Mega to travel with smaller entourage

Mega to travel with smaller entourage

JAKARTA: State Secretary Bambang Kesowo pledged on Tuesday that the government would gradually reduce the number of people traveling with President Megawati Soekarnoputri on her state visits.

He said that the reduction in the number of delegates would reduce the amount spent on state visits.

"We will continue to reduce the number of delegates on every presidential visit," Kesowo said at a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission I for political affairs here.

He was responding to queries from some legislators, including Zulfan Lindan, Sidarto, and Yasril Ananta Baharuddin.

Zulfan suggested that the government should follow the example of other countries that send smaller delegations of between 20 and 30 people.

The State Secretariat has been criticized for spending state funds to finance the trips of nearly 150 people joining state visits.

In the latest visit to Vietnam, the number of people traveling with the President was cut to 75. -- JP