Public debates needed

Public debates needed

Minister of National Development Planning/Chairman of the
National Development Planning Board Ginanjar Kartasasmita in his
speech on the occasion of accepting an honorary doctor's degree
in development administration from Gajah Mada University in
Yogyakarta on April 15, said that all public policies which have
an extensive impact on the welfare of many should be transparent
and beneficial to the people at large. A public debate on the
subject should be held prior to the enacting of such a policy.

The topic of a public debate was again emphasized by Ginanjar
in a closed discussion with the editorial staff of the newspaper
Suara Pembaruan in Jakarta on Monday. According to the minister,
the time has come for public debates to be held, or intensified,
on matters of public policy that have a far reaching impact on
the welfare of the people. Such debates constitute the essence of
democracy, besides being required by the drive for modernization
and greater openness or transparency as well as by globalization.

Considered further, public debates are one manner of exerting
public control because it is through public debates that the
community is informed about certain policies and thus can prepare
to carry out such control when the policies are implemented.

-- Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta