STATE CAPITAL PARTICIPATION STILL NEEDS FURTHER DELIBERATION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Jan 29 (Antara) - The State Capital Participation (PMN) worth Rp48.01 trillion, which the government plans to inject into state-owned enterprises (SOEs), still needs to be further deliberated and contemplated.         "We still need time to get a comprehensive picture on the various aspects related to the PMN. We also need to deliberate it further with the finance minister and the SOE minister before endorsing its inclusion in the 2015 revised state budget,"  Fadel Muhammad, the chairman of Commission XI on financial affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR), stated after attending a hearing with the finance and SOE ministers on Wednesday night.         Earlier, the State Audit Board (BPK) had urged the House and the government to give special attention to the 35 SOEs that would receive PMN injection.         The BPK emphasized that the management of state finance by SOEs should be done in accordance with the existing regulations, especially in abiding to the regulations on financial transactions and allocations for business expansion.            Economic observer Agus Tony Poputra of the Manado-based Sam Ratulangi University also reminded the government to adopt a cautious approach while injecting PMN into SOEs.         "There are many SOEs that need fund injections, but an injection made shortly without mature planning can be risky. An injection of funds in huge amounts could confuse SOEs in drafting a program and in planning their future activities," Agus noted in Manado on Monday.         Therefore, in a hearing on Wednesday, the government and Commission XI agreed to conduct further deliberations on the PMN scheme before it is included in the 2015 revised state budget.          "We still need a complete picture on its various aspects and further deliberations with the ministers," noted Commission XI Chairman Fadel Muhammad after the hearing.         During the hearing, Commission XI member Hendrawan Supratikno of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) faction stated that the SOEs had made significant contributions to the country's economic development, and thus, they need capital through PMN injections.         However, the concept presented during the hearing still lacked details, and hence, the House factions were of the viewpoint that the PMN plan still needs to be further deliberated and improved.         "We concluded that the PDIP faction could not yet approve the PMN and see that the matter could be decided in the next hearing," remarked Hendrawan.         Lawmaker Chairul Saleh of the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) faction stated that the SOEs are state assets that can play a strategic role in overcoming Indonesia's economic problems, but the issue lies in how to make the SOEs more effective.     "We have to study it further and involve the experts. In this case, we seconded the stand taken by the PDIP faction and urge the forum to deepen it further," remarked Chairul Saleh.         Saleh's colleague of the Gerindra faction Johny G. Plate remarked that the PMN scheme must be evaluated further as the government plans to inject funds amounting to Rp48.01 trillion.         On the occasion, Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro agreed to the proposal of conducting further deliberations regarding the PMN scheme.         "We agree to it. We hope that we can further elaborate on it later," Minister Bambang remarked.         In the meantime, SOE Minister Rini Mariani Soemarno noted that the paradigm of the current government differs from the earlier ones. In order to bring about development in Indonesia, the SOEs should be prioritized. There are several programs formulated in Indonesia, but until now, they could not be implemented.         "Now is the time to prove that the injection of PMN into SOEs will increase employment, improve the companies' performance, and will serve as the pillar of economic growth," Minister Rini emphasized.         The BPK has completed its financial audit reports on 32 would-be PMN recipient SOEs. It has sent the reports to the hearing of Commission XI to be taken into consideration while arriving at a decision regarding the PMN, according to BPK Commissioner Achsanul Qosasi on Tuesday.         Qosasi revealed that the audit reports on the three remaining would-be PMN recipient SOEs will be sent later.    "We have audited 32 SOEs. We hope the reports will be used as a basis for making decisions regarding PMN injections," Qosasi noted.          The BPK calls on the government and the House to lay greater focus on SOEs as the BPK is willing to give recommendations on the activities of the SOEs in carrying out their businesses.         Therefore, the BPK reiterated that the management of the state money in the SOEs should be based on the law, especially with regard to, for instance, transaction obedience aspects and allocation of funds for business expansions.      "This should become a special concern of the government and the House," Qosasi added.          The government and DPR should also take the financial auditing reports as the basis of their considerations while deciding the amount of PMN each SOE will receive.           "We hope that the management of PMN this time will be effective. It is because this year, the amount of PMN is the biggest ever," he stated. ***3*** (T.A014/INE/O001) EDITED BY INE (T.A014/B/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 29-01-2015 14:56: