[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