Indonesia must shape up to face competition: Mar'ie

Indonesia must shape up to face competition: Mar'ie

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad reiterated
yesterday that strengthening Indonesia's competitiveness and
resilience is one of the most pressing challenges facing the
country amid increasingly keener global competition.

Mar'ie said that overcoming these problems should be
Indonesia's foremost priority, stressing that the solution was to
strengthen the country's comparative and competitive advantages.

"Competitiveness will become even more complicated when it is
linked with issues like democracy, human rights and environment
as the developed countries like to do," he said at a ceremony
commemorating the 42nd Anniversary of the Airlangga University in
Surabaya, East Java.

"At the same time, our own society, which is quickly linking
with the world, will continue to compare Indonesia's situation
with that outside -- even if the comparison is not always
proportional," Mar'ie added.

He said such developments resulted from the country's success
in meeting people's basic needs.

People are now demanding quality, particularly freedom of
expression, he said.

"Ethics and morals, which are the foundations of a country,
will become increasingly high in people's aspirations," Mar'ie
said in his speech, a copy of which was sent to The Jakarta Post.

This is not the first time the minister has expressed his
views on ethics and morality. Mar'ie, known as "Mr. Clean" by the
press, has repeatedly raised issues of good governance and the
need for sound and fair business practices.

Mar'ie said development and business had become more complex
because moral and ethical dimensions had become a global
imperative.

"In politics, economics and business, it is not enough to have
a political and economic leadership. A moral leadership is now
required," he said.

To achieve good leadership, Mar'ie said, the principles of
"rationality, efficiency and morality" should be applied
harmoniously.

Mar'ie said a "participative approach" was needed, meaning
that people should be allowed to participate more in politics,
economics and society.

While Mar'ie considered long-term stability essential, he said
there should be more elbow room for people's critical and
creative capacities to develop.

Mar'ie said the private sector's bigger role should be seen as
positive for national development.

He said the government's role must be redefined and the
bureaucracy restructured.

"It is common knowledge that a large, bureaucratic government,
which is extremely centralized in its decision-making process, is
becoming more and more out of tune with today's developments," he
said.

Governments that work best are small organizations which
operate like an entrepreneur and are not procedure-oriented, he
said.

"Governments must be cost and benefit-oriented and have
respect for the public's interest," he said. (pwn)