Businesspeople concerned by govt economic performance
Businesspeople concerned by govt economic performance
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Businesspeople in the Jababeka Industrial Estate in Cikarang,
West Java, have expressed concern over the government's
failure to tackle smuggling and bureaucratic red tape, or to
reform tax regulations, which have hurt their businesses.
During a meeting on Wednesday with President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, the chairman of the Indonesian Apparel Manufacturers
Association, Vince Gowan, asked the government to take more
seriously the problem of smuggling, which he said disrupted
supplies and prices in the domestic market.
"The war against smuggling should not be declared today and
carried out over the next three months. It should be waged now
and forever," he said.
Vince, who is also the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry's vice chairman for productivity, also expressed concern
over the country's high-cost economy -- caused by illegal fees
imposed by central government and regional administration
officials -- which has harmed the competitiveness of locally made
clothing products in overseas markets.
"It is also difficult for us to divert and sell our products
in the domestic market because it has been swamped with the
smuggled products that we are complaining about," he said. "We
expect the government to take action to resolve this problem and
not just give us lip service."
Singaporean businessman Stanley Lee highlighted the existing
problems in Indonesia's tax regulations, citing how many tax
officials were in the habit of interpreting the regulations
according to their own preferences.
"When the regulation does not actually fit (their
interpretation), it results in the impression that they (the tax
officials) are just trying to blackmail taxpayers and that there
is no legal uncertainty in the country," he said.
Responding to the criticism, Susilo highlighted a number of
his administration's economic success stories.
"The government is at present trying to reduce the high-cost
economy," he said. "If you continue to face problems dealing with
government officials in the bureaucracy, please report it to me."
Regarding the issue of smuggling, Susilo said the government
had been consistent in waging a total war against the crime.
In his first year in power, he said, the government had
achieved much economic progress, including a 24 percent increase
in non-oil exports the growth of total investment from US$1.7
billion to $8.4 billion as of August.
"It is the right time for investors to come back to Indonesia,
as we have shown our resilience in overcoming the many problems
we faced, including the recent tsunami and the terrorist
bombings," he said. "It is the resilience of our nation that
foreign investors can count on."