RI vows better business climate

RI vows better business climate

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono acknowledged on Sunday his country needed to speed up reforms and insisted he was committed to creating a better environment for business.

He told an ASEAN business forum here that Indonesia was still in the process of recovering from its political and financial crises and was moving along the path to democracy.

"I have to admit that we have to accelerate the process of reforms into building good governance, be more efficient, effective, tighter, accountable and of course clean," said the president.

"We are working very hard to fight corruption. And of course even though we are want to accelerate the process, I have to be frank that the issues are large," he said.

Susilo, who took office in October 2004, has promised to root out world-leading levels of bribery and kickbacks that have poisoned the Indonesian economy in the eyes of many foreign investors.

Watchdog Transparency International places Indonesia high on a list of most-corrupt countries globally, and graft in the court system is seen as a particular problem.

Susilo again pledged his commitment to change.

"It is my commitment to give you this viewpoint to seek a better climate to accelerate the process of reform -- including bureaucratic reforms, including having a healthier business environment," he said.

The president said he had spearheaded several pro-business initiatives, including meeting this year with over 30 top Indonesian business leaders to hear their complaints.

Businesses will also have consultations every two months with ministers to voice their opinions, he said.

Security concerns and bureaucracy have also slowed down much- needed investment while critics have charged that the government's economic policies lack cohesion and coordination.

Susilo earlier this month reshuffled his cabinet, assigning two respected faces to his economic team.

At the same forum, Susilo also floated a vision for greater energy cooperation among Southeast Asian countries and beyond, saying the region needed to join forces to cope with spiraling consumption.

Susilo said joint efforts could capitalize on the different strengths of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, including major fossil fuel producers Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Indonesia's plan realizes "that some of us are oil producing countries and others have capital to be shared in building refineries, in trading, in many things, including in developing bio-energy," he said.

Susilo told the forum that as well as bilateral initiatives within the region, Asia-Pacific nations could also consider forging alliances with other regions like the Middle East.

"We are thinking of that kind of approach and direction," he added.

The Indonesian leader warned that fuel consumption would continue to spiral in the years to come, underlining the need for greater regional cooperation.

"In my own view the consumption of oil will be increasing dramatically in the decades to come in East Asia," he said. "China and India, they will be the biggest consumers of oil."

In Indonesia, which produces, oil, gas and coal, "our domestic consumption is also rising dramatically, in transportation and industries also."

The issue of energy cooperation is looming on the agenda of the ASEAN summit, which will be held here Monday and Tuesday.

Susilo said ASEAN had already agreed to work towards boosting joint efforts over energy.

"We have agreed within ASEAN to have a more effective energy cooperation," he said, citing ongoing plans to produce a Southeast Asian electricity grid.