Economic council to act as advisory body: Kalla<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The planned economic council would serve as a think thank in the
\neconomic field for the government, while the execution of
\npolicies would remain in the hands of the existing government
\ndepartments, vice presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla said on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
\"The National Economic Council (NEC) will give advice to the
\ngovernment, while departments will execute policies,\" Kalla said
\nafter attending a meeting of the South Sulawesi Families
\nAssociation (KKSS) at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.<\/p>\n
The members of the council would consist of economic experts,
\nand private sector and other economic players, Kalla said.<\/p>\n
\"It (the NEC) will deal with macroeconomic policies. We'll
\ntalk about the details (of the NEC) after Oct. 5,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The General Elections Commission (KPU) will announce the final
\nelection result on Oct. 5. With over 109 million ballots counted,
\nthe Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Jusuf Kalla ticket has garnered 60.9
\npercent of the vote, compared to the 39 percent won by Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri and her running mate, Hasyim Muzadi.<\/p>\n
Kalla said there would be no overlapping task between the work
\nof the council and that of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic
\nAffairs as \"each has its own functions\".<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza
\nMahendra said that it was Susilo who floated the idea of setting
\nup an NEC and a National Security Council (NSC).<\/p>\n
\"But, I still don't know the structure,\" he told reporters
\nafter attending the event, saying that the councils would be
\noutside the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Yusril, chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), who has
\nbeen assigned to handle the legal aspects of the establishment of
\nSusilo's Cabinet, said the likely president-elect had more
\nfreedom to determine his Cabinet structure after the House of
\nRepresentatives failed to endorse ministerial offices bill.<\/p>\n
According to the Constitution, the president must decide on
\nhis Cabinet based on the prevailing Ministerial Offices Law.<\/p>\n
Without elaborating, Yusril said that some modifications of
\nthe current Cabinet structure would likely take place.<\/p>\n
Analysts have said the two councils could help provide advice
\nto the president on a cross-sectoral basis, although their
\neffectiveness would ultimately depend on the effectiveness of the
\npresident in leading the government.<\/p>\n
With the establishment of the councils, Susilo's planned
\ncabinet structure appears to resemble that of the United States.
\nSusilo has a masters degree in management from the U.S.<\/p>\n
The U.S. National Economic Council (NEC), established in 1993
\nwithin the Office of Policy Development, is part of the Executive
\nOffice of the President.<\/p>\n
Created to advise the president on matters related to U.S. and
\nglobal economic policy, the NEC has four principal functions --
\ncoordinating policy-making for domestic and international
\neconomic issues, coordinating economic policy advice for the
\npresident, ensuring that policy decisions and programs are
\nconsistent with the president's economic goals. and monitoring
\nimplementation of the president's economic policy agenda.<\/p>\n
The U.S NEC comprises numerous department and agency heads
\nwithin the administration, whose policy jurisdictions impact the
\nnational economy.<\/p>\n
Susilo's planned NSC, which will be chaired by the president
\nand made up of the Indonesia Military (TNI) chief, defense
\nminister, coordinating minister for political and security
\naffairs, police chief and other relevant figures, also resembles
\nits counterpart in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The US NSC, which was established by the National Security Act
\nof 1947, is chaired by the president. Its regular attendees are
\nthe vice president, the state secretary, the treasury secretary,
\nthe defense secretary and the assistant to the president for
\nnational security affairs. The chairman of the joint chiefs of
\nstaff is the statutory military advisor to the council and the
\ndirector of the Central Intelligence Agency is the intelligence
\nadvisor.<\/p>\n
The council also serves as the president's principal forum for
\nconsidering national security and foreign policy matters with his
\nsenior national security advisors and cabinet officials.<\/p>\n
It also functions to advise and assist the president on
\nnational security and foreign policies as well as to serve as the
\npresident's principal arm for coordinating policies among various
\ngovernment agencies.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/economic-council-to-act-as-advisory-body-kalla-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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