Remove flour subsidies

Comments on the flour business are getting sharper. This is so not only because the protected sector has not been touched by deregulation measures, but also because the disguised subsidy is so huge.

It is not surprising that so many parties are now raising objections to the protection and subsidies received since 1979. In a series of sessions in the House of Representatives during the past year the issue -- previously untouchable -- has also been raised.

The discussions are based on the public's realization that protection of the flour business continues to cause considerable damage. Consumers are forced to pay prices that are higher than normal, while the growth of industries which rely on flour, both downstream and upstream, is hampered.

If we are now raising the question of unfair subsidies, which have long encumbered consumers, it is obviously not inconsiderate to speak of the privileges that are being enjoyed by certain people. In this era of openness and globalization the business sector must open itself up to healthy competition practices so that the public is not unjustly burdened.

If it is the government's intervention that has led to the protection of the flour business, now the government must intervene to end it.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta