Government Must Pay Attention to People's Basic Rights: Minister

Jayapura, Papua - The government should pay attention to the people's basic rights to ensure their welfare, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said here on Thursday. "Many people have asked what people's welfare is all about. In general it is a condition in which both the central and regional governments should provide the basic rights of the people in their respective areas," the minister said during his working visit to Wamena district. Agung explained that the basic rights of the people cover among others easy access to education and health facilities, in addition to the improvement of their income. In regard with education, the minister said the government would launch 12-year compulsory education starting 2013, but the average school age of Indonesian children is 7.9. "Therefore the government should pay attention to this, and we hope the compulsory education will materialize in 2020," Agung said. In health sector, the minister noted that the rights of the people to have good health would contribute to their welfare, and the improvement of development and investment. He pointed out that the other rights of the people were the ease of raising their income, getting job, and opportunity to do business. "All these basic rights should be met by the government for the welfare of all people," he noted. (*)