Fears over conglomerates dismissed

Fears over conglomerates dismissed

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto dismissed yesterday fears
over the growing dominance of a score of conglomerates in
Indonesia's economy.

The President said that Indonesia has solid regulations to
protect the interests of the people from the growing activities
of those conglomerates.

Speaking at a meeting with members from the association of
puppet masters, Soeharto guaranteed that the operations of
conglomerates would benefit not only their owners but also the
whole people.

"Economic sectors which are directly related to the lives of
the people are controlled by the government and are used for the
welfare of the whole people." he told the puppet masters,
concerning the significance of public interest in the country's
1945 Constitution.

The puppet play, one of the most popular art performances in
Java, does not only entertain but also tell stories about the
lives of kings.

Soeharto did not mention the names of the conglomerates but
acknowledged that the success in Indonesia's economic development
was partly due to the use of their business potency.

However, he said that continued involvement of those
conglomerates in the country's economic development has raised
jealousy in the public.

People then feared that the conglomerates' business strength
would enable them to control the country's economy, the President
said.

"I don't think we need to worry about the conglomerates'
operations because their existence also benefits the people," he
said, citing that textile and food manufacturers would not only
make cloth or food for their owners only but also for people.

"More importantly, they pay tax," he added.

The President said that a certain business group might be
allowed to operate in an economic sector directly related to the
lives of the people if the government is not capable of doing so.

"But the government has the power to guide and control them in
order to secure the people's interests," he said, adding that the
operations of the existing conglomerates, mostly owned by
businessmen of Chinese descent, have generally been made in
compliance with the government's development guidelines.

"What if conglomerate owners run away? There is no problem
because they will not be able to bring their industrial plants
with them," he said, allaying the public's concern over the
possible pullout of investors from the country.

Soeharto stressed that the operations of business giants would
not, therefore, cause any harm to either the country's economy or
its people's lives.

During the rare meeting with the puppet masters, Soeharto also
explained the success of the government in raising exports and in
making the country self-sufficient in rice during the first stage
of the country's long-term development plan, which ended in March
last year.

He said that the success in the first 25-year development
period was not only marked by massive developments in the
country's infrastructure but also in the government's achievement
to significantly reduce the number of the people living in
poverty.(hen)