Indonesia vows to pursue painful economic reforms

Indonesia vows to pursue painful economic reforms

WASHINGTON (AFP): Indonesia's finance minister pledged to
world leaders Tuesday that his government would stick with
painful economic reforms despite widespread suffering caused by
the Asian financial crisis.

"Let me reaffirm the strong commitment of my government to
continue reforms," Finance Minister Bambang Subianto said in a
speech at year-end meetings of the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund (IMF).

Forecasting the depth and breadth of the financial crisis that
began in Thailand 15 months ago would have been impossible, he
said.

"While a measure of financial stability has been restored in
some Asian countries, recovery is not in sight yet," he said,
adding that the "ripple has reached into far corners of the
world."

"For Indonesia the crisis has brought more than adverse
economic consequences," he said, alluding to the millions of
Indonesians pushed into poverty in the last year.

Enumerating elements of Indonesia's reform program -- such as
streamlining tax laws and increasing transparency -- Bambang
several times thanked the international community for aiding
Indonesia.

The IMF arranged a multi-billion-dollar bailout for Jakarta as
its problems worsened last year.

But the downward spiral continued, and austerity measures
fueled riots that brought down President Soeharto after more than
three decades in power.

On Monday, Indonesia reported that its gross domestic product
shrank dramatically and consumer prices soared in the first nine
months of the year.

GDP contracted 13.59 percent in the nine months to September
while inflation topped 75 percent, the country's top statistician
said.

For the whole of 1998, the economy is expected to shrink by
13.7 percent, according the head of the central Statistics
Bureau, Sugito.

The forecast was just short of the 15 percent contraction
predicted by the IMF for Indonesia's battered economy. Last year,
the economy grew 4.6 percent.