Economic laws must be updated: Lawyer

Economic laws must be updated: Lawyer

JAKARTA (JP): Noted corporate lawyer T. Mulya Lubis called on
the government yesterday to update all laws related to economic
activities to enable Indonesia to compete in the free market era.

"What we are talking about is an economic law revolution which
will produce a set of economic laws in accordance with the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)," Lubis said at a
seminar on business ethics organized by the Institute for the
Development of Indonesian Business Ethics.

Lubis said Indonesia ratified GATT in 1994. As such, it should
adjust its economic laws to GATT's free market principles before
the year 2000.

"All restrictive laws should be abolished soon and we have to
make incentive laws to enable us to be more competitive," he
said, adding that most of the country's economic laws often
hampered business activities.

If the government did not adjust the country's economic laws
soon, local companies would probably lose free market
competition, said Lubis.

"Has the government the political will to stage an economic
law revolution? I don't know the answer," said Lubis.

He acknowledged that the government had tried to improve the
economic legal system by issuing Law No 6/1989 on patent, Law No
19/1992 on brand, Law No 6/1982 on copyright, Law No 1/1995 on
limited companies and the 1996 stock exchange law.

But, he said, the government had yet to make laws regulating
unhealthy practices for which Indonesia had often been
criticized, including monopoly, oligopoly, price control and
trade barriers on such commodities as cement, plywood, paper,
fertilizer, sugar, rice, retail, clove, automotive and steel.

The government had also to make a law which guarantees court's
independence and fairness, said Lubis.

Lubis said the absence of court's freedom and fairness had
created a lawless situation where people could break existing
laws with political and economic power.(jsk)