Yet another economic team

Yet another economic team

In the four months that the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid has been in power, not much economic progress has been made. Some observers even say the government has lost the momentum to stimulate economic growth.

Aware of the obstacles (obstructing the effective operation of his economic team), Abdurrahman arrived at the idea of establishing an Economic Assistance Team to aid the Cabinet's economic team, led by Kwik Kian Gie. The new team would also serve to bridge the disparate views offered by the National Economic Council and the National Business Development Council. The first, after all, operates in the realm of economic theory, while the second is concerned more with the practical affairs of business.

The problem, though, is not that the views presented by the two existing councils need to be bridged, but how to increase the efficacy of both, each according to its specific role.

-- Republika, Jakarta