Open tenders

Open tenders

Your paper often publishes advertisements by PT Total
Indonesie openly inviting bidders to take part in a tender. I
think this way of announcing a tender is laudable. It is a
foreign company and it abides by the democratic way of doing
business in Indonesia.

I would like to call on everyone of us to engage in healthy
competition. I don't believe in the perception that competition
kills weaker entrepreneurs. On the contrary, competition should
encourage the weak to learn from experience and how to survive.

President Soeharto in his New Year's address stated that
openness should not only be applied in politics but in the
economy. This implies that everybody is supposed to have the same
economic opportunities and access to information.

We should also uphold a code of ethics. When business ethics
prevail, practices of collusion are minimized.

Do open tenders in Indonesia reflect openness in the economy?
Do companies here which have gone public conduct open tenders in
the media? Even though I do not understand the entire tender
procedure, I have my doubts.

PORIAMAN SITANGGANG

Jakarta