Business leaders call for reliable cabinet

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)