Andung needs to prove himself quickly<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta<\/p>\n
First impressions are usually lasting, and are certainly
\ntelling. In his first public appearance, Minister of Industry
\nAndung A. Nitimihardja disappointed his audience by telling the
\nstory of his long career with the Investment Coordinating Board
\n(BKPM), instead of sharing his view on the country's
\nmanufacturing sector.<\/p>\n
The audience, a group of journalists specializing in industry
\nand trade and scores of senior ministry officials, however,
\nforgave him on the assumption that the new minister needed more
\ntime before he was confident enough to speak about industry-
\nrelated issues.<\/p>\n
Expectations of Andung had initially been high as he was
\nchosen by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over other
\ncandidates like industrialist Rachmat Gobel and economist Rizal
\nRamli -- who was also coordinating minister for the economy under
\nformer president Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid.<\/p>\n
However, six months on, there is really not much to say about
\nthe performance of the Ph.D holder in development studies from
\nthe University of Pittsburgh, except that his progress is cause
\nfor concern.<\/p>\n
In February, the not-so-articulate minister irritated
\nautomotive and consumer electronics manufacturers in the country
\nby not including the two sectors on the government's list of the
\ntop-10 priority clusters of industries.<\/p>\n
Industry players and academics questioned the exclusion as the
\ntwo sectors are important in encouraging the growth of supporting
\nindustries, such as parts and components manufacturers.<\/p>\n
Indonesia needs strong supporting industries to attract
\ninvestment and shift the local manufacturing sector from making
\nbasic goods to more sophisticated products -- from manufacturing
\ntextiles to making machine tools that produce machines.<\/p>\n
As the government has provided no official explanation on the
\nmatter to date, the most popular guess among stakeholders is that
\nthe minister simply forgot to include the two sectors.<\/p>\n
To some extent it is understandable -- \"accidents\" do happen,
\nparticularly when you are in a hurry.<\/p>\n
Andung -- whose last job was as an adviser on investment and
\nregional autonomy to the State Minister of State Enterprises --
\nhad to finish suggestions for the priority list as soon as
\npossible to be included in the mid-term development plan (RPJM)
\ncurrently under preparation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, at the same time he had to coordinate the splitting
\nof the Ministry of Industry and Trade into two separate
\nministries, which began as recently as October.<\/p>\n
Plus, all officials had to divert their attention to the
\ndevastating earthquake and tsunamis in December that hit Aceh and
\nparts of Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, all economic ministers were also preoccupied with
\nefforts to cope with the impact of the 29 percent fuel price
\nincrease on March 1.<\/p>\n
In March, Andung annoyed industrialists by announcing an
\nimport tariff reduction for public transportation vehicle parts
\nand components.<\/p>\n
The move turned out to be professional suicide. He should have
\nlet the Ministry of Transportation or the Ministry of Finance
\nannounce the policy.<\/p>\n
The policy was an initiative from the Ministry of
\nTransportation as a measure to prevent public transportation
\noperators from raising their tariffs too high in adapting to the
\nfuel price increase.<\/p>\n
And it was the Ministry of Finance that authorized the import
\nduty cuts.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, he made himself a sitting duck, taking the
\nbullets from disappointed local part makers, assemblers and
\nforeign investors as the policy posed the threat of hampering the
\ngrowth of industry in the country.<\/p>\n
Later on, it was revealed that the decision-making process did
\nnot involve the Ministry of Trade as the institution responsible
\nfor exports and imports policies and \"guarding\" Indonesia's
\ncommitments in international trade deals.<\/p>\n
Businesspeople and observers questioned why Andung's
\nsubordinates had not advised him against the announcement.<\/p>\n
However, he did not choose his own aides. Rather they were
\ninherited from the former Ministry of Industry and Trade.<\/p>\n
The private sector applauded Minister of Trade Mari E.
\nPangestu late last month for arranging a line-up of senior
\nofficials that allows her ministry to shift into a higher gear,
\nleaving Andung behind.<\/p>\n
It has been six months, and still he lacks the confidence to
\nspeak to the press.<\/p>\n
Andung does not have the luxury of time.<\/p>\n
Maintaining a stable macroeconomic condition, Indonesia now
\nneeds to create jobs by boosting investment in the various
\neconomic sectors, including industry -- where Andung plays a
\ncrucial role in attracting fresh investments.<\/p>\n
To be fair, he did manage to produce an almost 200-page paper
\ntitled Policy on Developing National Industry, despite the fact
\nthat he copied much (if not most) of the material from the
\nprevious minister. However, it still lacked detail and a step-by-
\nstep game plan.<\/p>\n
If Andung cannot convince the press, who represent the public,
\nhow can he convince foreign investors to build plants in
\nIndonesia?<\/p>\n
The writer is a journalist with The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/andung-needs-to-prove-himself-quickly-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }