[ppi] [ppiindia] Bambang to seek growth that benefits 'the small people'

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http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,253007,00.html?


Bambang to seek growth that benefits 'the small people'
If elected, the front runner says he will make economic recovery the top
priority in his first 100 days in office
By Shefali Rekhi

INDONESIA'S economy might be improving, but this has not translated into a
'feel good' factor among the people on the ground.

The result: a disconnect between the rosy macroeconomic indicators and what
ordinary folks feel about the country's economic growth, said Mr Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, the front runner in the race for the Indonesian
presidency on July 5.
'There is something artificial about the prosperity we are seeing now,' the
former general and Cabinet minister noted, pointing out that much of the
nascent recovery is because of increased consumer spending.
There is also a 'disconnect', he said.
'The macro indicators are not mirrored in the microeconomic picture. People
are complaining that the costs of basic education have risen sharply.
'So have the costs of telephone calls, electricity, construction materials.
Clearly, the big numbers are not reflected down to the small people.'

Mr Bambang was delivering a talk on his vision for shaping his country's
future as part of a series of lectures on Indonesia's presidential election,
organised by the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies and The Straits
Times.
Asked by several members of the audience at the Shangri-La Hotel what he
planned to do to promote business, draw investors and boost growth in the
country, he said Indonesia needed to push for a growth rate of 7 per cent a
year, up from its present growth rate of 4.5 per cent, to improve the
welfare of its people.
The four key planks he outlined in his speech for economic recovery were:
infrastructure, human resource development, easier availability of credit
and legal reforms.
With a view to attracting foreign investors, he is also promising to make
state-owned enterprises efficient, make the tender processes more
transparent, cut red tape and significantly improve labour laws. Steps would
also be taken to boost security and maintain stability in the country.
Mr Bambang has his task cut out for him. Elections have stymied the rate of
recovery of an economy that was hit by the 1997 financial crisis.
Foreign investors have been shying away and export growth rates have been
slackening, though regional economies have been doing far better.
To change that, Mr Bambang wants to pump more money into public works, which
could include improving utilities and housing, improving rural-urban
linkages as well as helping key areas in the rural zones to ensure better
agricultural harvest.
'Infrastructure development is key,' he said.
'Economic growth simply cannot take off if everyone spends too much of their
time stuck in traffic.'
From his speech, it was not quite clear how his government would fund these
plans.
But Mr Bambang's plan to push for growth with a human face showed up in his
commitment to reform education and health care services and to make sure the
gains are shared by many instead of a few.
His government will improve the national curriculum, increase the ratio of
teachers to students and spend more on libraries, he said.
Local governments will be encouraged to improve training facilities for
workers and there will be more money spent on building clinics and
subsidising some medical facilities.
There will also be a concerted effort to improve civic education to foster a
spirit of unity in the country.
Small and medium enterprises - the avenues for more jobs - will get softer
credit or cheaper loans.
'I say this because I am constantly haunted by the faces at campaign
rallies,' Mr Bambang said.
'It is for them that I aim to make economic recovery my No. 1 priority in my
first 100 days in office.'



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