Indonesia's economy may expand more than 5.9 percent next year if the government pushes efforts to support the tradable sector that produces goods, economist Faisal Basri said Wednesday.
"The economy may expand 5.9 percent without the government doing anything (significant). It can be more if the government wants to push more efforts," he said after the launching of his book titled "Lanskap Ekonomi Indonesia" (The Landscape of Indonesian Economy).
Faisal said the sector providing services now had faster growth compared to the sector producing goods. For example, the growth of telecommunications sector has outpaced the manufacturing sector.
A faster growth rate in the manufacturing sector will help accelerate the decline of unemployment and poverty rates, he added.
"It's impossible to become a developed country without a strong manufacturing sector."
Faisal said the unemployment and poverty rates had continued to decline but at a slow pace, an issue that the government should address.
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