April 6: Cast Your Vote (If U Love Indonesia)

Pak Taufiqur 

The Consulate-General of Indonesia in Johor Baru is ready for the 2014 Indonesian legislative election that will be held in Malaysia on April 6.

A total of 327,000 eligible voters in Johor, Malacca, Pahang and Negri Sembilan are urged to cast their votes on this day.

Consul-General Taufiqur Rijal said a team of close to 1,000 election helpers have been roped in to be deployed to the four states in 300 rented vehicles.  They will leave the consulate office in Jalan Taat on April 5 to venture into oil palm estates and remote areas to reach out to eligible voters on April 6.

A week before April 6, the consulate office will also despatch 16,000 self-addressed envelopes for those who want to cast their votes by post.

On April 6, voters can also head to the consulate office or the official residence of the Consul-General in Taman Pelangi, Johor Baru, to cast their votes from 8am to 6pm.

I met Pak Taufiqur on Sunday, at an event called the "Pentas Menuju Pemilu".  He took over from  Jonas L. Tobing on Sept 1 last year.

Prior to his appointment as the Consul-General in the Johor Baru office, Pak Taufiqur had served in Sabah from 1991 to 1995 as the vice-consul. He was then posted to Kuwait from 1997 to 2001 as Head of the Consular Section, before helming the Consulate-General of Indonesia in Saudi Arabia from 2003 to 2007.

Meanwhile, the envoy is also waiting for the green light from both the Indonesian and Malaysian government to open a Sekolah Indonesia in Johor (most likely Johor Baru).

Currently, there are Indonesian schools in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Sekolah Indonesia will prepare schoolchildren for the Sekolah Dasar (primary), Sekolah Menengah Pertama (secondary) and Sekolah Menengah Atas (upper secondary) examinations.

As for the Indonesia Open University online courses, Pak Taufiqur said there are currently about 200 students in Johor pursuing degree and diploma programmes.