Job creation a tough priority<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): While the mission of new Coordinating Minister
\nfor the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti to make job creation
\nhis priority is appealing, experts warned its implementation
\nfaced wide-ranging problems arising out of labor disputes,
\nregional autonomy, tax policies and upholding law and order.<\/p>\n
National Economic Recovery Committee (KPEN) executive Anton J.
\nSupit praised the plan, saying that since the economic crisis
\nstruck the country in 1997, the government had all but ignored
\nthe millions of jobless Indonesians.<\/p>\n
"I never heard that (priority) coming from the previous
\ngovernments," Anton told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Last week, Dorodjatun told the media that job creation was key
\nto the country's economic recovery and thus would be his
\npriority.<\/p>\n
But Anton warned that making job creation a government
\npriority, demanded strict discipline in its implementation.<\/p>\n
Job creation, he said, entailed attracting investment, which
\nin turn demanded a conducive business climate.<\/p>\n
"We're talking about restoring law and order, improving tax
\nand labor policies and tackling confusion over the regional
\nautonomy," he explained.<\/p>\n
The government, he said, should break down the task into
\nworkable policies covering all related sectors.<\/p>\n
Anton suggested the new economic ministers meet local and
\nforeign investors to understand the problems at the micro level.<\/p>\n
One problem, he said, was that regional autonomy had made
\ninvestment in the regions much harder.<\/p>\n
He said that for instance, in some regions investors' permits
\nfrom the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) had been ignored.<\/p>\n
Separately, Lili Asdijudiredja executive of the Indonesian
\nTextile Association (API) said government attention toward the
\njobless was long overdue.<\/p>\n
"The government previously paid more attention to the welfare
\nof those already working," he noted.<\/p>\n
Lili further said a conducive business climate should not be
\nonly measured by a favorable rupiah-dollar exchange rate or
\ninterest rates.<\/p>\n
"It's high time the government sees the real situation on the
\nfield," he said, referring to the rampant security problems many
\nindustries face.<\/p>\n
Lili warned Indonesia's poor law and order situation could
\nforce foreign investors to relocate their industries to
\nneighboring countries.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
\n(Kadin) had already urged the new government to focus on job
\ncreation.<\/p>\n
It said past priorities on monetary stability by adopting a
\npolicy of high interest rates had come at the expense of
\npromoting investment that would have otherwise created new jobs.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's huge unemployment level of 40 million people was
\nalso liable to foster security risks, thus deterring investors,
\nKadin warned.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, economist Hadi Soesastro said Dorodjatun's aim to
\nprioritize job creation was good in itself, but useless unless he
\nexplained how to achieve it.<\/p>\n
"We need economic growth and a healthy fiscal to stimulate
\nit," Hadi said.<\/p>\n
According to him, with Indonesia's labor force growing by
\nabout 2 percent to 2.5 percent a year, the economy needs to grow
\nby 7 percent to generate more jobs.<\/p>\n
Last year, the country's economy grew by only 4.77 percent,
\nwith many economists betting on lower growth this year.<\/p>\n
Foreign investment expert Harvey Goldstein of PT Harvest
\nInternational Indonesia said focusing on unemployment implied the
\nneed for more direct investment.<\/p>\n
But the government could hardly expect investors to come until
\ninvestors' confusion over the regional autonomy had been purged.<\/p>\n
Goldstein attributed this confusion partly on the ill-defined
\npositions of local administrators in the government structure.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union (SBSI),
\nMuchtar Pakpahan also hailed the government's new policy
\ndirection.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that one of the key challenges was to change
\nthe mind-set of officials in the ministry of manpower.<\/p>\n
According to him, officials there have no experience in
\nfinding people jobs.<\/p>\n
Creating jobs, he said, demanded the government develop the
\neconomy in the rural sectors that absorbed most of Indonesia's
\nworkforce.<\/p>\n
He cited the ministries of agriculture, forestry, marine
\nresources, transportation, and tourism as capable of creating the
\nmost job opportunities.<\/p>\n
"The government must synchronize each ministries' working
\nplan, before drawing up a workable plan for creating jobs," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He cited a 1998 SBSI research that showed the government must
\nspend Rp 2.5 million for each person it wants to provide a
\njob.(bkm)<\/p>",
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