Andung needs to prove himself quickly

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.