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AsiaViews,
Edition: 39/I/October/2004
The DPR’s new economists propose multiple
concepts for development
Shouting from the sidelines was never enough, but
now some of the country’s leading economists
are positioned to affect direct change. The last
general election for legislators has resulted in
a wave of economics experts winning posts. Several
are well-known thinkers, others are more obscure—but
a significant number now occupy offices at Senayan.
The Finance and Banking Commission is likely to
become a hotly contested sight of their work, as
it is here that economists can do much of their
work. The National Mandate Party (PAN), which boasts
four economists among its DPR members, will place
all four in the commission. “We could be dominant
there,” said PAN economist Dradjad Wibowo laughingly.
Other commission members are Didik Rachbini, Marwoto
Mitrohardjono, who holds a doctorate in taxation,
and former Finance Minister Fuad Bawazier. Zulkieflimansyah,
32, the Prosperous Justice Party’s (PKS) long-time
economist, is also worthy of consideration. He holds
the position of Head of that party’s Department
of Economic Policy.
After Zulkieflimansyah was elected as a parliamentarian
for Banten Province, the PKS placed him in the Finance
and Banking Commission. But Zulkieflimansyah’s
reputation as an economist has not yet taken firm
root in the public mind, and his thoughts and opinions
on various economic issues remain largely unknown.
Besides teaching and presenting research, Zulkieflimansyah
rarely appears before an audience.
Zulkieflimansyah’s involvement in the DPR’s
Finance and Banking Commission will be a golden
opportunity to earn more “flying hours.”
Equipped with his research results and knowledge
from a doctoral program he pursued at the United
Kingdom’s Glasgow University, Zulkieflimansyah
has more than enough capital to make an impact at
Senayan.
Seeking not only to strengthen the control function
of the DPR, Zulkieflimansyah says he also wants
to push the government to develop a strong industrial
sector. He hopes the next five years will be a period
of laying foundation for a new policy to revitalize
the manufacturing industry. He has repeatedly stated
the importance of industry for economic self-sufficiency.
Zulkieflimansyah says his ideas will foster skill-based
competitiveness, both in quality as well in prices
of products offered. He regrets that in the past
there has been a lack of focus on advancing technology
used in Indonesia’s leading industrial sectors,
including textiles and plywood. As a result, these
two sectors compete poorly in the world market.
To improve industrial competitiveness, Zulkieflimansyah
stresses the need to improve technological capacity
and education. “Education and research must
synergize with the industrial world,” said
Zulkieflimansyah, the postgraduate lecturer at the
University of Indonesia’s Economics Faculty.
Another new lawmaker, Harry Azhar Azis, proposes
a different agenda. This economist from the Golkar
Party says he will promote an economic platform
he calls the “dual track strategy.” His
theory holds that economic development must be carried
out on two, simultaneous tracks: the undercurrent
economy, and the free competition stream.
His “undercurrent economy” is made up
of the informal sector, micro business, small and
medium businesses, cooperatives, animal husbandry,
fisheries, handicrafts, agribusiness, as well as
small-scale forestry. His other track, the “free
competition stream,” covers medium, large and
foreign businesses, and includes state-owned enterprises
(SOEs).
“This dual track strategy will strengthen the
market structure, making it healthy and transparent,”
said Harry, whose faction has put him in the DPR
Finance and Banking Commission. The strategy is
not foreign to Harry, as he also championed it as
a member of presidential candidate Wiranto’s
economic team in the first round of the presidential
election.
If the government were to follow his strategy, Harry
is optimistic unemployment and poverty figures would
be reduced. “The number of permanently unemployed,
which has reached 10 million, could shrink to 2
million in the next one to two years,” said
the doctor in economics from Oklahoma State University.
Harry also has some criticisms of SOE privatization.
He reasons that Indonesia is not yet ready to carry
this out, although it is purportedly to develop
market institutions. “If privatization just
served to transfer the government’s monopoly
to the private sector,” he asked, “what
would be the use of it?” Harry says his people
have not yet drawn up these ideas into a preliminary
bill read for discussion at the DPR. “We will
only take concrete action if the government goes
back on its promises,” he said.
Dradjad Wibowo does not want to be left behind in
the preparation of a working program. The PAN economist
says he has prepared three concrete drafts connected
to the DPR’s functions of drawing up laws and
supervision. In regard to the legislative function,
he plans to propose a bill on credit guarantees
for small and medium business.
Dradjad believes that one cause for the weakness
of small and medium businesses (SMEs) is the difficulty
they have in securing good banking access. That
access must be opened, he says, making it easier
for these businesses to obtain reasonable streams
of credit. Apart from the preparation of his bill,
Dradjad says he will propose revisions to a number
of existing laws.
Dradjad gave the example of the Banking Law. He
says the law requires change to protect banks from
being defrauded by both outsiders as well as by
bank personnel. Dradjad says, with this matter,
he has had personal experience.
It so happened that when BNI had been defrauded
of Rp1.2 trillion by the Gramarindo group—a
hotly discussed issue—Dradjad was appointed
as a BNI commissioner. He then saw for himself just
how susceptible to fraud Indonesia’s banks
were. The difficulty in recovering lost funds is
also a big concern.
For the DPR’s supervisory function, Dradjad
will propose the formation of a special committee
to deal with cases of serious white-collar crime.
He offers as an example the BNI fraud. He also says
that so far the House of Representatives has been
unable to properly supervise the government’s
performance—especially that of the law enforcement
apparatus—and only with the body’s hearings
mechanism.
“Have we ever seen a delinquent policemen or
state prosecutor punished?” asks this economist,
a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia.
Accordingly, he will propose the formation of a
special committee under the parliament to directly
supervise the performance of the law enforcement
apparatus.
While Dradjad is ready with his proposal for a new
bill, such is not the case with Yusuf Faishal. This
economist from the National Awakening Party (PKB),
once the Secretary of the National Business Development
Council (DPUN) during President Abdurrahman Wahid’s
term, says he will focus largely on improving existing
law.
Several old laws, he says, suffer from great weaknesses
and require significant revision. “The performance
of DPR members should not be assessed only from
the laws we draft, but also from the ones that we
improve,” he said. Yusuf pointed to a law on
state finances.
Yusuf sees SOE privatization as a mandate from the
MPR that must be carried out. “It’s just
a question of how we supervise it,” he said.
For instance, he stresses the importance of checking
the selling price. “Is it reasonable or not?”
To overcome poverty and unemployment, he proposes
revitalizing the agricultural sector, both traditional
farms as well as agribusinesses. “That will
feed and give many people work,” he said.
Yusuf is worried that government will develop only
industry, given that industrialization is now increasingly
capital-intensive. “Wow, the take-up of labor
could then get even worse!” said the PT Miwon
commissioner.
Given the enthusiasm of economist lawmakers, it
is certain that upcoming sessions at Senayan will
be vigorous. And almost all confirm they will be
fully involved in the DPR for the next five years.
The only exception may be Irsan Tanjung. This doctor
of economics from the University of Illinois has
a concept for fostering economic growth by increasing
government expenditures, primarily through building
infrastructure projects. But it is suspected he
will leave the DPR for a spot in the cabinet.
By Nugroho Dewanto, Dimas Adityo, Danto Antara,
Vol. No. 05/V/October 05 - 10, 2004
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