Independent team set up to help govt manage firms

JAKARTA (JP): The office of the Ministry for the Empowerment of State Enterprises has set up an independent team to help the government in managing state companies.

Sofyan Djalil, the deputy of the state minister for the empowerment of state enterprises, said on Thursday that the 14- member team, comprising businessmen, academicians and legislators, would provide inputs for the empowerment of state enterprises and enhance their role in promoting the people's economy.

"Members of the team are independent individuals who are working on a voluntary basis," he said.

The team, to be called the public policy-making team, includes among others Sugeng Sarjadi of Kodel Group, economist Pande Radja Silalahi, Anwar Nasution, Fachry Ali, Didiek Rachbini and Eki Sjakrudin, intellectuals Tjuk Sukiadi, Nurcholish Madjid, Bambang F. Yudhoyono, journalist Djafar Assegaf of Media Indonesia, and Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, the governor of the Yogyakarta special province.

The team would, for example, formulate alternatives and options in fostering mutually-beneficial relationships between small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), large corporations and state-owned firms in Indonesia.

Sofyan said that team had proposed the establishment of financial institutions such as a capital venture company to help in the development of small-scale companies in the country.

One concrete recommendation, he said, is the establishment of capital venture company PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) to carry out this task.

"PT PNM will provide fresh capital and expertise for small- scale businessmen in the country in order to improve their economic condition," he said. (aly)