Indonesia needs long-term vision, say economists

JAKARTA (JP): Economists yesterday stressed the importance of a long-term vision for the country's economic policies and strategies to face ongoing global-trade liberalization.

"We need to think with long-term perspectives if we want to see our economy perform well in the world market," noted economist Mari Pangestu of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said.

She said the shortage of long-term policies and strategies in Indonesia caused the country's industrial weakness and deteriorating competitiveness.

Mari and a director of the Econit advisory group, Rizal Ramli, were speaking at a hearing of the House of Representatives' Commission VI on industry, mining, manpower and investment.

She said the government has been designing economic policies for short-term interests. "We often see that the government operates by crisis management. It will react and do something if there is a crisis. This includes its deregulatory measures," she said.

She said the lack of long-term policies was evident in the country's industrialization programs, which had no clear direction.

She said the national car policy was one example. Last year the government allowed new investors into the automotive industry. But the government then issued a new car policy in February, allowing one company tax breaks for developing a national car, she said.

Mari said the government should consider two factors when designing its policies: local skills and new developments on international markets.

Blueprint

Rizal shared Mari's view, saying: "We need an economic blueprint that contains long-term strategies to compete on the international market."

"We have a strategy and policy concerning our economic sectors, but they are not comprehensive. We need a thorough strategy that describes every sector of the economy in detail," he said.

According to Rizal, the blueprint should clearly describe the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing Indonesian products now and in the future.

He said a blueprint was necessary for the country to win in a highly competitive world. Malaysia, Singapore and many other countries already have blueprints.

He said that human resource development was also vital amid increasing competition on the world market.

He said national human resource development was still poor, as evident in school curriculum which emphasized memory above analysis. (13)