Foreign ministry's
\ninefficiency<\/p>\n
From Kompas<\/p>\n
I met an Indonesian diplomat in Singapore in September on his
\nway to Beijing for an Asia Pacific coordination meeting of the
\nforeign affairs ministry's information department. It reminded me
\nof the various overseas meetings of ambassadors and consuls
\ngeneral frequently held when I studied abroad.<\/p>\n
Public funds worth hundreds of thousands of dollars have been
\nspent on travel and accommodation expenses, ladies' programs for
\nwives of diplomats and so on, while the country has numerous
\nembassies and consulates general around the world. The
\neffectiveness and efficiency of these sessions, however, are very
\nslim. Though they can be accounted for in terms of budget
\nexpenditure, the large sums wasted cannot be morally justified.<\/p>\n
It would be more beneficial to spend the money on assistance
\nto Indonesian citizens neglected abroad or trade and tourism
\npromotion. Foreign office coordination can actually be achieved
\nvia fax, phone or a Website linking the country's foreign
\nmissions with the foreign office in Jakarta. The same is true of
\nother ministries, which could achieve greater efficiency in the
\nnational interest.<\/p>\n
ROBERT PALIMANAN<\/p>\n
Bekasi, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-ministrys-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }