VP Opens PMI National Working Meeting

Malang, East Java, June 24 (Antara) - Vice President Boediono opened the Fifth Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) Volunteers National Working Meeting, held at Selorejo dam tourism resort in Malang, East Java, on Monday. The opening ceremony was marked with the procession of the delegation of volunteers from various provinces, and the attraction of Patriot Nusantara` colossal dance. In his opening address, Vice President Boediono said the working meeting was important for the PMI volunteers to continue to hone their ability, to improve their skills, and to strengthen the character of younger generation. Boediono opined that the existence of Indonesian Red Cross as a voluntary institution was relevant in every age as a one of the foundations for democracy. Meanwhile, PMI Chairman Jusuf Kalla, the former vice president, called on the PMI volunteers to continue to be ready, to improve their ability, and to hone their skills. "It is because calamity comes suddenly without warning. Therefore, the PMI volunteers should remain ready at all time," Kalla noted. The PMI Volunteers Working Meeting this time was participated in by around 3000 volunteers from various provinces in Indonesia and even from some countries among others Australia, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Malaysia. PMI now has around one million volunteers in all areas across the country. In his one-day visit to Malang to open the meeting, the vice president was accompanied by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Cooperative and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Sjarifuddin Hasan, and National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) Chief Syamsul Maarif.