West Java restricts overseas travel

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The West Java administration and provincial legislative council spends more money on itself than it does on the public at large, the province's deputy governor conceded Wednesday.

In response the administration and legislative council agreed here on Wednesday to restrict overseas travel to limit expenditure in the 2004 budget.

Under the agreement made in a plenary session of the legislature, local civil servants and councillors cannot visit the United States or Europe for study tours.

However, they are free to accept invitations to countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or if they pay for the trips themselves.

West Java deputy governor Nu'man Abdul Hakim, speaking after the meeting, said the money spent so far by civil servants on themselves was more than was allocated to the public at large.

One third of the 2003 budget, amounting to Rp 3 trillion (US$355 million), or only about Rp 935 billion was spent on public affairs in the nation's most densely populated province, he said.

Nu'man did not specify the amounts of state funds used for the local officials and councillors, including their overseas trips.

As a consequence, West Java, home to around 37 million people, failed to carry out any significant antipoverty programs, he said.

However, councillor Yudi Widiana Adia said the overseas trips cost tens of billions of rupiah, adding the funds were allocated through government agencies.

"They took trips to Dubai, Saudi Arabia, America and European countries like France. Should the travel expenses be reduced, it could increase the money available for education, health and employment."

Nu'man said some nine million, or 25 percent, of the province's population lived under the poverty line.

"For that reason, we have suggested that overseas tours by officials and council members be limited in an effort to suppress the legislative and executive expenditure. So, we can allocate more funds for the public," he told journalists after attending the plenary session.

He said the comparative studies to Europe and the U.S. were a waste of money and of no benefit to the public.

Travel to ASEAN countries was tolerable if civil servants and councillors were invited or if they pay their own expenses, he said.

"ASEAN has similar cultures and systems as ours. Take Malaysia as an example. Surely, there will be more benefits to visit ASEAN nations than Europe and the U.S.," Nu'man added.

Students and other activists have slammed civil servants and councillors in West Java for often defying protests against the trips.