Officials plan overseas trip as malnutrition widespread
Officials plan overseas trip as malnutrition widespread
Jemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post/Kupang
Kupang government officials have arranged a trip to Palmerston in
the Northern Territory, Australia to learn from development
programs in the state after recent reports of thousands of
malnourished children in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Kupang Mayor SK Lerik filed a letter, dated April 26, to the
East Nusa Tenggara governor and the secretary-general of the
Ministry of Home Affairs detailing the purpose of the trip: To
carry out comparative studies on development efforts, including
the establishment of a maternity clinic and a possible teacher
exchange program.
The trip, which will be funded by the 2005 Kupang municipal
budget, will also include a visit to the 2005 Darwin Expo.
Officials to go on the trip include Kupang Mayor SK Lerik,
Kupang Council Speaker Dominggus Bolla and several other
high-ranking administration officials.
Others on the list are Kupang Military Command chief Lt. Col.
Stefanus Trimulyono, head of the Kupang Prosecutor's Office
Hindiyani, Kupang District Court president Henri Silaen and
Kupang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Nugroho. Interestingly,
some wives of those officials will also travel to Australia,
namely Mie Lerik, Anna Hindiyana and Lina Napitupulu-Silaen.
The plan has been agreed to by the East Nusa Tenggara
provincial government. Provincial government secretary M.
Hermanus sent a letter dated May 30 to the Ministry of Home
Affairs seeking the ministry's approval.
The officials are planning to depart for Australia as soon as
the Ministry of Home Affairs gives the go-ahead.
Separately, NGO activist Sarah Lery Mbuik called the proposed
trip a "waste of money".
Sarah, who is the director of the Institute for Initiative and
People's Advocacy, said, due to the malnutrition cases, it was an
inappropriate time for the officials to depart the province for
Australia.
In a press conference on Friday she demanded that the Ministry
of Home Affairs cancel the trip.
The government recently disclosed that 66,833 children in the
province were malnourished.