MPR defends special decree on economic recovery

MPR defends special decree on economic recovery

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Responding to the criticism of economists, members of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) said on Wednesday a special
decree on economic recovery provided sufficient guidelines for
the government to accelerate the recovery process.

"The decree contains recommendations about what the government
should do in specific areas of economic recovery, such as foreign
debt and privatization," Potsdam Hutasoit, the deputy chairman of
the Assembly's second ad hoc committee for the drafting of MPR
decrees, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He reasoned that recommendations in the decree should not be
too specific because important steps in the economic recovery had
already been established in the 1999/2004 State Policy
Guidelines.

"(I)n the decree, we are just highlighting several things that
the government must do," Potsdam, who is from the largest faction
in the MPR, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) faction, added.

Discussion of the special decree on economic recovery will be
one of the focuses of the Assembly's Annual Session, which will
take place from Aug. 1 through Aug. 10.

The decree is meant to be a blueprint of comprehensive
economic guidelines for economy recovery.

Economists, however, have criticized the draft as being "too
general and lacking in clear-cut guidelines", which they say
could lead to misinterpretation and abuse by vested political
interests.

Potsdam argued that the decree was simplified with a view
toward the fourth amendment of the 1945 Constitution, which, if
passed, would mean the MPR would no longer be the state's highest
lawmaking body.

"If that happens, then the MPR will not have the right to make
decrees ... so, eventually, the decree (on economic recovery)
would be annulled," he said.

The Assembly rejected the draft decree when it was first
proposed at the 2001 Annual Assembly, saying passing such a
decree on economic recovery was not an urgency.

But the MPR later issued a decree assigning an Assembly
working committee to study the draft, which was proposed by a
group of economists from the New Indonesian Alliance, led by
noted economist Sjahrir.

Potsdam said the decision to continue discussion of the decree
was made at the suggestion of some members of the working
committee, who supported its passage.

However, he did not give details on which factions on the
committee supported or opposed the decree.

After a year of study, the MPR finalized the draft decree,
which has five policy principles, ranging from improvement in the
coordination between related state institutions to improving the
infrastructure of the domestic economy.

It also has four policy recommendations, including pushing the
country's political rulers to prioritize economic recovery;
establishing a clear-cut delegation of authority between the
government, the House of Representatives and the central bank;
and pushing for immediate action from the President and state
institutions to accelerate economic recovery.

Elsewhere, Sofjan Wanandi, the chairman of the National
Economic Recovery Committee, joined in the chorus of criticism of
the decree.

From the point of view of the country's business community,
Sofjan said the MPR decree was "half-heartedly drafted" and would
not help further the country's economic recovery.

He said the decree should contain clear measures that
addressed the issues, and specific targets to be achieved.

"With clear measures and specific targets, we could gather all
the resources for economic recovery," he told the Post.