Cabinet Secretariat Committed to Developing Government Translators Competence
Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Cabinet Work Support Yuli Harsono at technical guidance for career development of the Translator Functional Officials in Bogor, Thursday (22/11/). Photo by: Oji/PR.
Cabinet Secretariat, the fostering agency for Indonesian Government Translators (known as Pejabat Fungsional Penerjemah/Translator Functional Officials) aims to develop professional government translators and interpreters who are highly dedicated to their institutions and the country, according to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Cabinet Work Support Yuli Harsono.
“We are committed to improving competence of government translators and interpreters in language and translation through a variety of training at home and abroad to shape them into professional translators,” Yuli said in his remarks at technical guidance for career development of the Translator Functional Officials in Bogor, Thursday (22/11/).
The event was attended by 73 Government Translators from Central and Regional Agencies.
Yuli further said that Cabinet Secretariat has organized several trainings in Indonesia with a total of 400 participants: two trainings for first-level translators, two technical trainings and seven technical guidance training. Cabinet Secretariat, he added, has also collaborated with the Australian government to conduct training for 12 government translators at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia in 2017.
Yuli went on to say that the government translators should bring benefits to their institutions and their regions of origin.
“We strive to encourage (the translators) to optimize their potentials for the benefit of their hometown. For this reason, we encourage the new-appointed government translators to support the “Sister City” program between various cities in Indonesia and their partners abroad,” he said, adding that the translators can support many government programs, including 10 priority tourism destinations built to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
“Our government translators have also supported the translation at the 5th Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jakarta, the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta, the 2016 World Culture Forum in Bali, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Summit in Jakarta, the 10th Bali Democracy Forum in Banten, the 2018 International Annual Meeting of International Monetary Fund in Bali, and the 2018 Our Ocean Conference in Bali,” Yuli said.
According to Yuli, Indonesias government translators have also contributed to the improvement of Indonesia’s rank in the World Banks Ease of Doing Business index by translating nearly 1,000 pages of Indonesian legal documents on investment and ease of business.
“I believe that our government translators play a strategic role as a bridge of communication between the Indonesian people and the people from friendly countries, preserve regional languages ??and develop Bahasa Indonesia,” Yuli further said, adding that Cabinet Secretariat, as a fostering agency for government translators, needs support from Ministry of States Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reforms and the National Civil Service Agency (BKN) to hire more translators.
“Today, there are only 172 government translators and interpreters in 55 Central Government institutions and 25 provinces in Indonesia,” Yuli concluded.
In the meantime, the new executive board of the Indonesian Government Translator Association (IPPI) was inaugurated, with new chairman Mr. Yanos Okterano from Ministry of Law and Human Rights replacing previous chairman Mr. Muhardi from Cabinet Secretariat.
For the record, the Indonesian Government has stipulated new regulations that affect the Government Translators, including Law Number 5 of 2014 on State Civil Apparatus, Government Regulation Number 11 of 2017 on State Civil Apparatus Management and Regulation of Minister of States Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reforms Number 42 of 2018 on the Period of Adjustment/Inpassing.
Also present during the event were Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents and Translation Eko Harnowo, Assistant Deputy for Job Standardization and Career Development, Ministry of States Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reforms Aba Subagja, and Director for State Civil Apparatus of the National Civil Service Agency (BKN) Herman. (RAH/EN)
Translated by: Ridwan Ibadurrohman
Edited by: Ersan Pamungkas
