Gerindra lawmakers banned from travel abroad

Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) secretary-general Achmad Muzani said the party’s central board had prohibited its lawmakers from traveling abroad. The sole reason, Muzani said, was because usually this kind of travel was ineffective.

“The party fails to comprehend the meaning of such travel. Besides, we could gain more information by searching the Internet or going to the library,” Muzani said Thursday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He added, however, that lawmakers would be still allowed to travel as long as it was done under inter-parliamentary cooperation banner.

To date, Gerindra has canceled 12 travel plans made by its lawmakers for this reason. The lawmakers overseas travel plans were heavily criticized, especially by antigraft activists who said the trips were often veiled holidays.