Ginandjar warns of economic, social disparity

Ginandjar warns of economic, social disparity

JAKARTA (JP): The economic gap is the hardest challenge for
the government in the second long-term development program, State
Minister of National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita
said yesterday.

Addressing a national meeting of SOKSI, a military-sponsored
labor organization affiliated to Golkar, Ginandjar said that one
in seven Indonesians lives in poverty.

"The gaps are not only between rich and poor, but also among
regions, sectors and the sexes," he said, adding that this was
caused by, among other things, "disparity of opportunity."

Ginandjar, who is also the chairman of the National
Development Planning Board, said that disparity is growing,
affecting the social and political situation.

Lessons should be learned not only from Indonesian history but
also other countries which have experienced the division and
political conflicts caused by such gaps, he pointed out.

He noted that unemployment has increased, which may stoke
social anger. "What's worse is that many of the unemployed are
educated people, and include high school and university
graduates," he said.

In 1980, there were only 132,000 educated people who were
unemployed, but that figure had risen to 2,2 million by 1995.

Ginandjar also brought up a number of other social and
economic problems, such as the low salaries of civil servants,
which he said were low even compared to the minimum wages that
factory labors received.

Ginandjar also pointed out that the "future, real challenge of
the next century" is international trade, and keeping its
disadvantages to a minimum while striving to gain its benefits.

There's no alternative but to enter global free trade, he
said. "Otherwise, we'll lose out," he said, saying that
unemployment will increase, and national income drop.

One of the conditions for Indonesia to meet the stiff
competition of global trade is by improving its mastery of
technology, he argued.

The World Bank has observed that developing countries will be
well placed to benefit from global trade. By 2010, 38 percent of
the world's goods will be produced by developing countries, he
said. (16)