Kadin deeply involved in policy making

Kadin deeply involved in policy making

One "civil society" organization that does not appear to have
a problem in participating in the policy-making process is the
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) with the
presence of several businessmen in the Susilo Cabinet.

Sofjan Wanandi, a chief Kadin advisor, said during the UNSFIR
conference on Wednesday that Kadin had helped prepare the
economic policies of the present government, noting that "80
percent of Kadin's Roadmap had been adopted by the government."

The Kadin Roadmap, detailing ways to reinvigorate the economy,
was the result of studies jointly conducted by Kadin and
representatives of foreign chambers of commerce in Indonesia.
Kadin has also been involved in the drafting of several bills,
including the latest on tax reform currently being debated in the
House.

Sofjan defended the active participation of the group saying
that the objective was to help the government restore business
confidence and thus bring back investors to Indonesia.

Recognizing the concerns of possible conflicts of interest of
the businessmen in the Cabinet, Sofjan said the rules today are
much clearer and more transparent than during the Soeharto years,
and that the media would be quick to bring attention to unsavory
practices.

Criticisms of possible conflicts of interest have been leveled
against Vice President Jusuf Kalla, a businessman-cum-politician
of the dominant Golkar party, chief economics minister Aburizal
Bakrie, formerly of the Bakrie Group, and Sugiharto, the state
minister for state enterprises. With President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono considering some personnel changes within his Cabinet,
critics have been saying he should get rid of the businessmen.

Sofjan asserted that the businessmen in the Cabinet should be
given more than a year to prove themselves, saying that it would
be unfair to judge them solely after one year in office.

The past year, he said, had been a time for the ministers to
adjust to the reality of government bureaucracy, so that if they
had not performed up to expectations, it was understandable.

"But there will be no more excuses in 2006. If they don't
perform, they'd better step down," he said. -- Endy M. Bayuni