|
Good Start for Megawati Spurs Confidence in Jakarta
by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA, Aug 13 (IslamOnline) - A good start for new Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri with a cabinet of professionals has spurred confidence in Jakarta, sources said Monday.
Despite criticism that the military has been offered ministerial posts, and the fact that the cabinet itself is composed of a huge majority of ethnic Javanese ministers, the rate of the Indonesian Rupiah to the U.S. dollar improved Monday.
Indonesia is pinning hopes that a cabinet of professionals, devoted to pulling Indonesia out of its economic doldrums will prove positive to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team due to arrive in Jakarta soon.
Even though the economic team has yet to initiate any policy measures, praises are pouring in for Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Djakti upon whom great expectations are anticipated.
Observers in Jakarta told IslamOnline that the economic team has the potential to fulfill crucial needs of the country by reversing the current economic downturn, stabilizing the Rupiah and creating necessary jobs.
By Monday, the Indonesian currency had reached Rp8750 for one U.S. dollar, sending positive signals to banks and the business circle.
Importers are hoping that the Rupiah stabilizes below Rp8000 to the dollar, a rate that would help bring down the price of imported goods.
The government and economic observers, however, warned markets in Indonesia not to be euphoric about the sudden fall of the U.S. dollar, saying that the country's huge debts will pull the Rupiah down sooner or later.
A 61-year-old former student activist, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Djakti, with over 30 million unemployed and a foreign debt exceeding $154 billion, is coming to the office of chief economics minister with a heavy burden.
His tasks will be made more difficult due to increasing calls for a larger share of economic resources being exploited by the central government from its richest regions, Riau, Aceh and Irian Jaya.
Experts on economic issues in the country said Monday the economics minister is assured of success due to the high profile members making up his team.
He has the assistance of the former minister of finance, the new minister for national development, Kwik Kian Gie, State Enterprises Empowerment Minister Laksamana Sukardi and Trade and Industry Minister Rini Soewandi (Suwandi).
Kuntjoro-Djakti, an economics professor, returned from Washington D.C., where he served as Indonesia's ambassador to the U.S., to takeover the economics post. He is aware that Megawati is praising her own cabinet line-up.
However, Kuntjoro-Djakti also knows that the cabinet line-up alone will not resolve the problems of the vast archipelago, with its 220 million people.
An editor in one of the most frugal websites in Indonesia wrote: "Megawati has been praised for her professional and non-partisan cabinet. This will not in itself bring the country back to its folds.
"What is now needed is strong emphasis on unity and economic development. No more lies and no more fraudulent practices. Indonesia needs a sincere government."
Agence France Press (AFP) reported Monday that Kuntjoro-Djakti said he expected the IMF to dispatch a mission to Jakarta on August 17th to get a stalled $5 billion program back on track.
He said he held talks with Stanley Fischer, a deputy managing director at the Fund, and that both sides concluded that only "formalities" needed to be resolved before a new mission arrived.
The IMF suspended its program to Indonesia in December after former President Abdurrahman Wahid's government fell behind on a number of economic reforms it had promised.
Reports from the capital city said Megawati's government would be willing to force the population to swallow IMF pills provided the country's economy recovers.
|
