Indonesian Students Abroad

From: apakabar@access.digex.net
Date: Mon Oct 04 1993 - 05:52:00 EDT

From: "John A. MacDougall" <apakabar@access.digex.net>
Subject: Indonesian Students Abroad

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From apakabar Mon Oct 4 08:30:36 1993
Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1993 08:30:33 -0400
From: "John A. MacDougall"
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To: apakabar
Subject: Students_Abroad

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From: Aryanto Nugroho
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indonesia
Subject: For all RI students abroad
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 1993 19:50:55 -0400
Organization: Freshman, IM - MCS/CIT Track, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
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Menjelang Hari Sumpah Pemuda 28 Oktober 1993 ini nggak ada salahnya gue
turunkan kutipan berita dari koran Jakarta Post, 1 September 1993 yang
lalu ini...

STUDENTS ABROAD URGED TO HELP RI MATCH OTHER STATES

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has called upon Indonesian students in
the United States to apply themselves to their studies and prepare to
help Indonesia catch up with other countries.

In a written speech to the Association of Indonesian Students in the
U.S. (Permias) in Houston, Texas, he said Indonesia still lags behind
many more developed countries.
"We have achieved much, but we still have far to go before our
development efforts produce the results that we all want," Soeharto said
in the speech delivered by the Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports,
Hayono Isman.
The students should make the best of their time in the U.S. as only a
handful of Indonesian youths get such an opportunity, he was quoted by
the Antara news agency as saying.
Soeharto expressed his belief that being so far from home will not
erode students "patriotism and resolution to return and develop their
country".
However, he reminded students that the multitude of problems that
Indonesia is facing cannot be solved by idealism alone. "You should
study the problems and challenges more objectively."
The event was a Permias congress attended by representatives from
Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C..
Former minister of environment, Emil Salim, and a number of Indonesian
businessmen also attended the event.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (AMCHAM) noted last
year that there were more than 10,000 Indonesian students enrolled in
U.S. colleges and universities.
An observer at the congress, Dr. Mitsuo Nakamura from the Chiba
University in Japan, said that despite the rapid increase in the number
of students studying abroad during the last decade, Indonesia still
needs to send more.
A specialist on Indonesian affairs, Dr. Nakamura said that the more
students sent to learn sophisticated technologies in developed
countries, the better it will be for Indonesia's development. He cited
Japan's mastery of technology as an example of the benefits of sending
youths to study abroad.
"The Indonesian students' capabilities are commendable, they have
great potential," he said, adding that there are currently more than
40,000 Japanese students in the U.S.
Minister Hayono, however, lamented the fact that many foreign
university graduates are reluctant to return and work at home, due to
limited employment opportunities.
"They are afraid they won't get a job; that's something we don't need
to hide," he said. However, the fear is groundless as the job market
back home demands both foreign and domestic graduates with good skills,
he said.
He said students' associations should establish information networks
to help their members find jobs after graduation. Many foreign companies
operating in Indonesia fail to hire graduates from foreign universities
due to the lack of such information networking, he said.
Hayono's statement was in line with the policy of the AMCHAM
companies who give priority to Indonesian graduates from American
universities over domestic graduates.
According to the organization, last year, some of the companies
started recruiting the students whilst they were still in the U.S., a
practice which was expected to give them a jump on competitors in the
local job market which usually places higher status on foreign graduates.
Hayono applauded Permias' plan to establish a network between the
association and private enterprises, and between Indonesian and American
universities and colleges.
The plan will help Indonesian graduates of foreign institutions to
find suitable jobs when they return home, he said, adding that his
office will establish a similar network with students' associations in
other countries.(swe)