Next govt must tackle economic woes: Survey
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The administration of president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must make tackling the economic problems afflicting the country's most needy as its top priority if it wants to stay the course for the next five years, an independent survey revealed on Tuesday.
The Jakarta-based Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) in its post-election survey revealed that over 60 percent of respondents wanted to see Susilo's administration tackle the economic problems that have plagued the country since 1997.
"Forty seven percent of respondents said that high prices of basic commodities concerned them most, while another 21 percent stated that unemployment was the most crucial issue," the survey said.
For the survey, the LSI interviewed 1,200 respondents in the country's 32 provinces, including strife-torn Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Maluku, between Oct. 2 and Oct. 4. The margin of error is 2.9 percent.
The survey also found that 48.1 percent of respondents considered the country's economic situation as being very bad, against 37.3 percent who said that conditions were normal.
The Susilo administration will likely have to work hard to justify any move to cut fuel subsidy spending, which has reached an astronomical Rp 62 trillion (US$6.8 billion), as 25.5 percent of respondents wanted the government to maintain fuel price stability as part of its main economic priorities during its first 100 days in office.
The chronic corruption that has plagued the country for decades did not seem to bother the respondents, however, with only 5.7 percent of the respondents saying they considered it the most pressing problem facing the new government.
The public also showed little interest in seeing Susilo's government put terrorism at the top of its list. "Only 1.3 percent considered that terrorism is the most crucial issue the country has currently to deal with," the survey said.
LSI chief researcher Sjaiful Mujani said that Susilo did not have to listen to everything the public said. "Raising the fuel price would be a difficult decision as the public will surely oppose it, but on the other hand the amount of subsidy spending is already too burdensome for the state budget. However, he could compensate for the fuel price hike with a stepped up drive against corruption," he said.
He said that public resentment against fuel price hikes could be allayed by taking legal action against suspected corruptors. "He needs to apply shock therapy," Sjaiful said.
Economist Rizal Ramli said that Susilo's administration should concentrate its efforts on mitigating the economic woes that afflict the most needy if it wanted to see out its 2004-2009 term.
"President Megawati Soekarnoputri lost the election because her administration only focused on fiscal stability, which in fact has little to do with the ordinary people's well-being," he said.
Susilo, who won the Sept. 20 election in a landslide victory, will assume the national leadership on Oct. 20.