For Efficiency, the Minister of Social Affairs 'Eliminates' Foreign Official Travel Unless Invited

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) has eliminated overseas business trips as a form of support for national work culture transformation that emphasizes efficiency without reducing the quality of service to the community.

"The Ministry of Social Affairs specifically made a decision, we will not travel abroad. This means that for overseas travel we are zero percent," said Social Minister (Mensos) Saifullah Yusuf or who is familiarly known as Gus Ipul as reported by ANTARA, Monday, April 6. The Ministry of Social Affairs will only carry out overseas official travel if the trip is an invitation from another party with travel funding borne by the invitee.

"So, we will not have any foreign official travel, unless we are invited and the funding is borne by the committee. But if we use official travel from the Social Ministry's budget, we have decided that we will not use it," he said.

In addition to eliminating overseas business trips, Gus Ipul said his party would reduce business trips by 50 percent, as stipulated in national policies. Next, the Ministry of Social Affairs also carried out the optimization of the implementation of meetings or business activities online.

"Third, restrictions on the use of official vehicles, except for operational and electric vehicles," said Gus Ipul adding.

The Ministry of Social Affairs, continued Gus Ipul, saves the use of energy, such as electricity, gas, and water in the environment of the Ministry of Social Affairs' office, and prioritizes the use of public transportation as transportation to the office.

Previously, the government officially implemented efficiency measures for domestic official travel up to 50 percent. Meanwhile, for foreign official travel, the government is pressing for efficiency up to 70 percent.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto explained that this policy is part of an adaptive step to encourage a more efficient, productive, and digital-based work culture transformation.

In addition to official travel, the government also carried out mobility efficiency through limiting the use of official vehicles to 50 percent, except for operational and electric vehicles.