Various problems haunting
the national manufacturing industry, from limited supply of gas and
electricity, dependency on imported raw materials due to scarcity of raw
materials in the domestic market, limited access to financing resource and high
wages not accompanied by workers productivity had made the industry hard to
grow and develop. Lastly was the government’s policy to increase Minimum Wages
(UMP) 2013 30% on the average made the private sector loose competitiveness.
Chairman of the Indonesian
Businessmen Association (Aspindo) Anton J. Supit stated in Jakarta on Thursday
(20/12) that supposedly the Government played their role in maintaining
economic stability for sustainable growth. The role of the state in managing
the market must be enhanced by prioritizing long term interest without
sacrificing investment climate. Anton reminded that to determine the level of
salary increase must consider business resistance for the sake of company’s
survival. A drastic increase of wages in one time might shake market stability.
Anton underscored that the
Government’s main target was to enable people to find a job whereby they might
have some income. This was impossible to realize if the Government ran a policy
which killed the domestic industry. All nation were striving hard to maintain
their industry, whereby to survive even in the most adverse condition. He rated
the Government’s stipulation as strange when they deliberately increase minimum
wages (UMP) significantly which eventually killed labor-intensive industries
and made Indonesia an importing country. “On the one hand the Government wished
to strengthen competitiveness but on the other hand they killed industry.”
Anton said
He rate that Government was
today not pro-businesspeople. The assumption was based on a series of facts,
among others national energy policy which was rated as conservative, not being
able to keep up with regional and global interest rate which dropped
drastically; national energy policy not being on the side of national industry,
but giving support to foreign industry instead the fiscal policy not being
supportive to the dynamics of the market and business world; the case of inefficiency
of APBD regional budget as transfer fund from the regions increased time after
time; the case bureaucracy and corruption which axed Indonesia’s economic
growth and the problem of unemployment and poverty.
Anton explained that amidst
dynamic business development, the condition of Indonesia’s economic was still
marked with low employment growth, so part time workers and semi-jobless cases
tend to increase. He rated that Indonesia’s economic growth today was of no
high quality because it was unable to energize the real sector of productive
economic sectors which absorbed labor. For that matter, he said, the Government
must be able to motivate investors to invest their capital in labor-intensive
sector.
Anton also disclosed that
today’s Government’s bureaucracy was still rated as an obstacle to the
development of business climate in Indonesia. Therefore investment in Indonesia
was way behind compared to other countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Anton elaborated that the procedure of permit application in other countries
was only a matter of days. It was because there was efficient bureaucracy in
Southeast Asian Countries and East Asian Countries. In Indonesia it might take
weeks in permit application process so it had the impact on transaction cost to
make it more expensive to the business world. “It is no longer a secret that to
apply for administration service in Indonesia the procedure is very complicated
and time consuming which made businesspeople to complain.” Anton concluded.
(SS)
Business News - December 26, 2012
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