The government is mapping
and strengthening the national industrial services sector in order to face the
implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community
(AEC) 2015. Indonesian transaction in the service sector, especially in the field of
labor, is still not satisfactory.
In fact, the service sector contribution to trade is now very
substantial. Compared to India, Thailand, and the Philippines, these countries
are very strong in the fields of banking, management training, and finance.
Because the workers there are given sufficient training to be competitive.
Agus Tjahajana, Director General of International
Industry Cooperation at the Ministry of Industry, in jakarta on Monday (November 18), said that the Ministry of Industry is to
record the advantages and disadvantages of the national industrial services sector. To improve the national services sector. To
improve the national service sector, the government will make a standard of
competence in the service industry. However, it will be done by the resepective
industry organizations.
What must be considered, said Agus, is the free flow of labor when AEC was
enacted. It means that the liberalized
services subsectors were freely entered by foreign workers from ASEAN.
According to Agus, in the ASEAN agreement,
some industrial services sectors will be liberalized. In other words, employment in the liberalized
industrial services sector can move freely between countries in ASEAN. “ We
will strengthen the service sector, so that we can compete with other countries
in the ASEAN free market ”, Agus said.
In addition, said Agus, the government also prioritizes
nine industry sectors to be developed in order to fill the ASEAN market. He
explained that it was a preparatory step in dealing with the implementation of
AEC 2015. He mentioned that the priority sectors include agro-based
industries (palm oil, cocoa,
rubber), processed fish products
industry, textile industry, footwear industry, leather and leather goods,
furniture, food and beverage industries, fertilizer and petrochemical
industries, machinery and equipment as well as basic metal industries, iron and
steel.
In addition, he said, the government also set seven
priority industries to be developed in order to secure the domestic market,
namely: automotive industry, electronics industry, cement industry, clothing
industry, footwear industry, food and beverage industry as well as furniture.
Some cross-sectoral steps and policies to face AEC 2015
were, amongst others, intensifying AEC socialization to industry stakeholders,
proposing acceleration of implementation of anti-dumping and safeguard measures
for certain import products, adding laboratory test facilities and improving
human resource competence, preparing Indonesian National Occupational
Competency Standards (SKKNI) in each industrial sector, and strengthening SMEs
and development of new industrial entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Masters Program in Planning
and Public Policy (PNPM) of the Faculty
of Economics, University of Indonesia, Telisa Falianty Aulia, said that the
services industry is classified as a vulnerable sector in relation to the AEC
2015. To that end, the government should immediately strengthen the foundations
of national services industry to address the implementation of AEC in 2015.
He
admitted that Indonesia’a tourism service sector is still inferior to an
average of other ASEAN countries, especially when viewed from the availability
of infrastructure and adequate transportation system. In addition to the
services sector, he also underlined the readiness of Indonesia in the financial
sector and professional workforce. Along with Bank Indonesia policy to raise
its benchmark rate, he concerned that it could lose the competitive side of
Indonesian banks. Not less important, AEC 2015 will make the free mobilization of
foreign workers in Indonesia which would threaten the position of the local
workers.
Business News - November 20, 2013
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