Help those who are in need

Help those who are in need

If any certainty existed that the situation would improve
soon, the general suffering in our country would not be as great.
The problem is that in order to cure our ailing economy, even
greater suffering is necessary before the illness can be healed.
Among other things, a number of subsidies that are now burdening
our state finances must be eliminated. In the terminology used by
International Monetary Fund (IMF) experts, this kind of therapy
is referred to as a structural adjustment.

The fact that such therapy can aggravate the plight of the
poor is much regretted by the IMF. That is why an agreement has
been reached with the World Bank and other donors to launch a
number of programs aimed especially at helping the poor.
Subsidies for basic necessities, such as food and medicine, will
still be allowed.

The problem is how to ensure that the subsidies benefit those
who actually need them and not those who merely want to fish in
murky waters. For instance, more than half of the current sugar
subsidies benefit our soft drink industries, and only 30 percent
of our subsidized kerosene supplies are used by individuals,
while the rest are used by industries. Should we also continue
subsidizing state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik
Negera (PLN), which serves mostly middle and upper class people
rather than the poor?

We cannot rely on the government alone to solve this problem.
Help from the people's representatives is needed to persuade all
those who voted for them to unite and make sure that all the
expensive government subsidies actually reach those who need
them. This must be done immediately.

Bearing all this in mind, we should not need to question
whether the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly
would proceed smoothly. Our assumption would be that the time
used during the Assembly's sessions in this way would result in a
solution to the real hardships the public is facing. After all,
is that not the reason why we chose these representatives?

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta