RI hospitals short of radiologists

DENPASAR, Bali: Indonesia has only 600 radiologists, who are in only half the 1,500 state hospitals in the country, an expert has revealed.

The number is almost half the ideal requirement, which means that each specialist served 200,000 people, the head of the Indonesian Radiologists Association, Cholid Badri, told Antara here on Thursday.

In comparison, Thailand, with its population of 60 million, also has 600 radiologists.

Cholid said the fact that most radiologists in the country work in Java was another of the association's concerns.

"Radiologists are sorely needed to check a patient's medical condition, particularly their lungs, bones, liver and brain, when an accident happens, so that a quick and proper diagnosis and treatment can be done," Cholid said on the sidelines of a three- day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) radiologist congress, which opened on Thursday.

He said with the cooperation of radiology associations in the member countries of ASEAN, Indonesia could cope with the growing demand for radiology services. -- Antara

Teachers' welfare tops govt's priorities

JAKARTA: Improving teachers' welfare will top the Ministry of National Education's list of priorities for the 2003 fiscal year, the minister said on Thursday.

Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar told a hearing with the House of Representatives that the government had allocated funds to provide subsidies for 37,929 teachers in private elementary schools and 53,281 part-timers in state-run schools.

The subsidies will also be given to 17,344 supervisors of elementary schools.

The government has planned to recruit 190,000 more teachers on a non-permanent basis to cover the shortage of professionals in elementary schools.

For secondary education, the ministry has arranged a program to develop teachers' management skills, including by providing a quality management operational fund for 1,020 schools.

The state draft budget has allocated Rp 16.9 trillion for education, of which Rp 5 trillion has been reserved for routine spending.

The government hopes to continue the nine-year compulsory education program, which is expected to be accomplished by 2008. -- Antara

Agus mulls lawsuit against U.S.

JAKARTA: An Indonesian national who was deported from the United States after he was proven innocent of involvement in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is considering filing a lawsuit against the country for being arrested on spurious charges.

Agus Budiman, through his lawyer Wirawan Adnan, said he would demand his good name be restored and compensation for the arrest, which proved to be wrong. The 31-year-old Indonesian was detained for nine months before his deportation in mid-August.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Agus met with House of Representatives Deputy Speaker A.M. Fatwa and legislators Ahmad Sumargono and Hamdan Zoelva to seek the support of the legislative body.

Wirawan said the U.S. government had violated Agus' human rights by arresting him.

Agus said he also went to the House to complain about Indonesian diplomats' inaction to defend him and other Indonesian nationals facing legal problems overseas.

"The government should have been the institution where I can seek protection," Agus said. -- Antara