Kadin wants business-minded ministers
Kadin wants business-minded ministers
Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) called
on Monday for presidential candidates to select as their key
economic ministers those who understood business and the
financial markets, and urged them to announce their ministerial
lineups in advance of the runoff ballot on Sept. 20.
Kadin said this was imperative in order to allow the public,
particularly businesspeople, to make a well-informed judgment
when voting.
"Otherwise, it will be like buying a cat in a sack," Kadin's
chairman Mohammad S. Hidayat said.
Hidayat said that the business community wanted to see the
economic portfolios in the future Cabinet being filled by figures
who had experience of business and who understood the problems
facing the country.
"We don't want economic ministers who are only good at
(economic) theory. This is not good for the business community.
We want experienced people," said Hidayat after a meeting with
presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the incumbent
president, Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Susilo and Megawati were invited by Kadin to present their
economic manifestos as they will contest the run-off in
September, unless the Constitutional Court overturns the
decisions of the General Election Committee (KPU) to name them as
the winner and runner-up respectively in the first round of the
presidential election in July. Eliminated presidential candidate
Wiranto claims that he, in fact, came second, and has filed a
petition with the Constitutional Court to review the KPU
decision.
Hidayat explained that economic ministers who were only "good
at economic theory" should be excluded from the next Cabinet as
they would take too long to become acquainted with the huge
problems facing the business community.
"We want ministers who can take quick and effective action to
restore the nation's real sector to health. We don't need
newcomers who still need time to learn about the problems being
faced by business," he said.
The economic team in the current Cabinet is dominated by
academics and civil servants. Ministers who come from the private
sector are State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi,
who is a former banker, and Minister of Industry and Trade Rini
MS Soewandi, who is the former president of automotive giant PT
Astra International. The team has been lauded for improving the
country's macro-economic indicators, but has often been
criticized for failing to improve the state of the real sector.
Kadin's statement came amid rumors that both Susilo and
Megawati were likely to choose academics for their economic
teams, if elected.
Susilo is said to be eyeing economists Faisal Basri, Mari
Pangestu, Sri Mulyani, and Budi Setiadharma, the current
president director of Astra, to serve as his economic ministers.
Meanwhile, rumors say Megawati will maintain most of her
economic team, with a number of exceptions, including
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti.