Govt urged to cater to indigenous entrepreneurs

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has urged the government to use the economic crisis as a means to help indigenous businesspeople gain a bigger share of the economy.

The chamber's chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, said yesterday the government could use the crisis as a means to distribute bigger and broader share ownerships of private businesses to indigenous Indonesians.

"This is the perfect time to distribute the ownerships of Indonesian companies to the pribumi (indigenous Indonesians) fairly," Aburizal, known as Ical, told legislators at a House of Representatives commission hearing.

Indonesians of Chinese descent account for some five million of the country's 200 million people. The small community, which controls most of the country's commerce and wealth, has often become a target of social resentment.

Ical said such a move must be taken during the current situation rather than after the country recovers or under a new government.

"If we wait until the leadership changes, it could take about 20 to 25 years to achieve anything," he said.

He, however, did not elaborate on whether his proposal would involve the sale of company shares owned by Chinese Indonesian businesspeople at discounted prices.

Ical said the country needed to establish a new political economic system which catered to native Indonesians.

He said he had recently introduced the idea to the dominant Golkar faction and had received positive responses.

"What we need now is the political will of the people to support this," he told House Commission V for manpower and trade.

"I hope other factions will agree with me on this idea so we could establish a new (system under) the Broad Outlines of State Policy which would favor us (indigenous Indonesians)," he said.

"As an institution Kadin has no power. That is why we ask for the support of everyone through their political will," he said.

Ical said the government could begin with the finance sector, for example, by acquiring the assets of banks which are still solvent.

Such a move would help indigenous businesspeople acquire more shares and increase company ownerships since the government has guaranteed all depositors and debtors of private banks, he said.

With the new system, indigenous Indonesians could eventually control at least 50 percent of the finance sector, which is now dominated by the ethnic Chinese, he said.

Ical said the government could use funds belonging to certain foundations -- such as pension funds which at present could amount to Rp 20 trillion (US$2.1 billion) -- to finance the program.

Companies seeking long-term loans from state banks, for example, should be subject to a clause which required the government to take over their shares if they could not pay their debts, he said.

The government could then distribute the shares to indigenous Indonesian businessmen, he said. (das)