Hamzah underlines need for recovery

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Vice President Hamzah Haz demanded on Tuesday that the public help maintain security and political stability to allow the real sector to recover, otherwise the economic crisis would worsen.

What was needed by this nation was knowing how to revive and encourage the real sector to grow, Hamzah said in a dialog with religious figures, representatives of the community, youths and women at the North Sumatra governor's office.

"If security and politics could be stabilized, God willing, the real sector of the business world would be able to run as usual," Hamzah said.

Besides the importance of maintaining security and political stability, the Vice President said the real sector also needed certainty in the conversion rate.

"Without speeding up the development of the real sector, it will be difficult for Indonesians to get out of the crisis," he said.

He reminded the audience that Indonesia had been categorized as a poor country with a per capita income of only US$400 to $500 per annum compared to the category's limit of $800.

Hamzah also expressed concern over the unequal distribution of development in which only the Greater Jakarta area seems to have developed as well as expected.

Development projects in other regions, especially in the outer islands, were still far behind, thereby sparking demand in a number of areas, especially Aceh and Irian Jaya, for independence, he said.

"We hope that this can be repaired through the implementation of regional autonomy," he said.

After the one-hour meeting, Hamzah visited Al-Kautsar Islamic boarding school and opened an executive meeting of leaders of the Muslim-based United Development Party in North Sumatra.