Amien questions privatization plan

Amien questions privatization plan

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais
questioned on Friday the government's plan to sell a number of
state companies, saying that the policy would cause the nation to
suffer losses in the future.

Amien expressed fear of a possible rise in the number of
unemployed if those state companies were sold to foreign
investors.

"If the government continues this move, I fear this nation
will go bankrupt in the near future," Amien said after receiving
protesting employees from the Bandung-based PT Pos Indonesia at
his office in Jakarta.

Amien said that if the foreign investors controlled the major
state companies, they could possibly not employ Indonesian
workers, thereby leading to massive unemployment.

It would be fortunate for even low-ranking Indonesian workers
to be recruited, he said.

"I don't understand why there is a government which wants to
sell its state companies," Amien said.

A consortium led by U.S.-based Farallon last month purchased
51 percent of BCA, the country's largest retail bank.

The government is planning to sell another 25 state companies
this year.

The moves are part of efforts to raise Rp 6.5 trillion to plug
the budget deficit. The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
(IBRA) is targeting collecting Rp 33.5 trillion from the sale of
assets of non-performing banks.

Among the state companies to be sold off are PT Angkasa Pura
(airport), PT Pelindo (seaport), PT Indo Farma (pharmaceutical),
PT Pupuk Kaltim (fertilizer), PT Sarinah (shopping mall), PT
Krakatau Steel (steel), PT Telkom, PT Indosat
(telecommunications) and PT Kimia Farma (pharmaceutical).

Amien admitted that he fully understood the paradigm of the
capital market regime, which was marked with privatization, free
markets and the absence of import duties.

As a sovereign country with patriotism, however, the sales of
state firms must be the last choice, he said.

"If there is another way, selling state firm should be
avoided."

Quoting information from Minister of National Development
Planning Kwik Kian Gie, Amien said that the sale of Bank Niaga
was just a matter of time.

According to Amien, the Soekarno-Hatta international airport
had been offered to the management of the Schiphol airport in the
Netherlands.