Officials plan overseas trip as malnutrition widespread<\/p>\n
Jemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post\/Kupang<\/p>\n
Kupang government officials have arranged a trip to Palmerston in
\nthe Northern Territory, Australia to learn from development
\nprograms in the state after recent reports of thousands of
\nmalnourished children in East Nusa Tenggara province.<\/p>\n
Kupang Mayor SK Lerik filed a letter, dated April 26, to the
\nEast Nusa Tenggara governor and the secretary-general of the
\nMinistry of Home Affairs detailing the purpose of the trip: To
\ncarry out comparative studies on development efforts, including
\nthe establishment of a maternity clinic and a possible teacher
\nexchange program.<\/p>\n
The trip, which will be funded by the 2005 Kupang municipal
\nbudget, will also include a visit to the 2005 Darwin Expo.<\/p>\n
Officials to go on the trip include Kupang Mayor SK Lerik,
\nKupang Council Speaker Dominggus Bolla and several other
\nhigh-ranking administration officials.<\/p>\n
Others on the list are Kupang Military Command chief Lt. Col.
\nStefanus Trimulyono, head of the Kupang Prosecutor's Office
\nHindiyani, Kupang District Court president Henri Silaen and
\nKupang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Nugroho. Interestingly,
\nsome wives of those officials will also travel to Australia,
\nnamely Mie Lerik, Anna Hindiyana and Lina Napitupulu-Silaen.<\/p>\n
The plan has been agreed to by the East Nusa Tenggara
\nprovincial government. Provincial government secretary M.
\nHermanus sent a letter dated May 30 to the Ministry of Home
\nAffairs seeking the ministry's approval.<\/p>\n
The officials are planning to depart for Australia as soon as
\nthe Ministry of Home Affairs gives the go-ahead.<\/p>\n
Separately, NGO activist Sarah Lery Mbuik called the proposed
\ntrip a "waste of money".<\/p>\n
Sarah, who is the director of the Institute for Initiative and
\nPeople's Advocacy, said, due to the malnutrition cases, it was an
\ninappropriate time for the officials to depart the province for
\nAustralia.<\/p>\n
In a press conference on Friday she demanded that the Ministry
\nof Home Affairs cancel the trip.<\/p>\n
The government recently disclosed that 66,833 children in the
\nprovince were malnourished.<\/p>",
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