PDI drafts bill to protect small businesses<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) is calling
\non the government and the House of Representatives to give
\ngreater legal protection to small-scale enterprises.<\/p>\n
\"It's high time we had such laws. Small businesses should not
\nbe left backwards and poor,\" head of the party's research center,
\nKwik Kian Gie, told reporters here Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He said the PDI has prepared a proposal to be submitted to the
\nHouse and the government in order, he said, \"to prove that PDI
\ndoesn't make slogans about the need for such laws without arming
\nitself with clearly-defined concepts.\"<\/p>\n
The government once promised to make bills aimed at protecting
\nsmall-scale businesses but none have been submitted to the House
\nof Representatives for deliberation.<\/p>\n
Kwik said that some 33 million small business enterprises in
\nthe country need to be protected from the unfair competition
\nposed by major businesses and unfavorable regulations.<\/p>\n
Very often, he said, the authorities implement laws and
\npolicies which imperil the existence of small-sized businesses.<\/p>\n
He also called on the government to establish a small business
\nadvocacy committee. The committee would be accountable to the
\nPresident, he said, and responsible for examining all government
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
The body would also help encourage policymakers to abolish
\nregulations which are not conducive to small business practices.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the committee be manned by seven experts,
\nwho would report their findings to the President through the
\nMinister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises.<\/p>\n
He defined small-sized businesses as those with fewer than 10
\nemployees, whose total assets do not exceed Rp 400 million
\n(approximately US$180,000) and whose total gross sales do not
\nexceed Rp 1 billion per year.<\/p>\n
Kwik said the party chose to bring its proposal straight to
\nthe press rather than to the party's representative at the DPR
\ndue to the arduous process involved before the proposal can be
\nmade into a bill. The approval of at least two other House
\nfactions is necessary before one faction can propose a bill.<\/p>\n
He pointed out the slight possibility of the United
\nDevelopment Party or the dominant Golkar faction warming up to
\nthe PDI proposal.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the press will eventually push for the proposal to
\ntake root in public and be realized by the government,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kwik, who was accompanied by his deputy Roch Basuki, said the
\nexisting laws on cooperatives do not cover small enterprises. He
\nalso said that the government campaign designed to persuade major
\nbusinesses and conglomerates into helping cooperatives and small
\nbusinesses has failed miserably.<\/p>\n
\"PDI doesn't believe in partnership if we have to keep on
\nasking for it,\" he said. \"We don't believe that there's such a
\nthing, that's why we started by stating that it is the right of
\nsmall businesses (to get protection),\" he said.<\/p>\n
Analysts have long lamented the widening market share gap
\nbetween big and small businesses. President Soeharto has several
\ntimes acknowledged this and subsequently called on conglomerate
\nowners to share their wealth with cooperatives, which, he feels,
\nshould support other small businesses.<\/p>\n
During the last four years, state companies under the Ministry
\nof Mines and Energy have set aside a total of Rp 119.33 billion
\n(US$54.27 million) to support the development of small
\nbusinesses. (swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pdi-drafts-bill-to-protect-small-businesses-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}