Govt, businessmen must draft action plans: Sofyan
Govt, businessmen must draft action plans: Sofyan
JAKARTA (JP): The government should follow up the results of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting in Osaka with concrete steps by involving the private sector in preparing strategies.
Sofyan Wanandi, spokesman of domestic tycoons grouped at the Prasetya Mulya Foundation, suggested yesterday that the government immediately sit down with business people and talk about its action plans.
Sofyan, founder and chairman of the well-diversified Gemala Group, demanded that the bureaucrats support national companies in their drive to improve their competitiveness.
"If we are required to be efficient, we also demand that our bureaucrats be efficient and not contribute to the high cost economy," Sofyan said after speaking at a seminar on the role of local conglomerate owners in the country's economic development.
He added that if domestic firms and Indonesian nationals were not well prepared, they would only become "servants" of foreign corporations.
"We have to well prepare ourselves to face the tighter competition with multinational corporations looming on our doorsteps," Sofyan said.
APEC's 18 leaders, who met in Osaka, Japan on Sunday, endorsed the Action Agenda outlining measures planned to reach their free trade goals -- by 2010 for developed member economies and 2020 for developing members.
The forum also announced their respective initial actions to demonstrate their commitment to achieving trade liberalization and facilitation.
President Soeharto said Indonesia presented its last May deregulation package as a "down payment" of its commitment to free trade in the region.
Hail
Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, an economist at University of Indonesia, hailed Indonesia's bravery in entering the free trade arrangement in the Asia Pacific, saying it would help speed up the development.
Speaking at PT Surveyor Indonesia's international workshop on Monday, Dorodjatun said that what had been decided by APEC leaders so far reflected what was happening in the region.
He suggested that Indonesia continue its deregulation and privatization programs to catch up with other developed economies in the APEC forum.
However, Indonesia should realize that opening the country wider means exposing itself to the outside elements, such as exchange rates, interest rates and commodity price fluctuations, which could possibly prove to be a shock, he warned.
Meanwhile, legislator Muba Kahar Muang of the ruling Golkar party said the government should first strengthen its industrial base before moving ahead to its free trade commitments.
Muba noted that Indonesia's industrial structure was still weak, especially in the upstream level. "Thus, the government has to concentrate on developing the upstream industries." (kod/rid)