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