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Health minister does not have to be a doctor, Kartono says
Former Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) chairman Kartono Muhammad said that the position of health minister in the Cabinet did not have to be filled by someone with a background as a doctor
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ormer Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) chairman Kartono Muhammad said that the position of health minister in the Cabinet did not have to be filled by someone with a background as a doctor.
He said the most important qualification was a clear vision and mission to make all Indonesian people healthy.
'Let us look at health ministers from Malaysia, the United States and the Netherlands. They are not doctors,' he said on Wednesday as quoted by tempo.co.
He made the statement ahead of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla's announcement of the Cabinet for the 2014-2019 period.
He said that it was much better if doctors in Indonesia were sent to rural areas to cure sick people and to spread information about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle rather than being appointed to manage the bureaucracy at the health ministry.
During the 10-year leadership of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, three doctors held the post of health minister, namely Siti Fadilah Supari from 2004 to 2009, Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih from 2009 to 2012 and Nafsiah Mboi from 2012 to 2014.
Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri also appointed a doctor as health minister, namely Achmad Sujudi from 2001 to 2004. (alz)(+++)
