Regional officers' training in S'pore

BANDUNG: Public administration civil servants in regional offices throughout Indonesia will be sent to Singapore to get training on how to deal with the implementation of regional autonomy, an official has said.

Indonesian Provincial Administrations Association Chairman Nuriana said on Thursday the training was expected to give the civil servants a broad perspective and experience.

Nuriana made the remarks after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore Institute of Commerce (SIC) here on Thursday.

Those eligible for the overseas training, expected to start in November, will be officers of the first and second echelons, he said. Governors are excluded from this program.

In first phase, the association will send secretaries of the public administration from 32 provinces throughout the country.

SIC director Kanmappan Chettiar said the training program, which will lasts seven days, will include governance management, management system of garbage, immigration management and forest management.

"We have three schools and one dormitory with a capacity for 500 people. They will stay in the dormitory to reduce costs," said Harry Quek, a SIC employee.

"We hope to be able to train about 60 officers per month," he said.

Both Nuriana and Harry, however, refused to disclose the funds needed to finance the program. "We just want to share our experience," Harry said.

Nuriana said the program would be funded jointly by the two parties.

"The governors will provide the airplane tickets and all other expenses are being provided by SIC," said Nuriana, who is also the governor of West Java. (25/08)