Kadin calls for affirmative action
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the House Budget Commission suggested yesterday the drafting of a new economic and political policy to propel the indigenous into the economic mainstream.
The chamber's chairman, Aburizal Bakrie, said at a hearing with the commission that the indigenous made up 95 percent of the country's 200 million people but were deprived economically.
He said Indonesia needed to take affirmative action to empower the indigenous people before more political explosions occurred.
"We have been following the balance principle in our political and economic life. However, our economic condition is far from balanced. That's why we need a new economic, political policy to correct the situation," Aburizal said.
Indonesians of Chinese descent, who make up less than 5 percent of the Indonesian population, control more than 60 percent of the economy.
Aburizal cited Malaysia's New Development Policy, which was then the New Economic Policy, as an example of a deliberate affirmative program to drive indigenous Malaysians into economic power.
The Malaysia's New Economic Policy, launched in 1970, had the clear goal of distributing 30 percent of the nation's wealth to indigenous Malaysians.
Non-Malay controlled companies were obliged to restructure if they wanted to bid for government work or go public. This meant selling 30 percent of stock at a discount to eligible Malaysians.
"The objective was clear; capitalization on the side of the indigenous. Yes, there were abuses. That's all right. But there must have been a number of people growing big, benefiting from such policy," Aburizal said.
Malaysia's Economic Development Policy, which succeeded the New Economic Policy in 1991, put no time limit on the redistribution of wealth, and replaced rigid numerical targets with general guidelines. But it still sided toward the empowerment of the indigenous' economically.
Aburizal said Indonesia had initiated a program to empower the indigenous in mid-1955 with the so-called Benteng Program, which resulted in many abuses and was halted.
Most recently the government introduced the so-called "Kepres 16" which favored "Indonesian origins" (indigenous) in tendering government projects.
"And we need more like Kepress 16," Aburizal said.
Legislator Bomer Pasaribu from the ruling Golkar faction supported Aburizal's suggestion, saying that Indonesia needed to take corrective measures to redistribute its productive assets.
"Empowering the indigenous without corrective measures is just nonsense," Bomer said.
Tadjudin Noer Said, also from Golkar faction, shared the view, saying the focus should be on empowering small and medium enterprises, owned by the indigenous.
"Empowering small and medium enterprises would also improve our competitiveness in the regional, or even the global market," Tadjudin said. (rid)