Andung needs to prove himself quickly

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta

First impressions are usually lasting, and are certainly telling. In his first public appearance, Minister of Industry Andung A. Nitimihardja disappointed his audience by telling the story of his long career with the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), instead of sharing his view on the country's manufacturing sector.

The audience, a group of journalists specializing in industry and trade and scores of senior ministry officials, however, forgave him on the assumption that the new minister needed more time before he was confident enough to speak about industry- related issues.

Expectations of Andung had initially been high as he was chosen by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over other candidates like industrialist Rachmat Gobel and economist Rizal Ramli -- who was also coordinating minister for the economy under former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

However, six months on, there is really not much to say about the performance of the Ph.D holder in development studies from the University of Pittsburgh, except that his progress is cause for concern.

In February, the not-so-articulate minister irritated automotive and consumer electronics manufacturers in the country by not including the two sectors on the government's list of the top-10 priority clusters of industries.

Industry players and academics questioned the exclusion as the two sectors are important in encouraging the growth of supporting industries, such as parts and components manufacturers.

Indonesia needs strong supporting industries to attract investment and shift the local manufacturing sector from making basic goods to more sophisticated products -- from manufacturing textiles to making machine tools that produce machines.

As the government has provided no official explanation on the matter to date, the most popular guess among stakeholders is that the minister simply forgot to include the two sectors.

To some extent it is understandable -- "accidents" do happen, particularly when you are in a hurry.

Andung -- whose last job was as an adviser on investment and regional autonomy to the State Minister of State Enterprises -- had to finish suggestions for the priority list as soon as possible to be included in the mid-term development plan (RPJM) currently under preparation.

Meanwhile, at the same time he had to coordinate the splitting of the Ministry of Industry and Trade into two separate ministries, which began as recently as October.

Plus, all officials had to divert their attention to the devastating earthquake and tsunamis in December that hit Aceh and parts of Sumatra.

Furthermore, all economic ministers were also preoccupied with efforts to cope with the impact of the 29 percent fuel price increase on March 1.

In March, Andung annoyed industrialists by announcing an import tariff reduction for public transportation vehicle parts and components.

The move turned out to be professional suicide. He should have let the Ministry of Transportation or the Ministry of Finance announce the policy.

The policy was an initiative from the Ministry of Transportation as a measure to prevent public transportation operators from raising their tariffs too high in adapting to the fuel price increase.

And it was the Ministry of Finance that authorized the import duty cuts.

Nevertheless, he made himself a sitting duck, taking the bullets from disappointed local part makers, assemblers and foreign investors as the policy posed the threat of hampering the growth of industry in the country.

Later on, it was revealed that the decision-making process did not involve the Ministry of Trade as the institution responsible for exports and imports policies and "guarding" Indonesia's commitments in international trade deals.

Businesspeople and observers questioned why Andung's subordinates had not advised him against the announcement.

However, he did not choose his own aides. Rather they were inherited from the former Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The private sector applauded Minister of Trade Mari E. Pangestu late last month for arranging a line-up of senior officials that allows her ministry to shift into a higher gear, leaving Andung behind.

It has been six months, and still he lacks the confidence to speak to the press.

Andung does not have the luxury of time.

Maintaining a stable macroeconomic condition, Indonesia now needs to create jobs by boosting investment in the various economic sectors, including industry -- where Andung plays a crucial role in attracting fresh investments.

To be fair, he did manage to produce an almost 200-page paper titled Policy on Developing National Industry, despite the fact that he copied much (if not most) of the material from the previous minister. However, it still lacked detail and a step-by- step game plan.

If Andung cannot convince the press, who represent the public, how can he convince foreign investors to build plants in Indonesia?

The writer is a journalist with The Jakarta Post.