Govt to strengthen Bakornas PBP

Govt to strengthen Bakornas PBP

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government said on Thursday it would strengthen the National
Disaster Coordinating Agency (Bakornas PBP) into a body
resembling the U.S. National Guard in order for it to be able to
take swift action in tackling future catastrophes.

The plan follows on the heels of a killer earthquake that
devastated Nias and Simeulue islands in northern Sumatra on
Monday, killing hundreds of people. Three days after the
disaster, rescue work and the evacuation of victims were still
moving at a slow pace.

Announcing the plan, Coordinating Minister for People's
Welfare Alwi Shihab said the number of Bakornas PBP personnel,
along with its equipment and budget would be increased.

"In the future, (we will) strengthen the agency in terms of
personnel, equipment, budget and other things related to
emergency responses," he told the press after a meeting with Vice
President Jusuf Kalla.

The minister, who cut short his visit to Qatar due to Monday's
earthquake, also explained that Bakornas PBP needed to have a
team always on standby to respond quickly to rescue needs in
areas hit by a natural disaster.

"Bakornas PBP needs to have a ready-for-dispatch team, such as
the National Guard in the United States, whose members are
trained like troops, so we don't need to disturb the military,"
Alwi said.

He said his office would soon send a team abroad for a
comparative study on the working mechanism of a special team for
disaster control.

"The team will do comparative studies in the U.S., France and
other countries. We will not copy any of those institutions
exactly, because we have to adjust it to our needs," he added.
"It's a real comparative study, not just a tour," Alwi stressed,
in an apparent reference to other "comparative studies" where
government officials do little more than entertain themselves
abroad on the taxpayers' dime.

He asserted that the Bakornas PBP's team had to be supported
by an adequate budget and equipment as well as skillful
personnel.

"We will discuss this matter with the House of
Representatives. The President's request for several legislators
to join him on his current visit was partly aimed at showing them
the importance (of strengthening the agency)," Alwi said,
referring to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to Nias and
Simeuleu on Thursday with a group of legislators.

The Barkonas is an ad hoc body that Vice President Jusuf Kalla
leads. It is mainly tasked with coordinating state institutions,
including the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health,
the National Police and the Indonesia Military to assist disaster
victims and rehabilitate the affected areas.

The agency was widely criticized for its slow response to and
poor coordination of relief operations over the Dec. 26
catastrophe that ravaged much of Aceh and parts of North Sumatra,
leaving some 230,000 people killed or missing and feared dead.

Alwi also said he would ask foreign non-governmental
organizations to help deal with humanitarian operations in
Indonesia, which is prone to natural disasters.

The NGOs, he added, could set up logistics centers in cities
across the country, so they would be ready to provide necessary
assistance, such as generators, water treatment facilities or
tents, anytime a disaster hits.

"The logistics centers could be under the coordination of the
social affairs ministry or Bakornas PBP. They could be
established in major cities, and we'll facilitate them. Their
humanitarian assistance would be used anytime. It would not be
useless," Alwi promised.

He said some international NGOs had responded positively to
his proposal.

Meanwhile, a working team with the House's Commission VIII for
the environment held a meeting with the Indonesian Disaster
Mitigation Society (MPBI) to discuss the draft disaster
management law prior to its deliberation.

Legislator Aisyah Hamid Baidlowi, who chairs the working team,
said the draft is mandatory for the establishment of a special
body to handle disasters in the country.

"We've not yet discussed it in detail, but the body would not
be an ad hoc one," she said.