Reelected head of chamber

Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie was reelected chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) for the 1999/2004 term at the end of the chamber's national congress on Friday.

Anyone has the right to be elected to the post of the chamber's chairman. But the most important thing is how to mold the association in such a way that it eventually becomes a partner of the government in making economic policies.

Business and the wider community alike hope that the chamber can support the creation of a sound and fair business climate that is free from economic malpractice.

The prolonged economic crisis has devastated the pillars of the national economy, while at the same time we are facing numerous demands for total reform in the sociopolitical sector, which sometimes gives rise to upheavals.

The Kadin leadership should be able to anticipate the numerous challenges. The role and function of the chamber as the government's dialog partner in making economic policies will increasingly become more important to enable Indonesia to get out of the economic crisis.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta