[b]Public money wasted

Public money wasted
on overseas junkets

From Tempo

Indonesian officials maintain the practice of comparative
studies abroad. Junior officials usually go to ASEAN countries
such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand while senior ones choose
to visit Europe, the U.S. or at least Australia.

With their limited English-speaking capability, they have
difficulty in making meaningful diplomatic contact or exploring
business cooperation. As a rule, they hire interpreters as guides
and borrow embassy cars or hire taxis with Indonesian-speaking
drivers.

After their tours to different places, mostly with only nods
and smiles concealing their limited understanding of what their
hosts are talking about, they go to restaurants serving
Indonesian food.

I have met comparative study groups from Indonesia hundreds of
times and noticed the same thing. While the Indonesian officials
fail to express their ideas properly, their hosts may feel that
such visits are of no benefit and a waste of time.

Though the tours still give the officials concerned the
opportunity to observe other countries, understand immigration
processes and so forth, this benefit is minuscule when considered
against the costs. If budgetary allocations must be used up, why
not do so on studying English, to enable the officials to be a
little more self-confident?

ENTIN SUPRIATI
Singapore