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)