Poor aren't getting poorer: Ginandjar

Poor aren't getting poorer: Ginandjar

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's rich may be getting richer, but its
poorest citizens have not been getting poorer, State Minister of
National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita said
yesterday.

Ginandjar, who also chairs the National Development Planning
Board, refuted the suggestion that the poorest people in
Indonesia have not enjoyed the fruits of development, in spite of
the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

"It is not true that the people at the lowest layer have not
advanced under the development program," Ginandjar told reporters
after he and the chairman of the Central Bureau of Statistics,
Arsyad Anwar, met with President Soeharto at Merdeka Palace.

Those who suggest that the poor are getting poorer have based
their analysis on statistical indicators such as the number of
people who live below the poverty line, Ginandjar said.

Had they used figures for the incomes of the people in the
lowest 40 percent, they would have learned that there has been
improvement, he added. "The point is that these poor people also
experienced rapid growth".

On the other hand, Ginandjar admitted that those in the upper
income bracket experienced much faster growth in their incomes.
"This is because they are in a better position to take advantage
of the opportunities offered through economic deregulation,
export (incentives), credit facilities and others."

"The widening income disparity has been caused by the
different rates of income growth. It does not mean that the
incomes of the poorest people have been stagnant or that they
have become poorer."

According to the latest official statistics, nearly 26 million
of Indonesia's 195 million people still live below the poverty
line. The government has designed various programs to improve
their lot.

"I just want to emphasize here that the President is truly
concerned about the income disparity and that he is seriously
handling the problem," Ginandjar said.

The minister also rejected suggestions that the Indonesian
economy is dominated by a few conglomerates.

Comparing their sales and revenue turnover to the gross
national product is misleading, he asserted, because the turnover
calculates not only the sales but also the entire production
costs at every stage of manufacturing.

To measure their real contribution to the GDP, Ginandjar
suggested that the added value incurred by the companies would be
a more appropriate measurement. (emb)