Laksamana says no sign his job is at risk

Laksamana says no sign his job is at risk

JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Investment and State
Enterprises Development Laksamana Sukardi said on Tuesday
President Abdurrahman Wahid gave no indication to him his job
might be on the line.

"I met with Gus Dur (the President's nickname) several times
over the past few weeks but he never indicated that I would
shortly be replaced," Laksamana said in reply to rumor he would
be fired.

Political circles have been abuzz in recent weeks with rumors
that Laksamana, who represents Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in the
Cabinet, would be replaced by a senior official in his office who
was allied with another major political party.

Political parties are reportedly vying for Laksamana's
position, which is considered strategic for raising funds through
its authority over all state companies.

Informed sources said on Monday that some officials in
Laksamana's office often sabotaged his drive to clean up state
companies from corrupt managers.

The sources said the transparent system introduced by
Laksamana to select managers for state companies also was often
undermined by strong political lobbying.

Laksamana, who talked to reporters on the sidelines of a
seminar, added he would not implement some of the policies
adopted by his predecessor, Tanri Abeng, notably the plan to set
up 10 holding companies to manage all state enterprises.

"Forget it. The International Monetary Fund and Asian
Development Bank did not agree on the plan. Besides, it will only
create more bureaucratic layers and reduce the transparency of
companies," Laksamana added.

Liquidation

Laksamana said money-losing public companies which did not
hold good future prospects would be closed.

Economist Didik Rachbini concurred that Laksamana should not
hesitate to liquidate nonproductive state firms.

"The ministry can start with liquidating such unviable
companies as Semen Kupang, Sarana Karya, PANN, Kliring and Soda,"
Didik said after the seminar.

Commenting on a foreign survey on the government's policy on
foreign investment, Laksamana admitted the government failed to
satisfactorily respond to concerns and complaints raised by
international investors.

He blamed the failure mainly on the lack of commitment and
coordination among government institutions related to foreign
investment activities.

"Government institutions are going their own way, speaking
different languages in handling foreign investors. No wonder
foreign investors see us as unresponsive to their concerns."

Laksamana was commenting on the latest Asian Intelligence
report issued by regional consultancy firm Political and Economic
Risk Consultancy Ltd. (PERC). The report ranked Indonesia as the
second most unresponsive Asian country to foreign investor
concerns after China.

The report said foreign investors did not experience serious
problems in channeling their concerns to the Indonesian
government. However, while they could gain access to senior
government leaders, even such officials "usually can have only
limited effectiveness in getting bureaucracies to set aside turf
wars", PERC said.

It polled more than 500 expatriates working in Asia in the
first quarter this year and found there was a gap between
measures to help foreign investors and the delivery of results,
according to an AFP report.

PERC named Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan as the best three
Asian countries in terms of satisfactory responses to foreign
investor concerns.

A member of the National Economic Council, Anggito Abimanyu,
said he was unsurprised by the report's findings.

Anggito said foreign investors were dismayed by the lack of
legal certainty in Indonesia, a condition that adversely affected
their businesses here.

Indonesia's legal system spooked foreign investors after the
district court in Tondano, North Sulawesi, ordered mining company
PT Newmont Minahasa Raya to close its gold mine in the area for
failing to pay back taxes on mining overburdens.

In North Sumatra, PT Inti Indorayon Utama pulp and rayon
producer has stopped production since mid-1998 due to strong
protests from locals alleging environmental damage caused by the
company's operations. (cst)