State secretary defends office

State secretary defends office

JAKARTA: State Secretary Bambang Kesowo denied allegations his
office's incompetence had caused a delay in the deliberation of a
bill on the protection of migrant workers.

"That bill has been in the hands of the manpower and
transmigration minister (Jacob Nuwa Wea) since Aug. 25," Bambang
said during a hearing with House of Representatives's Commission
I for political affairs here on Wednesday.

The House has been waiting for the government's response to
the bill, which was drafted by legislators.

Bambang said his office received the bill in June and had
facilitated a discussion of it with other ministries to study the
substance of the bill.

Regarding a stipulation in the bill that the money for the
protection of workers will come from both the manpower agency and
the state budget, the government has yet to reach an agreement,
he said.

Some ministries, Bambang said, felt it was wrong to take money
from the state budget for the protection of migrant workers. --
JP