Government supports new economic body<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government voiced on Saturday support for
\nthe Committee for National Economic Recovery (KPEN), which was
\nformed by the country's business community to replace the
\ngovernment-sponsored and now defunct National Business
\nDevelopment Council (DPUN).<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli said the
\ngovernment welcomed the establishment of the KPEN and expected
\nthe committee to play a significant role in helping to accelerate
\nthe country's economic recovery.<\/p>\n
\"This (KPEN) is good. We really need input from business
\npeople on what's really going on out there and how our policies
\nare being implemented because it is actually they who carry out
\nthe policies,\" he said after a meeting with KPEN members.<\/p>\n
He said the government was committed to working closely with
\nthe country's business community in its effort to boost recovery
\nof the trade and industry sectors.<\/p>\n
He said his office would hold monthly meetings with KPEN and
\nbusiness players to keep the latter informed about the
\ngovernment's new policies regarding the trade and industry
\nsectors.<\/p>\n
Rizal met on Saturday with KPEN officials and the Indonesian
\nChamber of Commerce and Trade (Kadin) to obtain information on
\nthe current developments in the business sector.<\/p>\n
KPEN was established on Sept. 5 by some business associates
\nand members of Kadin with the main objective of enabling former
\nDPUN members to realize their targeted working programs,
\nespecially in creating one million jobs. The new committee was
\nattached to Kadin.<\/p>\n
DPUN was one of two business councils formed by President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid in the early months of his presidency to assist
\nhis Cabinet's work, but all the councils were abolished by the
\nPresident mid-August.<\/p>\n
The committee has Kadin's boss Aburizal Bakrie as chairman and
\ntycoon Sofyan Wanandi, who is the former head of DPUN, as
\nexecutive director.<\/p>\n
KPEN is made up of 32 people, most of whom are the country's
\nkey business figures from various sectors like James Riady,
\nSubronto Laras, Soegeng Sarjadi, Sunyoto Tanudjaja, Haryadi
\nSukamdani and Yusuf Faishal.<\/p>\n
KPEN is set to work only for a one year period, but this could
\nbe extended if Kadin and the business community considered it
\nnecessary.<\/p>\n
Sofyan said that for the short term, KPEN's main target was to
\nhelp some 170,000 medium and small-scale businesses to deal with
\nthe Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) as part of their
\ndebt restructuring programs.<\/p>\n
He said KPEN would ask the government to give special
\ntreatment to medium and small-scale businesses to accelerate the
\nrestructuring of their debts so they could immediately obtain new
\ncredit and start operations.<\/p>\n
He said KPEN would also work to create as many job
\nopportunities as possible and act as mediator between
\ncorporations and labor unions in any labor disputes. (cst)<\/p>",
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