Kwik vows to push economic team to meet IMF deadline

JAKARTA (JP): Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie vowed on Tuesday he would work to ensure there would be no more delays in the implementation of the IMF-sponsored economic reform programs.

But Kwik added he could not fully guarantee his new economic team would be able to meet future IMF deadlines.

"There's no guarantee, but I will work hard so that there will be no more delays," Kwik said during a seminar on the economy.

"We're dealing with people here, it's different with mathematics or chemistry," he pointed out.

But Kwik said he was optimistic the country's new economic team would be able to implement the new economic measures to be signed with the IMF, particularly because he had gained experience in implementing past programs.

The government was lambasted for its failure to meet a March 31 deadline to implement several economic measures agreed to with the IMF in a letter of intent signed in January. The delay prompted the IMF to postpone the disbursement of its loan to the country.

The government claims it was able to complete the implementation of the majority of the crucial programs by the new deadline of April 21.

Kwik said delays in the implementation of the reforms was partly the result of the sluggish bureaucratic system, which was inherited from the administration of former president Soeharto.

"I have to deal with a bureaucratic system that has been corrupt and inefficient for 32 years," he said.

The slow progress in implementing the economic measures apparently disappointed President Abdurrahman Wahid, who dismissed on Monday State Minister of Investment and State Enterprises Development Laksamana Sukardi and Minister of Trade and Industry Yusuf Kalla.

Laksamana was replaced by his secretary-general, Rozy Munir, while Kalla's post was filled by Lt. Gen. Luhut Panjaitan, who is currently the ambassador to Singapore.

Many analysts have expressed concern with the capabilities of the new economic ministers, and experts have doubted whether they will improve the Cabinet's performance in resolving the country's economic woes.

The dismissal of the two senior ministers had been rumored in Jakarta for quite some time. Kwik's position in the Cabinet was also rumored to be in jeopardy.

Kwik said he was prepared if Abdurrahman chose to dismiss him, because reshuffling the Cabinet was the prerogative of the President.

Kwik declined to comment on the dismissal of the two ministers, particularly the replacement of Laksamana, his colleague at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which won last June's general election but failed to bring its chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri to the presidency.

"It's better for me not to comment, at least until I meet with Gus Dur," he said, referring to the President by his nickname.

Separately, Arif Arryman of the ECONIT consultancy group said during a seminar the replacement of Laksamana and Kalla was a move by the President to place his own people in the Cabinet in a bid to create a more effective administration.

Rozy is an executive at the National Awakening Party (PKB), which was cofounded by Abdurrahman, and Luhut is a friend of the President.

But Arif was skeptical about the new ministers' ability to improve the performance of the Cabinet's economic team.

He pointed out that the financial market reacted negatively to the Cabinet reshuffle. Arif said Abdurrahman should have placed people not associated with any political parties in senior economic minister positions to gain credibility.

He said the role of the economic ministers was crucial in bargaining with the IMF in designing and implementing economic reform programs.

Arif said Indonesia lagged behind other crisis-hit Asian nations in its recovery efforts because of the economic ministers' lack of ability to bargain with the IMF.

"The IMF is flexible, but we need a strong economic team to be able to take advantage of that flexibility."

Indonesia has been cooperating with the IMF since November 1997, and the fund is sponsoring the country's economic reform measures. (rei)