Business and government must work together

Business and government must work together

A few days ago, scores of major private business leaders were
invited to meet with the President, and a number of aspects of
the meeting deserve to be underlined.

The current fall in the rupiah's value has brought dire
consequences for all Indonesians. The poor are finding that their
life's burdens are becoming heavier because the high prices of
essential goods. A call is made on businesspeople to actively
help in finding a solution. In the current climate of crisis, the
task of working harder towards such a solution belongs not only
to the government. The same responsibility also lies on the
shoulders of the community as a whole, big business entrepreneurs
in particular. Their sense of patriotism is now being questioned
and at the same time appealed to. This was the essence of the
meeting.

A more conducive situation would lure back old investors who
have fled abroad and attract new ones. Naturally, aside from the
efforts that are now being coordinated by the President, other
measures are still needed and will continue to be taken.

Unhealthy banks, for instance, must be reconditioned. The
existence of monopolies should not be continued because they
hinder honest competition, and without competition, there will be
no cheap, quality goods. It is difficult to conceive that such
joint efforts will remain unsuccessful. We must hope and wait for
the results to show while giving our support to those effort.

-- Republika, Jakarta