Industrialization plan needed: Economists<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Economists suggested yesterday that the
\ngovernment draft industrialization plans and seriously develop
\nsectors with long-term competitiveness to become major foreign
\nexchange earners.<\/p>\n
Rizal Ramli, an economist at the Econit advisory group, told
\nthe House of Representatives' information and foreign affairs
\ncommission that the government currently has no clear or proper
\nindustrialization policy.<\/p>\n
\"The industrialization policy now is identical with a personal
\nhobby. When someone (in the power) likes planes, for instance,
\nthe policy is then directed toward developing planes,\" Rizal told
\nthe commission.<\/p>\n
He noted that Indonesia successfully laid down a
\nindustrialization base during its first 25-year development plan,
\nwhich ended in 1994.<\/p>\n
Now, Rizal said, it is time for Indonesia to fortify its
\nindustrial structure by producing capital goods and raw materials
\nfor its manufacturing industry.<\/p>\n
\"We are now in the critical junction of our industrialization
\nprocess. Unfortunately we don't have the right industrialization
\npolicy to guide our industrialization process,\" Rizal noted.<\/p>\n
He said there is actually a method to formulate such an
\nindustrialization policy in accordance with the strengths and
\nweaknesses of a specific country. Countries like Japan, South
\nKorea and Singapore have used such a method to develop their own
\nindustrialization policies.<\/p>\n
With such an industrialization policy, Rizal said, the
\ngovernment will have clear direction to develop industrial
\nsectors, so that it will not select incorrect alternatives in
\ndeveloping specific sectors.<\/p>\n
\"If we take the wrong alternatives, the cost will be very
\nexpensive. If the government cannot bear it, it will transfer the
\ncost to the private sector which will eventually burden customers
\nwith it,\" Rizal said.<\/p>\n
Supporting Rizal's argument, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, an
\neconomist at University of Indonesia, suggested that the
\ngovernment does not make a trial policy because it could cost
\nmore than expected.<\/p>\n
\"In this era of globalization, we should not be ashamed to
\ndevelop our agroindustry, like plantations, to target the world's
\nseven billion consumers in the next century,\" Dorodjatun told the
\ncommission.<\/p>\n
Competitiveness<\/p>\n
Concurring with Dorodjatun's view, Rizal suggested that the
\ngovernment seriously develop sectors which have long-term
\ncompetitiveness, like plantations, forestry, tourism and
\nunskilled labor.<\/p>\n
\"Our plantations: chocolate, palm oil, rubber, tea, coffee --
\nyou name it -- will remain competitive in the next 15 years
\nbecause we are a tropical country with vast acreage and
\nrelatively low labor costs,\" Rizal said.<\/p>\n
\"Our main competitor, Malaysia, can not compete with us
\nbecause their labor costs are already high. Currently they can
\ncompete with us because our workers go there to support it,\" he
\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Rizal said, Indonesia's agricultural products for
\nhuman consumption such as rice, soybean, poultry, fruit and the
\nlike cannot and will not bear competition due to high structural
\ncosts.<\/p>\n
\"It needs rethinking by all of us so that the cost structure
\nof our people-agricultural produce can be reduced. We might need
\nan action plan to protect millions of our farmers,\" Rizal said.<\/p>\n
In the forestry sector, Rizal said, if the government is able
\nto maintain the rate of deforestation with the sustainability of
\nits forests, Indonesia's forestry industry will remain
\ncompetitive in the long run.<\/p>\n
\"I'm proud of our forestry minister who has tried his best to
\nensure that our forests are managed in a sustainable manner,\"
\nRizal said.<\/p>\n
In services, Rizal said Indonesia has competitive advantages
\nin tourism and unskilled labor, but not in other sectors.<\/p>\n
\"However, we might face difficulties in exporting our laborers
\nin future because industrialized countries reject the idea of
\nliberalizing labor services,\" Rizal said.<\/p>\n
\"That's unfair because they vigorously propose the
\nliberalization of skilled labor services but reject the
\nliberalization of unskilled labor services,\" he continued.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the government pursue free trade not for the
\nsake of free trade but for the sake of fair trade and national
\ninterests.<\/p>\n
To face such free trade, Dorodjatun hailed the government's
\nefforts in liberalizing the country's economy through a number of
\nderegulation measures. He also hailed the government's efforts in
\nprivatizing state firms in order to make them more efficient.<\/p>\n
\"Such a privatization drive, however, shall not be limited to
\nstate firms only. It shall also cover family-owned companies
\nwhich tend to be closed to shareholders,\" Dorodjatun said.<\/p>\n
He contended that if state firms and family-owned firms were
\nprivatized through initial public offerings on stock exchanges it
\nwould help boost the competitiveness of the country's economy.
\n(rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/industrialization-plan-needed-economists-1447893297",
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