Abolish arrogance through national consultation

Abolish arrogance through national consultation

The discourse on national consultation regarding national economic problems was raised three days ago. It began from the statement of Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti who said the government planned to hold an economic consultation on Oct. 31.

The Minister said the national consultation would be held to anticipate impacts of the global recession.

We should thus formulate a new economic orientation in the consultation which will include academicians, bureaucrats, members of parliament and small businesses.

Among the issues which should be taken into account is our economic policy which is largely dependent on foreign parties. This has made the national economy vulnerable to international economic and political factors.

The government should also pay greater attention to the small and medium enterprises because they concern millions of people.

There should also be a sense of crisis and a single vision of all parties on efforts to recover the economy. As long as arrogance or vested interests prevail, we cannot hope for an end to this multidimensional crisis.

-- Republika, Jakarta