The role of state enterprises

The dynamic developments occurring in society were reflected in the working conference held by the House of Representatives' Commission V with the mines and energy minister last Friday. It is no exaggeration to say that, at least in the public's awareness, that meeting was the most lively legislative debate ever held in the history of the legislature.

The dynamism shown during the meeting represents a healthy development. The House of Representatives is increasingly demonstrating its true function as a partner of the government and as a supervisor of its development policies. For the House, this momentum could become the starting point for its efforts to get itself attuned to the people's demands. We believe that a creative and active legislature, combined with increasingly transparent policies on the part of government ministries and the state-owned enterprises which they control, can help to calm the situation.

Our state-owned enterprises cannot isolate themselves from the influence of the dynamics at work in society lately. Our state- owned enterprises, together with cooperatives and private enterprises, are designed to be the main pillars of the Indonesian economy. In the course of history, however, private businesses have left those two partners far behind, seizing the lion's share of the country's development funds in the process, though about a thousand of those private businesses were eventually shown to have contributed to this country's economic downslide.

It is not easy for state-owned enterprises to return to their original intended calling. Yet it has to be done. People expect the state-owned enterprises to be a driving force to get out of the crisis.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta