Tycoons' commitment warmly welcomed

Tycoons' commitment warmly welcomed

JAKARTA (JP): Last week's "Bali Declaration," in which
business tycoons vowed to narrow the economic gap separating them
from their smaller counterparts, has been warmly welcomed by
politicians and observers, although many are anxious to see
concrete follow-up.

Bambang Trihatmodjo, deputy chairman of the ruling Golkar
party, who attended the Bali gathering which produced the
declaration, said here yesterday that the declaration reflected
the political will of Indonesia's largest business identities to
form partnerships with small entrepreneurs.

"The declaration's objective is the good of all. Thus we
should support it," Bambang said. "But we are waiting for the
government's response and follow-up actions from the
businessmen," he added.

In a similar vein, outspoken Minister of Transmigration
Siswono Yudohusodo, while greeting the initiative, said that he
preferred to see what the businessmen would do next.

"We have to wait for them to realize their agreement before we
can judge their seriousness," he said, adding that people should
not be doubtful nor suspicious about their intentions.

Chairman of the Indonesian Cooperatives Council Sri Edi-
Swasono also said that there was no need to be skeptical about
the declaration.

"But we should wait for its realization. It will be merely
rhetoric if it is not implemented," he said.

The "Bali Declaration", announced last Sunday after a two-day
meeting of leading Indonesian business figures in Jimbaran, Bali,
consisted of seven points.

The declaration said that the success of national development
depends on the active participation of all elements in society;
that democracy, which should be encouraged through solidarity
among all members of the business community, must be the basis of
economic development, but that the government should also be more
responsive and proactive in accommodating the needs of the
business world; and that economic development should be based on
Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees equal
welfare for all.

The declaration also recognized that to overcome the
challenges of development, a forum of dialog between the
government and the private sector was necessary; that such a
condition would prompt big businesses to be responsible for small
and medium-sized businesses, in the long run reducing the wide
economic gap between them; and that, to encourage their
development, it was necessary to provide small and medium-sized
businesses with sound support -- in the fields of human
resources, capital, market access and information -- but that
pampering them would, conversely, make them weak.

Meanwhile, businessman Sofyan Wanandi, who also took part in
the 100-person gathering, said here yesterday that a task force
would soon be established to follow up on the declaration.

Sofyan, who is the president of the Gemala group of companies,
said the planned task force -- consisting of 15 to 20 business
people -- would have an advisory board, with members such as
Soedwikatmono, Soedarpo Sastrosatomo, Sudono Salim and Eka Tjipta
Widjaja, and an executive board, comprised of younger
businessmen, such as Bambang Trihatmodjo, Aburizal Bakrie,
Anthony Salim and Prajogo Pangestu.

"Members of the executive board will be the ones who will
actively carry out the group's actions," Sofyan said.

The task force's main duty will be to identify the steps which
must be taken to narrow the gap between small and big business.

Sofyan said that a consultative meeting would soon be held to
obtain input from the government, legislators and the media.

He stressed that business problems were "very complicated" and
that, consequently, the public should not hope to see the Bali
Declaration implemented soon.

"Be patient. We have to asses all the problems and make a
priority scale of them," he said.

The task force, Sofyan said, would also meet with institutions
which already have special programs aimed at strengthening small
businesses through partnerships, to prevent the task force from
overlapping with those programs.

Institutions which have already conducted partnership programs
include the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through
its Guarantee Fund; the Prasetiya Mulya Foundation (the 2000
Partnership Program) and the Ministry of Finance (the Venture
Capital project).

Economist Didik J. Rachbini said that what was most important
in the attempt to narrow the economic gap was that small
businesses be encouraged to become involved in the network of big
businesses, with the government providing them with sound support
in that endeavor.

Didik, who is also the director of the Institute for the
Development of Economics and Finance, said that big businesses
should also open up their business streams to allow smaller
players to enter.

Deputy Secretary-General of the Association of Indonesian
Indigenous Businessmen Musni Umar, said that the biggest
challenge to partnership programs between big businesses and
their smaller counterparts was the poor managerial and financial
abilities of small business.

He said that some 80 percent of the total number of small
businesses in Indonesia were conducted by people of a low level
of education.

Such problems, he said, could only be solved through training
and education. (kod/swe/aks/pwn/imn)

Inequality -- Page 2