Business leaders call for reliable cabinet
JAKARTA (JP): Business associations called for a solid and capable new cabinet to strengthen and help restructure the country's crisis-hit industries.
Executives of the Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo), the Indonesian Textile Association (API) and the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) said yesterday the new cabinet must be able to sort out priorities to help their industries.
"The new cabinet must have a clear vision and must be professional," Aprisindo chairman Anton J. Supit said yesterday.
Anton said the cabinet must consist of honest, capable and motivated ministers.
"The bottom line is integrity and capability. After that, everything will follow and we won't have to worry about collusion and corruption anymore," Anton told The Jakarta Post.
Gaikindo chairman Herman Z. Latief said the new cabinet must be conceptual and pragmatic, while having a long-term strategy.
"The country is in dire straits. We need new leaders to lead us out of the monetary crisis," Herman said.
The secretary-general of API, Irwandy Muslim, said yesterday the next cabinet must be able to work quickly to catch up with global economic trends.
"If we're not fast enough, we won't be able to take advantage of opportunities," Irwandy said.
Newly reelected President Soeharto is expected to announce his new cabinet Saturday, only three days after his inauguration Wednesday.
Rumors concerning the names of the new cabinet members circulated widely yesterday.
It is speculated that the cabinet's economic team might include timber mogul Muhammad "Bob" Hasan, noted businessman Tanri Abeng and Director General of Tax Fuad Bawazier.
One reliable source indicated that Bob Hasan, a long-time Soeharto confidant, may replace outgoing Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo.
Fuad has been tipped to be the next finance minister, replacing Mar'ie Muhammad, while Tanri has been rumored to be the minister of state-owned company affairs.
Commenting on the rumored list, Anton reiterated the next ministers must be capable and clean.
"Each minister must stop dedicating himself to his institution, political party or business the second he enters public office, immediately dedicating himself to his fellow citizens," he said.
He cited Tunky as an example of a dedicated civil servant.
Tunky, he said, literally dedicated 24 hours a day to strengthen the country's industry and trade.
"Tunky's vision of pro-business policy is what the next minister should carry on to amplify our international trade," he said.
He said the next minister must have vast knowledge of global trade matters and be able to deal with international pressure concerning, for example, quotas and human rights issues. The minister must also be able to communicate with the people, he said.
Herman said stabilizing the rupiah, which has lost about 75 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar, must be the new cabinet's first priority.
"The biggest problem in the car industry now is the sluggish market caused by people's low purchasing power," he said.
Anton said the cabinet's short-term priority should be to help the country's exporters resolve their problems in having their letters of credit (L/Cs) issued by Indonesian banks recognized by international banks.
Improving the country's damaged image is vital to restore global confidence in Indonesian banks and importers again, he said.
Irwandy said the textile industry expected a better cabinet which could help the sector reach its targets this year.
"Our target is to export US$7 billion worth of goods this year and we need $4 billion to buy raw materials," he said.
The association's chairman, Bambang Riyadi Soegomo, has previously said the association predicted a 35 percent drop in exports this year, expecting a much lower revenue of about $4 billion.
Irwandy said he was optimistic the target could be reached if the next cabinet focused on restoring confidence on L/Cs issued by local banks, guaranteeing sufficient raw materials for producers. (das)