RI NEEDS LAW TO PREVENT INFLUX OF FOREIGN NURSES

Jakarta, June 16 (ANTARA) - Thousands of foreign nurses will enter Indonesia next year unless the bill on nurses is passed into law this year, chief of the Indonesian National Nurses Association (PPNI) Achir Yani S Hamid said.

Achir Yani S Hamid said here on Tuesday that Indonesia needed the law in order to protect Indonesian nurses so that they would not bear the brunt of the impact of globalization in the health sector.

The PPNI chief said that the bill on nurses needed to be passed into law immediately so that nurses in carrying out their daily duties would be based on a legal umbrella.

Of the 10 ASEAN members, only Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam have no laws on nurses. Therefore, the bill on nurses needs to be passed into law immediately, otherwise foreign nurses would flock into Indonesia beginning early next year, she said.

Members of the House of Representatives (DPR) for the 2004-2009 who will end their term of office in September are now racing against time to finish deliberating and passing into laws of a number of badly needed bills, such as that on the establishment of corruption criminal court.

Late last month, the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) discussed the completion of several bills at a consultative meeting at the State Palace.

The discussions and passage of the bills by the House was expected to be accomplished soon or before the end of the present House's and government's terms.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the meeting was expected to facilitate communication between the government and the DPR to get a common view on matters recommended by a special team.

"We still have time and spirit to complete the bills as soon as possible," President Yudhoyono said.