Gus Dur urged to get serious about recovery
Gus Dur urged to get serious about recovery
JAKARTA (JP): Despite its popular legitimacy, the government
of President Abdurrahman Wahid has shown a lack of concern for
economic recovery and made political moves that sowed
uncertainty, a legislator and an economist said on Wednesday.
Speaking in a seminar organized by Strategic Intelligence,
House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung said that
the main reasons for the delay in capital inflow to revive the
economy was that the national economy was not yet the focus of
the government.
"The government does not have the sense of urgency in economic
fields. Instead, the President has made statements that further
sparked economic uncertainty."
He noted that Abdurrahman's remarks about military coup
attempts and differences of opinion between him and the military
fostered the perception among foreign investors that the country
remained unsafe.
The government's plan to review business contracts with
foreign enterprises which were considered flawed and unrewarding
to the country was another contributor to investor jitters, he
added.
He said the President's round of overseas trips to attract
foreign investors would be fruitless without stability.
Akbar, who also heads the Golkar Party, said the government
could not justify the failure of its economic recovery,
considering that the President had established many boards and
appointed domestic and foreign advisers to assist him.
The government has set up two economic boards -- the National
Business Development Council led by tycoon Sofyan Wanandi and the
National Economic Council headed by Emil Salim -- and an
assistance team for the coordinating minister for the economy,
finance and industry, Kwik Kian Gie.
Abdurrahman also appointed former foreign leaders such as
Henry Kissinger and Lee Kuan Yew along with Indonesian chief
economist Widjojo Nitisastro as his advisers.
"I urge the government to give an all-out effort to revive the
current economic condition because it is the basic thing to
prevent further social unrest," he said.
Noted economist Sjahrir said that despite Abdurrahman's pledge
to put the economic recovery as the main priority of his Cabinet,
the government was sluggish in its efforts.
"I do not understand the reasons for establishing many
economic boards ... what are they doing, because it is obvious
that no significant improvements have occurred in the last five
months," Sjahrir said.
To improve the economic condition, Sjahrir underscored the
importance of law enforcement, especially in solving high-profile
graft cases implicating former president Soeharto and the Bank
Bali scandal.
"If the government could show serious intentions in upholding
the law, foreign investors will give their support."
He said the government was built on full legitimacy and there
should be no reason to delay effecting economic recovery.(dja)