MPR told to give funds to children

JAKARTA: The National Commission for Child Protection proposed on Saturday that the government allocate the Rp 6 billion in leftover funds from the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Annual Meeting for the interests of poor children.

Seto Mulyadi, the chairman of the commission, said that the MPR should seriously consider the proposal because children needed more attention from the state.

Moreover, such attention was recommended by the 1945 Constitution, he added.

The money could be used to provide scholarships for poor children or to improve the welfare of children in troubled Aceh province, who were forced to take refuge due to the ongoing war there, said Seto.

Article 28 of the 1945 Constitution says that every child has the right to be sustained and to be protected from any physical abuse and discrimination.

Under Article 34, poor and neglected children must be taken care of by the state.

The MPR Annual Session, was scheduled to be held from Aug. 1 to Aug. 10, but legislators decided to cut short the meeting to end on Aug. 7.

The move saved more than Rp 6 billion of the Rp 20 billion allocated for the session. The money went back to the state's coffers. --Antara