Sing along with the poor

JAKARTA (JP): The government has decided to put karaoke, often associated with sleazy bars and other night-life entertainment places, to good use: to motivate poor people.

Voluntary workers recruited to supervise the use of a special government fund for needy people are now equipped with a portable karaoke set, the Antara news agency reported.

The set will be used not only as a tool to amplify the voices of the volunteers when they are counseling the poor, but also to sing along with them.

"Counseling combined with entertainment is bound to be more attractive," Minister of Social Services Inten Suweno said when she gave out the sets to 26 volunteers recruited by her office on Wednesday.

"Karaoke can be an effective tool," Inten said. "It also releases stress."

The Ministry of Social Services has recruited 400 volunteers to supervise the use of the Presidential Aid Program for Backward Villages, known by the Indonesian acronym IDT.

It was not immediately clear whether the ability to sing was a condition in the volunteers' recruitment process. (emb)