North Sumatra officials take 'vacation' in India: Councillor
North Sumatra officials take 'vacation' in India: Councillor
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra
A team of about 50 provincial officials from North Sumatra left
for a seven-day trip to India on Friday to attend an
international expo which will cost taxpayers over Rp 1 billion
(US$120,000).
North Sumatra Governor Rizal Nurdin said over the weekend that
the team went to India with the mission to open up business links
with various sectors in that country.
The governor said that the trip was necessary as Indonesia and
India shared many similarities, as both were developing countries
with enormous populations.
"That's why we're sending a so many people ... to open up
business opportunities in various sectors," Rizal Nurdin said.
He denied suggestions that the officials were going to India
for a free holiday using public money. All expenses were covered
by the North Sumatra government, drawn from the governor's
contingency fund.
Led by Deputy Governor Lundu Panjaitan, the team comprised
regents, mayors, businesspeople, legislature members and academic
representatives.
The officials said they planned to offer local products that
were in high demand in India, such as crude palm oil, coffee and
areca nuts.
The trip was originally scheduled for last week, but Nurdin
delayed it as the governor considered it slightly poor timing to
be spending such a huge amount of money while the rest of the
country was angrily protesting against increases in electricity
and telephone charges and fuel prices.
But the governor decided to send the team anyway, even though
protests against the price hikes had not abated.
Hitler Siahaan, spokesperson for Commission III at the local
legislature, criticized the governor's decision to send the team
at such a time.
"Although the main purpose of the travel is officially said to
be to attend an International Expo in India, it still is just a
vacation," he said.
Considering the number of team members, Hitler deemed the
whole trip as waste of money. According to him, the provincial
administration should have sent only a couple of officials who
were directly involved in promoting business cooperation.
"State funds should not be wasted on a vacation project to
India, it would be better if the governor's contingency fund was
used for people's education and health," Hitler said.