Freedom Party promises to develop country with IT<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
For the newly established Freedom Party the figure of
\ncontroversial former minister of cooperatives Adi Sasono, who is
\nknown for his obsession with a populist economy, remains the
\nparty's strongest selling point to woo voters in April's general
\nelection.<\/p>\n
Adi Sasono, who served as minister of cooperatives and Small
\nand Medium Enterprises, during President B.J. Habibie's 17-month
\nadministration until October 1999, is very firm in his conviction
\nthat the country's economy should be based on populist economic
\npolicies, to empower the people and enhance democracy.<\/p>\n
He is, in fact very confident that such a people's economy is
\nthe sole answer for the democratization of the nation, although
\nit generally receives negative reactions from the capital
\nmarkets.<\/p>\n
"Democracy will not work properly if there is no economic
\njustice in society," Adi said during a visit to The Jakarta Post
\non Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Adi said he was accustomed to facing negative public
\nperceptions about him. Some people describe him as anti-Chinese-
\nIndonesian because of his strong advocacy to promote the pribumi
\n(indigenous people), while others accuse him of being an overly
\nfundamentalist Muslim who is anti-Christian. According to him,
\nsome Muslim groups even branded him an infidel.<\/p>\n
"How can you say I am anti-Christian? My own in-laws are
\nCatholics," Adi argued.<\/p>\n
The Freedom Party chairman pointed out that his economic
\nplatforms emphasize the importance of linking SME businesses into
\na cluster of economic units. A small loan policy is an imperative
\nelement of sustaining economic development, where local banking
\nis supposed to extend credit to rural farmers and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
According to Adi, people-based economic principles can balance
\nthe economic situation in the country and hopefully lead to a
\ntrue implementation of democracy.<\/p>\n
Very similar to Habibie's vision, the former executive of the
\nIndonesian Muslim Intellectual Association (ICMI) also believes
\nthat the country should develop its technological know-how,
\nincluding Information Communication Technology (ICT), because the
\nmastery of technology by the people is very crucial in upgrading
\nthe economy.<\/p>\n
He said that new information technology in this country, such
\nas the Internet made old organizational systems obsolete and
\ninefficient.<\/p>\n
"It's the same with economics right now. Previous principles
\nsuch as conglomerate economic principles have become old-
\nfashioned and inefficient."<\/p>\n
The party has obviously seen what Malaysia and India have done
\nin terms of information technology. They have seen that it
\ncreates opportunities for less-developed countries, such as
\nIndonesia, to emerge and establish better nations by embracing
\nthe notion of an interlinked economy.<\/p>\n
"When there is no party promoting this easy access of
\ninformation as a public policy, our society will not develop.
\nThat is the reason why we established this party," Adi said.<\/p>\n
The party also promotes distance learning using information
\ntechnology. Rural youth finally will have the same access to
\nresearch materials as their city counterparts have enjoyed. It
\nwill also help to curb migration to cities, which has been out of
\ncontrol for decades.<\/p>\n
The party's political ambitions are moderate, but to be
\nexpected for a small, new party.<\/p>\n
"We hope to get the minimum electoral threshold of 3 percent
\nbecause we are still new," Adi said, referring to the amount of
\nvotes needed to be eligible to nominate a presidential candidate
\nas well as becoming automatically eligible for the 2009
\nelections.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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