Sri Edi for envoy to U.S.

As chairman of House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I for foreign affairs, I still think that the government should nominate another candidate for Indonesia's ambassador to the United States, besides Sumadi Brotodiningrat, who will reach the official retirement age within one year.

The House would also be in a better position to conduct a more democratic and transparent selection if it is given the chance to choose from at least two candidates. Several other members of my commission such as Hajriyanto Thohari of the Golkar faction and deputy chairman Aisyah Amini of the United Development faction also share my view about the need for two candidates.

We need at least two candidates to be able to make the best choice.

We think senior economist Sri Edi Swasono, a former leader of the Indonesian Cooperatives Council and vanguard of the grassroots economic movement, is another highly qualified candidate for the position at the U.S. mission.

Our envoy to the U.S. should be an economics expert, who is able to lobby for Indonesian interests, notably those with regard to the development of the grassroots economy, and Sri Edi, who has always fought for the empowerment of cooperatives, fits that bill.

Even Soetardjo Soeryoguritno, House deputy speaker of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, also sees Sri Edi as the most qualified candidate for the U.S. mission, especially because he is a U.S-trained economist and still has an extensive network of contacts in that country.

Indonesian businesspeople, who have extensive business contacts in the U.S., also support Sri Edi as the most suitable candidate, who will be able to exert an effective lobby in Washington where the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are headquartered.

Tony Agus Ardie, chairman of the United States Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), told me recently that Sri Edi is most capable of communicating and fighting for the interests of Indonesia's grassroots economy in the U.S.

Tony told me that his monitoring of influential leaders in the Senate and American business community also showed that they would be much more comfortable having Sri Edi in the Indonesian mission in Washington.

IBRAHIM AMBONG Chairman of Commission I of DPR

Jakarta