Resilience council line-up reshuffled

Resilience council line-up reshuffled

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has removed Widjojo
Nitisastro from the position of secretary-general of the Economic
and Monetary Resilience Council, a body set up to oversee the
implementation of the country's economic reform program.

The President, through decree No. 47 issued March 19, named
the Salim Group's Anthony Salim to succeed Widjojo, who moves to
the vice chairman's post on the council.

The council is chaired by Soeharto himself.

The new decree also establishes a special executive body to
carry out the council's daily activities.

The executive body, chaired by Coordinating Minister of
Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita, is obliged
to report its activities to the President.

The resilience council was established in January to supervise
the implementation of the 50-point economic reform program agreed
to by Soeharto and International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing
director Michel Camdessus as the condition for an IMF-sponsored
US$43 billion rescue package.

"The secretary-general of this council will have full
responsibility and authority to ensure the timely implementation
of the reform measures agreed to with the IMF," Soeharto says in
his Jan. 15 letter of intent to Camdessus.

The State Secretariat distributed copies of the President's
decree to the media yesterday without explanation.

Widjojo could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

Anthony is a member of the Corporate Foreign Debt Settlement
Team, set up in January and chaired by former minister of finance
Radius Prawiro.

The team is assigned to assist Indonesian private enterprises
to settle a total of $73.96 billion in debts with their overseas
creditors.

The council's membership was also partly changed due to the
establishment of the new cabinet. Members of the previous council
included ministers who held council positions on an ex-officio
status.

The members of the current council include Ginandjar, Minister
of Finance Fuad Bawazier, Minister/State Secretary Saadilah
Mursjid, Minister of Industry and Trade Mohamad "Bob" Hasan,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, Minister of Empowerment
of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng, Governor of Bank Indonesia
Sjahril Sabirin, Radius Prawiro and chairman of the Federation of
Domestic Private Banks Atmosardjono Subowo. (prb)