Govt to strengthen Bakornas PBP<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government said on Thursday it would strengthen the National
\nDisaster Coordinating Agency (Bakornas PBP) into a body
\nresembling the U.S. National Guard in order for it to be able to
\ntake swift action in tackling future catastrophes.<\/p>\n
The plan follows on the heels of a killer earthquake that
\ndevastated Nias and Simeulue islands in northern Sumatra on
\nMonday, killing hundreds of people. Three days after the
\ndisaster, rescue work and the evacuation of victims were still
\nmoving at a slow pace.<\/p>\n
Announcing the plan, Coordinating Minister for People's
\nWelfare Alwi Shihab said the number of Bakornas PBP personnel,
\nalong with its equipment and budget would be increased.<\/p>\n
\"In the future, (we will) strengthen the agency in terms of
\npersonnel, equipment, budget and other things related to
\nemergency responses,\" he told the press after a meeting with Vice
\nPresident Jusuf Kalla.<\/p>\n
The minister, who cut short his visit to Qatar due to Monday's
\nearthquake, also explained that Bakornas PBP needed to have a
\nteam always on standby to respond quickly to rescue needs in
\nareas hit by a natural disaster.<\/p>\n
\"Bakornas PBP needs to have a ready-for-dispatch team, such as
\nthe National Guard in the United States, whose members are
\ntrained like troops, so we don't need to disturb the military,\"
\nAlwi said.<\/p>\n
He said his office would soon send a team abroad for a
\ncomparative study on the working mechanism of a special team for
\ndisaster control.<\/p>\n
\"The team will do comparative studies in the U.S., France and
\nother countries. We will not copy any of those institutions
\nexactly, because we have to adjust it to our needs,\" he added.
\n\"It's a real comparative study, not just a tour,\" Alwi stressed,
\nin an apparent reference to other \"comparative studies\" where
\ngovernment officials do little more than entertain themselves
\nabroad on the taxpayers' dime.<\/p>\n
He asserted that the Bakornas PBP's team had to be supported
\nby an adequate budget and equipment as well as skillful
\npersonnel.<\/p>\n
\"We will discuss this matter with the House of
\nRepresentatives. The President's request for several legislators
\nto join him on his current visit was partly aimed at showing them
\nthe importance (of strengthening the agency),\" Alwi said,
\nreferring to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to Nias and
\nSimeuleu on Thursday with a group of legislators.<\/p>\n
The Barkonas is an ad hoc body that Vice President Jusuf Kalla
\nleads. It is mainly tasked with coordinating state institutions,
\nincluding the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health,
\nthe National Police and the Indonesia Military to assist disaster
\nvictims and rehabilitate the affected areas.<\/p>\n
The agency was widely criticized for its slow response to and
\npoor coordination of relief operations over the Dec. 26
\ncatastrophe that ravaged much of Aceh and parts of North Sumatra,
\nleaving some 230,000 people killed or missing and feared dead.<\/p>\n
Alwi also said he would ask foreign non-governmental
\norganizations to help deal with humanitarian operations in
\nIndonesia, which is prone to natural disasters.<\/p>\n
The NGOs, he added, could set up logistics centers in cities
\nacross the country, so they would be ready to provide necessary
\nassistance, such as generators, water treatment facilities or
\ntents, anytime a disaster hits.<\/p>\n
\"The logistics centers could be under the coordination of the
\nsocial affairs ministry or Bakornas PBP. They could be
\nestablished in major cities, and we'll facilitate them. Their
\nhumanitarian assistance would be used anytime. It would not be
\nuseless,\" Alwi promised.<\/p>\n
He said some international NGOs had responded positively to
\nhis proposal.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a working team with the House's Commission VIII for
\nthe environment held a meeting with the Indonesian Disaster
\nMitigation Society (MPBI) to discuss the draft disaster
\nmanagement law prior to its deliberation.<\/p>\n
Legislator Aisyah Hamid Baidlowi, who chairs the working team,
\nsaid the draft is mandatory for the establishment of a special
\nbody to handle disasters in the country.<\/p>\n
\"We've not yet discussed it in detail, but the body would not
\nbe an ad hoc one,\" she said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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