Governor's Taiwan visit criticized

Governor's Taiwan visit criticized

MANADO, North Sulawesi: A number of non-governmental organizations and legislators criticized governor A.J. Sondakh's visit to Taiwan, saying local officials had no sense of crisis.

Also included in the governor's entourage were Manado mayor Wempie Frederick, a number of local officials and their wives.

Tino Kariso, coordinator of the Indonesian Development Supervisory Institution, said both the governor and his entourage had no sense of crisis as the provincial administration had yet to solve the back-pay problem for civil servants in the province.

"The foreign trip is merely a waste of money and time while the back-pay problem has been left unresolved," he said here on Friday.

Thamrin Spaer, a member of the Manado legislature, regretted that the mayor had not consulted with the city legislative council about the trip.

"We will question the foreign trip at the next hearing with the mayor. It's also important to make regulations on foreign trips for local officials," he said. --Antara