PKB bans councillors from overseas visit<\/p>\n
Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
The National Awakening Party (PKB) has banned its legislators in
\nthe East Java provincial legislative council from going to Europe
\nfor comparative studies.<\/p>\n
The province's party branch threatened to remove its
\ncouncillors who defy the ban.<\/p>\n
The decision was made during a meeting of the 32-member PKB
\nfaction in the legislature on Monday. At least 24 legislators
\nfrom the party attended the forum.<\/p>\n
"We have fully agreed to prohibit our members in the council
\nfrom taking part in the planned trip abroad," PKB faction
\nchairman Fathorrasjid said.<\/p>\n
The council has unveiled a controversial plan to make
\ncomparative studies in several European countries, including
\nGermany, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland.<\/p>\n
It would involve at least 100 legislators from Commission B
\nfor economic affairs and Commission E for people's welfare.<\/p>\n
The plan drew condemnations from analysts and activists as
\nwell as other community members, who accused the legislators of
\nbeing extravagant with state money, while East Java needs funds
\nbadly to help victims of recent floods and landslides in several
\nregencies there.<\/p>\n
"The monetary crisis is still upon us. In East Java, we are
\nfacing problems with refugees from floods and landslides and also
\npoverty," said Fathorrasjid, whose PKB is the largest faction in
\nthe council.<\/p>\n
"We have taken all factors into consideration, which led us
\nthe decision to prohibit our members from participating in the
\noverseas trip."<\/p>\n
A similar ban was also issued by the National Mandate Party
\n(PAN), which has four councillors in East Java. The party warned
\nthem of removal should they try to breach the order.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, participants from the Indonesian Democratic Party
\nof Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) has yet to decide whether to go
\nahead with the plan or not. "Not all comparative studies abroad
\nare bad. There should deliberation before taking a stance," Saleh
\nMukadar of PDI Perjuangan said.<\/p>\n
At least Rp 2 billion was allocated in the province's 2002
\nbudget for comparative studies by local legislators.<\/p>\n
Council Speaker Bisjrie Abdul Jalil insists that overseas
\ncomparative studies are urgent for legislators and that the trip
\nhas been planned a long time.<\/p>\n
Last Thursday, Commission B invited German Ambassador to
\nIndonesia Hermann Sausen to brief the would-be visitors on small-
\nand medium-enterprises in his country.<\/p>\n
It turned out, however, that Sausen advised the East Java
\nlegislators to cancel their trip to Germany, where they would
\nhold a comparative study on tobacco plantations.<\/p>\n
"To learn about tobacco, you should go to Turkey or Greece,
\nnot to Germany. We don't have any tobacco plantations. We have
\nonly tobacco-processing and auctioning sites in Bremen," he was
\nquoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
Also, the French ambassador to Indonesia is scheduled to give
\nsimilar presentations to the East Java councillors on March 14.<\/p>",
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