Kadin seeks stronger partnership with local administrations

Zakki P. Hakim and Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hoping to take advantage of its increasing influence, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) wants to recruit more local businesspeople and strengthen public-private partnerships with local administrations.

During a two-day national meeting in Jakarta that will be opened on Tuesday by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Kadin hopes to introduce amendments to give more industry players and associations the opportunity to join the group.

"The meeting is expected to make a major decision on amending Kadin's membership system, which would enable more businesspeople to join the organization," Kadin said in a release on Monday.

Many prominent businesspeople, particularly Chinese- Indonesians, are not members of Kadin. Part of the reason for this is thought to be Kadin's past lack of influence in policy making and business ventures.

After years of being sidelined by the authorities, especially during the Soeharto era, Kadin has begun to gain influence in shaping the economic policies of the government, especially after several of its former executives joined Susilo's administration.

These include Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie -- both often referred to as "Kadin's boys".

Following the election of Susilo and Kalla, Kadin submitted a blueprint to the government on the revitalization of industry and investment.

Kadin was able to influence the central government to adopt its proposal on public-private partnerships, known by the acronym PPP, to boost economic development.

Kadin wants to expand public-private partnerships to the local level during its two-day national meeting, where governors and their respective provincial Kadin chairs are expected to sign memorandums of understanding on intensifying PPPs.

The two-day meeting will give businesspeople the opportunity to meet with top government officials such as Aburizal, State Minister for State Enterprises Sugiharto, Bank Indonesia Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah and State Minister for National Development Planning Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

Speaking at Kadin's pre-national meeting event on Monday, Sri Mulyani called on Kadin members to stress honesty in their business activities, in line with the organization's motto of "perseverance, honesty and loyalty".

"In these times, it is sometimes easier for businesses to secure a contract or net a more handsome profit if they `play dirty,'" she said.

"I am however hoping that Kadin members do not follow this trend, and instead maintain their professional entrepreneurship to help the government improve the country's business climate."

An issue Kadin members should particularly be concerned by, Sri Mulyani said, is improving their conduct in procurement tenders in the country, according to Presidential Decree No. 18/2000, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 80/2003 on procurement procedures.

Sri Mulyani also said Kadin members should play a bigger role in endorsing and helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate in procurement tenders.

Of the some 42 million SMEs in the country, only about 150,000 have ever participated in procurement tenders, she said.