'New govt must provide opportunity'

'New govt must provide opportunity'

Economists and labor analysts have warned of the possibility of a
higher unemployment rate this year due to heightened security and
the upcoming general elections, which may hinder investments and
thus worsen the statistic of about 40 million unemployed out of a
100 million-plus workforce. The Jakarta Post talked to a few
individuals who suggested that the nation focus on manpower and
employment issues in the new year.

Amin Said Husni is deputy secretary-general of the National
Awakening Party (PKB) and PKB faction chairman at the House of
Representatives (DPR):

We hope the 2004 elections will provide the momentum to
establish political stability. The president and vice president
will be elected directly by the people. The new president and
vice president will thus have more legitimacy from the people.

The state administration will become conducive to providing
more opportunities for the economy to grow. People can start
businesses, and economic recovery will take place.

Still, the nation has an important duty to strengthen law
enforcement.

If we do this well, we can hope for a better situation.
People's trust will grow and so will investors' trust, and an
increase in investment will push the economy forward and reduce
the number of unemployed.

Surya Tjandra, is executive director of the Trade Union Rights
Center and former deputy director of the Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute:

I hope this year would be better for workers and labor unions,
although I'm pessimistic about this due to the gloomy situation
for workers this year.

Workers and their unions should unite to fight exploitation by
employers. The manpower regulations applied in 2003 gave too much
power to the employers.

We can no longer expect the government to help settle labor
disputes because, according to the new regulations, the disputes
should be settled through a bipartite comprising workers and
employers.

Aan, 25, just graduated from the School of Economy at the
University of Atma Jaya. He lives with his parents in Pangkalan
Jati, South Jakarta:

For the general elections, the government must assure
nationwide security before and after the event to prevent any
chaos.

The direct presidential elections will be a new thing for our
country, through which we can really depend on a future leader
based on his or her qualifications. I hope all Indonesians will
think straight instead of emotionally when voting for the
president.

The elections are not only in the interest of a few select
people or parties; they are in the country's interest. Our next
president must be capable, intelligent and low-profile.

I hope the new administration will focus on the high
unemployment rate, which is over a million people. The government
must have a better plan and better policies to reduce the number
of unemployed and to eradicate -- as much as possible --
corruption, collusion and nepotism to provide an environment of
equal opportunity.

-- The Jakarta Post