Streamlining the bureaucracy

According to Minister of Industry and Trade Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, the government intends to revamp port bureaucracies in order to facilitate import and export procedures.

"Red tape at ports must be eliminated. Things must not be made difficult for incoming ships," the minister said earlier this week.

An overhaul of port bureaucracies will expedite incoming and outgoing traffic and smooth port procedures, he said. This, in turn, would promote local and international trading activities.

Although he is not the cabinet minister in charge of ports, the remarks of this timber magnate turned industry and trade minister may illustrate the image of our bureaucracy, particularly in the communication sector.

The minister, who is no stranger to the world of sea communications, must be familiar with the complicated nature of (bureaucratic) procedures in this country. And this goes not only for sea communications.

In almost every sector of our lives, the bureaucracy is viewed as a frightening thing.

Economically, such complicated bureaucratic procedures are most damaging. It gives rise to a high-cost economy, which makes it difficult for Indonesian products to compete in the global market.

We do hope the minister's remarks concerning the streamlining of our bureaucracy can be made a reality. At the very least, such efforts could be made in the sector of trade, which falls under the jurisdiction of the minister. After all, in this sector too bureaucratic procedures are complicated.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta