Free market and

Free market and
competitiveness

From Koran Tempo

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has
proposed that the government reduce taxes for the mining sector.

"This is important to maintain the nation's competitive edge
in the international arena," the chairman of the permanent
committee for domestic development at Kadin, Herman Afif Kusumo,
said here recently (Tempo Interaktif, March 12).

The ongoing economic crisis has for the past six years not
only worsened our economic condition, but has also chipped away
our confidence in facing the liberalized market. Recently, there
have been demands for stronger protection and also for a slowing
of economic liberalization. The main argument often put forward
is that we are not ready for economic liberalization!

The globalization era cannot be stopped; neither can it be
turned back. What is most important today is that we should get
ourselves ready to improve our competitive edge. We should not
close ourselves off to the outside world and protect our domestic
market, or even slow down the realization of economic
globalization toward the liberalized market.

Productivity is the main factor for a nation. We often believe
that low wages will make our country more competitive than other
countries. This is true only for a very short time. A competitive
edge based on low wages cannot be maintained.

PEBRIJANA SUNARDI
Jakarta