Officials should no longer be handing out referral notes. The practice, which was commonplace during the Suharto government, needs to be avoided in the interests of speeding up the eradication of corruption. This bad habit almost always involves abuses of authority that result in losses to the state.

The letter issued by the Directorate General of Geology and Mineral Resources that has come to light is one example. Dated December 23, 2005 and si