The task ahead

The task ahead

In view of the pressure of inflation, which is expected to be
quite high, the new government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri
and Vice President Hamzah Haz will have to work extra hard and
with extra caution.

One of the keys to resolving the problems at hand is forming a
cabinet so that the work can begin and the national economy put
in order. Any tendency for the formation of the new cabinet to be
delayed could cause the markets to become uneasy. In short, the
homework that has to be done by the Mega-Hamzah team working on
the cabinet is not insignificant.

Some aspects of that homework include bringing about economic
recovery, establishing political stability and security, and
upholding the law. All these aspects will have to be given the
greatest attention.

The fact that Vice President Hamzah appears to have a real
wish to achieve national reconciliation -- and we certainly hope
that he will be successful -- gives the new coalition cabinet
some added stature.

A combination of all these measures will hopefully provide
fuel for the nation's economic machine so that we can more
swiftly make up for the ground we have lost so far.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta