajakRI) February 22, 2017
Thanks for the response. Apologies for the tweet, it was meant to be humorous without demeaning the other person.
Masukan atas konten twit dari Kak @tunggalp tadi akan menjadi pertimbangan & perbaikan dalam bersikap di sosial media di kemudian hari.*end
— #PajakKitaUntukKita (@DitjenPajakRI) February 22, 2017
“Your feedback on the content of the tweet will be taken into consideration and improvements in our attitude on social media in the future.”
But even after that non-apology, the original tweet was left up (and remains up as of the time of writing) leading to more and more criticism.
@DitjenPajakRI your reply and tweets as the *official* tax agency account is not "accident". Embarrassing. cc @KemenkeuRI pic.twitter.com/gXcfH2kZiI
— Evan A. Laksmana (@EvanLaksmana) February 22, 2017
Finally getting the message, @ditjenpajakri recently released this “open apology” for the sexist tweet, which says the Tax Directorate appreciates the feedback and that it will cause them to reevaluate their social media policies in the future.
Permohonan Maaf terbuka @ditjenpajakri atas twit yang bernada seksis
It also notes that, as a member of the Finance Ministry (which is headed up by Sri Mulyani, who was recently ranked the 37th most powerful woman in the world) the Tax Directorate was dedicated to gender mainstreaming and gender equality.
Let’s hope this lesson will make sure commitment is more clearly shown in the future.
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