UK minister offers help in poverty reduction

from The Jakarta Post

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Britain's minister for international development, Shahid Malik, paid visits Tuesday to the headquarters of Indonesia's two largest Muslim organizations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), to discuss poverty reduction programs.

After a meeting with Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin, Malik said the British government had agreed to provide US$150 million assistance for the development of poverty eradication programs in Indonesia over the next three years.

"The UK is obviously a very strong friend of Indonesia, and certainly friendship goes beyond aid and money. But in terms of development assistance over the next three years, we hope to support Indonesia with the $150 million, on priorities set by the Indonesian government. We will just follow and support the strategy," he said.

Malik is the first British-born Muslim to serve in the country's government after being appointed minister of international development by Prime Minister Gordon Brown on July 29 last year.

He is responsible for the work of the British Department of International Development in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, including its poverty eradication programs.

"Half of Indonesians earn less than $2 a day, that's quite a big challenge for any country," he said.

"The UK government is committed to achieving the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), which include halving extreme poverty by 2015. If more religious groups in the world show such commitment, we will certainly see a more rapid movement to achieve the goal."

He said he was encouraged by the participation of Muslim groups in fighting poverty.

Din said Muhammadiyah would expand its collaboration with the British government in various fields, including education, economic empowerment, public health services and culture.

"We have had an MOU with the British government for the past three years, and we will continue this ongoing cooperation," he said.

Malik said issues like maternal healthcare are also fundamental, considering that Indonesia's maternal mortality rate is among the highest in Southeast Asia, and his government expects to see more cooperation on such issues.

Malik, a Sunni Muslim, also expressed his views on the Islamic sect Ahmadiyah, which the Indonesian government has banned from carrying out religious activities.

He said that in the UK, people believed in freedom of expression and religion, and everyone was welcomed to carry out their activities, as long as they did not preach violence.

Link to full article. May expire in future.