Widjojo to head new economic team

Widjojo to head new economic team

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid announced Wednesday
that he's planning to create a team of economic experts to
support his economic ministers.

Abdurrahman said that the new unofficial team will be headed
by Widjojo Nitisastro, the chief economic adviser of former
president Soeharto and one of the country's economic architects
in the 1970s.

"We'll try to form a team ... to support Kwik Kian Gie (and
his) economic team," he told a press conference referring to the
Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian
Gie.

Abdurrahman dismissed fears that the new economic team would
be overlapping with a similar team formed recently including the
National Economic Council (DEN) and the National Business
Development Council (DPUN).

He pointed out that DEN's charter was to give second opinions
to the President on economic issues, while DPUN's focus is to
help the business sector to create one million jobs this year.

He said that the Widjojo-led team would include Sri Mulyani, a
noted economist and secretary general of DEN; Ali Markus of DPUN,
and another noted economist Faisal Basri, who is also a senior
executive of the National Mandate Party (PAN).

The plan to form the new economic team is made amid
speculation of increasing quarreling among economic ministers,
DEN and DPUN people, which some fear may become a hindrance to
efforts to revive the ailing economy.

The government has been under strong criticism for its languor
in restructuring the country's banking and real sector.

The government, which effectively controls most of the
country's economic assets, apparently doesn't have a shared
vision of what to do with those assets.

Widjojo is a U.S. trained economist and is popularly known
here as one of the so-called "Berkeley Mafia." Widjojo has
extensive experience in coordinating functions.(rei/prb)