Competitive business

Competitive business

I am an Australian Moslem working in a private sector
enterprise in Indonesia. I subscribe to The Jakarta Post and try
to keep myself informed of current events in the business sector.
There are many articles quoting the government stressing the need
to increase exports. I was amused to read recently that high
wages were making us uncompetitive on the open market, and
countries such as Vietnam are supplying products to Australia
because of this factor.

I believe it is the levies and charges placed upon
manufacturers by governing bodies that make us uncompetitive.
Australia tries very hard to promote and assist these export
manufacturers, with programs such as their private sector
linkages, Aus-Trade and other subsidizing schemes. Indonesian
manufactures receive no assistance, added to this is the
abundance of charges both official and unofficial.

How can you look a lowering wages when the majority of
Indonesians now live below the poverty line? The fact that wages
are not enough is one major reason for corruption. If the
government really wants Indonesian manufactures to become
competitive on the world market, it should consider the following
steps:

1. They must stop trying to fill their coppers with
manufacturers money.

2. Have an all-out drive to stem the flow of unofficial
charges in all sectors.

3. Set up a body of people to investigate the reported cases
of corruption.

The public must stop accepting corruption as a fact of life,
and start saying no to back door payments.

NEIL MANSYUR DOMAILLE

Ujungpandang

South Sulawesi