Military plan of action

In a military organization, you will always find a commander, chief of staff and staff in the headquarters, and units to carry out the orders.

The commander, assisted by his chief of staff, makes all the planning that must be executed by the units and the supporting elements.

In the efforts to find a solution to our national economic and financial crisis, I see a similarity in organization to what I explained above.

Recently, the President has created the Dewan Pemantapan Ketahanan Ekonomi dan Keuangan (DPKEK), or the council for the stabilization and resilience of the economy and finance, which can be considered as the headquarters of the National Recovery Operation. President Soeharto is the commander and Prof. Widjojo Nitisastro serves as his chief of staff.

The headquarters will plan and translate all the points in the letter of intent signed between the IMF and the nation. All kinds of necessary actions will be mapped out by the headquarters, and a stream of instructions and orders will flow from here.

Two main actions are important. One is continuous and right actions in the economic and financial fields. Second is the restoration and maintenance of public trust and confidence in the government to secure wholehearted support.

It is difficult to say which one of the two is more important, because they support each other. So we find four vital elements working together to guarantee success.

1. The think tank and the headquarters of the whole national operation.

2. The units to carry out the plans mapped out by the headquarters or think tank.

3. The supporting units to create and maintain peace and order to give a conducive psychological atmosphere so that the government can execute all plans.

4. The public to be regularly informed of the development so that they maintain confidence and cooperation.

Let us look closely at the job description of each branch.

1. The DPKEK forms the headquarters of the whole national operation in all its aspects. Here we find all the competent and experienced officers, who will plan what should be done by making the right diagnosis and finding the right therapy, taking into consideration the availability of personnel and means.

2. The field units' task is to execute headquarters' plans, including on economic and financial matters.

3. The supporting units are to create and maintain an atmosphere of peace and order so that any situation arising out of the actions of the units can be explained accurately, to reach the maximum willingness of the people to support and cooperate with the government.

Most important is to keep people happy through providing them with enough food. The units should also find ways and means to suppress unfounded rumors by providing a regular stream of correct information. This task could be given to the coordinating minister of political affairs and security.

4. The public should realize that the government is doing its utmost to overcome this crisis. The people's trust and confidence on the government should be created and maintained. This task could be given to the Ministry of Information, supported by social and religious leaders.

I am convinced that by employing this method we will recover very soon, remembering that Indonesians are a nation of winners.

SOEGIH ARTO

Jakarta