Moerdiono says no new economic polices

Moerdiono says no new economic polices

JAKARTA (JP): The government is not planning to issue any new
policies in the near future despite the continuing fall of the
rupiah.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said yesterday that it is
more important to remain vigilant and make a concerted national
effort to pull the country out of its current economic woes.

"We aren't looking or thinking of issuing new policies in the
economic sector in the near future," Moerdiono told reporters
after addressing a seminar on Economic Reforms and the Prospects
for the Business Sector in 1998.

The government last announced a significant policy change when
it issued a set of economic reforms in November following the
decision to seek monetary assistance from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) due to the declining value of the rupiah
against the U.S. dollar.

During his address, Moerdiono admitted that tough times were
ahead. He said the long dry season and the demands of Christmas,
New Year and the Moslem fasting month Ramadhan which fell in
succession helped exasperate the situation further.

"Several companies have even asked permission to dismiss their
workers," he said referring to the dire economic situation.

Moerdiono said the government would continue to solicit and
listen to suggestions from all parties to resolve the economic
turmoil.

He even went so far as to say that the government "should not
discount the possibility of error, weakness or even neglect in
formulating policies".

"We should never hesitate to be flexible in judging an issue
or formulating steps we have to take in the coming years," he
said. "In the end, we are only human."

But Moerdiono was quick to point out that many factors were
beyond the realm of the government and therefore public
participation, particularly in the business sector, is essential.

According to Moerdiono, among the fundamental challenges
facing the nation are workers' wages and bureaucratic
inefficiencies.

Moerdiono said demands for increased wages was something the
country could not avoid.

"It's quite clear that it would be inappropriate if we relied
on low workers' wages as a basis for the competitiveness of our
export commodities," he said.

"We have to believe that only a prosperous worker, with high
expertise, skills and creativity, can be the mainstay of our
competitive edge."

Turning his attention to the bureaucracy, Moerdiono said that
President Soeharto has pointed to "the role of an inefficient
government bureaucracy in contributing to a high cost economy".

"I believe this has long been a concern among us," he said
warning that "inefficiency stemming from government bureaucracy
can lessen our competitiveness in international trade."

Moerdiono said it could take up to two years before the
situation bounces back, and much of it depends on the people's
confidence in the economy.

"I want to stress the importance of trust. We need to unite,
both the government and the private sector, to restore public
trust," the state minister said.

In Semarang, Central Java, the assistant to the minister of
national development planning Mubyarto said the government must
show it is on the side of wong cilik, the common people.

Mubyarto, in charge of poverty eradication, said in the
current economic crisis the government must not remain neutral
but show that it is siding with those on the lower economic
strata.

He argued that there was still an apparent lack of readiness
by many government officials to help empower the people from the
lower class. (prb/har/mds)