Blueprint needed to face globalization

Blueprint needed to face globalization

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian people will fall victim to free
trade unless the government designs and implements policies that
will develop a competitive economic base.

"I think we need to design a blueprint in all economic sectors
that will enable us to see what we need to do in facing the
process of globalization," said economist Rizal Ramli, the
managing director of Econit, an industry, trade and economics
advisory group.

Speaking at a discussion on how to design an effective
economic policy for the globalization era, Rizal pointed out that
in other countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, the
government is on the side of the public and its small and medium
scale businesses.

The discussion was organized by Forspin, a forum studying
industry and investment issues.

"They also have conducive regulations for the small
entrepreneurs to expand their businesses," he said, adding that
Indonesia should work harder to fully mobilize the people's
potential.

"We're currently too busy with short-term issues such as
inflation, balance of payments and interest rates. But we don't
pay enough attention to the macro-economy that includes the issue
of utilizing the economic potential of the majority of the
people," he said.

He cited Taiwan as an example, where about 80 percent of its
economic power is held by small and medium-scale businesses.

Indonesia still has a strong concentration of businesses in
every economic sector. A few conglomerates dominate the economy,
leaving the majority of the general public with little room to do
business.

He said that the main problems of the Indonesian economy are
the issues of high profit margins and the massive capital
accumulation of big companies. Further slowing the economy are
the low margins and the public's slow accumulation of assets.

According to Rizal, economic gaps will continue to widen if
the condition persists.

Fahmi Idris, an executive of both Golkar and the Indonesian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said that Indonesia
must do more than change its economic policies. "It should also
change its political system to allow bigger benefits for the
general public."

The poor economic conditions of the majority of the people are
partly due to the absence of direct relations between the ruling
party and the general public, he said.

"In Indonesia we don't see any ties between the ruling party
and the general public as we see in other countries," he said,
citing Japan as an example where the government clearly protects
its farmers.

He added that when a political party wins an election in
Indonesia it should become the holder of political power and use
its power to maximize the potential of the general public. (13)