| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 6 (ANTARA) - The central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), decided on Monday to maintain its low key rate at 6.5 percent after concluding that inflation which some quarters had predicted would be pushed up by the electricity tariff hikes this month was not worrisome. "The BI Rate is still consistent with the inflation target of five plus or minus one percent for 2010," BI Acting Governor Darmin Nasution said after a board meeting on Monday. A banker said last month that the government's plan to increase the basic power rate (TDL) by 10 percent and the fuel oil prices would push up the inflation rate, and cause BI's key reference rate to be raised by 0.25 to 0.50 percent. "The 10-percent increase in the Basic Electricity Tariff (TDL) for middle and upper class consumers will lead Bank Indonesia to increase its benchmark rate by about 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent at least by the end of this year," PT OCBC NISP chief commissioner Pramkti Surjaudaja said. He said an increase in the TDL was indeed unavoidable to improve the performance state-owned power utility firm PLN which was also to repair its worn-out power transmission line networks. But the increase would also cause an increase in the domestic inflation rate. The increase in the inflation rate was expected to force BI to raise its key rate, he said. However another banker also predicted last month that the power rate hikes were unlikely to force BI to raise its key rate. He said the central bank was expected to maintain its key rate at 6.5 percent even though the government was planning to increase basic power rates and fuel oil prices. According to President Director of Bank CIMB Niaga Arwin Rasyid, the government's plan to increase the TDL rates and fuel oil prices has yet to affect BI's benchmark rate. He said that it was still too premature to analyze the impact of the power rate increases because it was still in the discourse and was still discussed by the House of Representatives (DPR). "We could not provide responses yet before the discourse becomes a reality," he said. Moreover, the plan to increase the electricity tariffs and the price of fuel oils had sparked pros and cons, so that its realization would possibly still wait for the correct time. "We predict that the government would also consider the two factors, even though it is now urgent to increase the electricity rates and fuel oil prices," he said. BI Deputy Governor S.Budi Rochadi expressed the same view saying that the planned electricity tariff hike effective early July would have little effect on the inflation rate. "It will have no significant impact on the inflation rate," he said following a function marking the transfer of the post of head of BI's Semarang office last month. Last month, there was a slight increase in the inflation rate but Darmin Nasution said there was no need to worry about inflation in June which reached 0.97 percent. He said the inflation was only driven by a price hike in agricultural products which was temporary in nature. "So, June's inflation is not worrisome as it will drop again," he said. The acting BI governor said that the rate of inflation in June indeed could be considered quite high but he remained optimistic that the yearly rate of inflation would be within the targeted range of five plus or minus one percent. "For this year it will remain within the targeted range of five plus or minus one percent," he adding that June's inflation was not driven by monetary factors and therefore in the next two or three months it would be corrected downward. "This is not a monetary phenomenon. It is about supply of onions and chilis. So we need not take special measures. The price of chilis, onions and tomatoes rises each time but it will drop again in two or three months' time. We did not see something needs to be changed," he said. Darmin Nasution said on Monday that national economic developments had generally shown encouraging progress. "The rate is still conducive for supporting the process of domestic economic recovery in the midst of remaining high crisis risks due to debt problems in a number of European countries," he said. Darmin said the country's economy continued showing improvement marked by monetary and financial system stability that remained well maintained. "Global economic improvements have had a positive impact on the performance of external sectors and investment in Indonesia in the second quarter this year so that the recovery cycle of domestic economic was stronger with the economy no longer relying exclusively on consumption," he said. Bank Indonesia predicted the country's economy could grow around six percent in the second quarter of 2010. The improvement in the external sector's performance was among others reflected by a surplus in the current balance of payment which is predicted not to reach US$1.75 billon in the second quarter or higher than initially predicted at US1.23 billion. The surplus in the capital and financial transactions meanwhile is also predicted to be bigger namely reaching US$3.09 billion or higher than initially predicted at US$1.16 billion. On the impact of the electricity price hike as of July 1, Darmin said it would be seen in the next month but it would not be big. "It will indeed have an impact and we are predicting its direct impact is only around 0.2 percent while the indirect impact is perhaps just close to two percent," he said.***2*** |
Selasa, 06 Juli 2010
CENTRAL BANK KEEPS LOW RATE OVER MODERATE INFLATION
Kamis, 01 Juli 2010
RI WANTS US TO SCRAP ITS 'KRETEK' CIGARETTE BAN
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, July 1 (ANTARA) - Indonesia has urged the United States to lift its ban on aromatic cigarette imports that would cause Jakarta to cut its 'kretek' (clove-flavored) cigarette exports to that country and reduce its foreign exchange earning. "Indonesia's foreign exchange income from kretek cigarette exports is expected to drop significantly this year due to the imposition of the ban," Frans Rupang, director for prosecution and prevention of the Directorate General of Customs, said. The United States has imposed the ban since September 2009 based on its law that prohibits the entry into the country of aromatic tobacco, yet both nations are still negotiating the matter. According to US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R Hume, Indonesia and the US are still negotiating the US ban on Indonesia's kretek cigarette exports to the United States. Speaking on the sidelines of the US Independence Day anniversary which falls on July 4, in Surabaya, East Java, on Thursday evening, Cameron R Hume said that Indonesia was of the view that the ban violated the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s regulations. Therefore, the United States and Indonesia were discussing the matter but the envoy said he could predict what would come out of the negotiation process. "Let's wait," he said. However, if the United States remains to impose the ban, Indonesia's cigarette exports and income from this sector would decline significantly. Frans Rupang said that in 2009 cigarette exports contributed 6.451 million dollars to the state. Indonesia's kretek cigarette exports to the United States in 2008 totaled 298.932 million pieces worth US$6.662 million and in 2009 they stood at 267.308 million pieces worth US$6.451 million. Since the imposition of the ban, there was practically no Indonesia's kretek exports to the United States this year. Rupang said that the contribution to the state of the country's kretek cigarette exports to the United States was the biggest one compared to that exported to other countries. Therefore, the ban reduced Indonesia's income from kretek exports significantly, he said. According to the Ministry of Trade, exports of various kinds of cigarettes to the US in 2007 reached US$11,165,432 and dropped to US$9,703,991 in 2008 and US$8,338,419 in 2009. The realization of exports of the product from January to March 2010 reached US$2,531,317 higher than in the same period last year that was recorded at US$2,531,989. During the period however no exports of cigarette tobacco that include clove cigarettes were done. This happened following the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as of September 2009. The law prohibits sale of all kinds of flavored cigarettes including clove cigarettes in the US except menthol cigarettes. The Indonesian government has asked the WTO to solve its dispute over the ban of its kretek exports to the United States. Washington has banned the commodity's imports based on its health law which also prohibited the importation of other aromatic cigarettes in an effort to prevent youths from being addicted. Indonesia has previously taken the ban to Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO with regard to the imposition of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. The Indonesian government considers the law running against the WTO regulation because it exempts menthol cigarettes while menthol and clove cigarettes are like products according to Article 2.1 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade or TBT Agreement. Around 99 percent of clove cigarettes sold in the US are imported from Indonesia while all menthol cigarettes are produced in the US and because of that, according to the Indonesian government, the US implicitly bans imports of clove cigarettes. The government considers the ban discriminative. As a member of the WTO, the US must have carried out its international obligation as mentioned in the TBT Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade or GATT of 1994. The director general of international trade cooperation of the ministry of trade, Gusmardi Bustami, said the move to take the matter to the WTO dispute settlement body was the last resort. He said the government has already expressed its opposition to the regulation while it was still being discussed at the US Congress. Indonesia, he said, has also conveyed its complaint in various bilateral forums at senior official and ministerial levels for more than four years but it had come to no avail. "This is about principles. There has been discrimination," Gusmardi said. In the DSB WTO meeting on June 22, 2010 in Geneva, the Indonesian delegation conveyed reasons and legal basis for the need to form a panel to deal with the problem. He said Indonesia had asked the panel to investigate the violation by the US against Article III of the GATT of 1994 and the use of Article XX of GATT 1994 without providing scientific evidence and meeting the provisions in a number of articles in the TBT and Sanitary and Phythosanitary Act (SPS). In the meeting the US delegation expressed disappointment over the Indonesian move. The US has asked Indonesia to reconsider its request for the establishment of a panel to investigate the case. Gusmardi said the rejection by the US was common, had often happened in a DSB meeting because the US as a disputed party has a right to block the move on the first occasion in line with the WTO's provision on Dispute Settlement Understanding.***2*** |
Selasa, 29 Juni 2010
RI, TURKEY OPENING NEW CHAPTER IN BILATERAL TIES
Jakarta, June 30 (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Turkey are opening a new chapter in their 60-year old ties by promoting cooperation in the economic and political fields as well as in other sectors of common interest such as democracy and global issues.
"Let us open a new chapter in our relations that keep increasing," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul after their meeting at the Turkish presidential palace on Tuesday.
The two countries agreed to increase cooperation in five sectors and signed 8 cooperation accords which they expect to enable them to face challenges in the 21st century.
The agreements were reached by the two countries during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's three-day working visit from June 28 to June 30, 2010 to Turkey. He was the first Indonesian president to visit Turkey in the last 25 years.
"Actually cooperation between the two countries has existed for quite a long time but I hope it will be expanded in five areas," the President said when he addressed the Turkish parliament.
The two leaders agreed to step up cooperation in the five sectors, namely world economic reform, promoting harmony between civilizations, promoting democracy, the solution of conflicts and cooperation in dealing with global issues.
In the economic field, they among other things agreed to further boost cooperation in trade, tourism and investment.
"We are also inviting investors from Turkey to invest in various sectors in Indonesia such as geothermal energy, trade, economy and others," Yudhoyono said at the press conference.
Earlier, the two countries signed 8 cooperation accords. President Yudhoyono said the eight agreements that had been signed would open a new chapter in the relations between the two countries.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in the fields of politics, defense industry, small and medium businesses, joint programs to increase investment and in news exchange between state television station TVRI and Turkish television.
"The eight cooperation documents are made up of five memorandums of understanding (MoUs), two agreements, and one program," Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.
In the trade sector, Indonesia and Turkey agreed to step up their bilateral trade from its current value at US$2.1 billion to US$5 billion over the next few years.
According to Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Indonesia is not only a country with majority Muslim population but also a country which is rich in natural resources and economic potentials. "I even believe the US$5 billion target could grow to US$10 billion," President Gul said.
He said that it would be possible because of the Turkish characteristics which are similar to those of Indonesians and because the psychological relationship between the two nations was of very long standing.
In the field of tourism, the two nations agreed to scrap visa requirements and increase air-links.
President Gul said that Turkey wished for these relations to reflect on tourism and other areas, as well. Gul noted that the two countries had previously agreed to issue visas to both countries' nationals at the border and that now work began on scrapping the requirements totally.
"All this shows that opportunities to cooperate are vast despite the physical distance between our two countries. I wish for this visit to be very successful and for relations between Turkey and Indonesia to improve in every aspect," President Gul noted.
President Gul said now a Turkish airline had also opened a flight service between Jakarta and Istanbul enabling Asian people to go to Europe and vice versa. Therefore, visa cooperation between the two countries would be stepped up to become a free visa cooperation to promote visits between the two countries.
Besides the emphasis on the economic sector, the two nations also stressed the importance of increasing cooperation on issues of civilization, democracy, conflict solutions and other global issues.
In cooperation of promoting harmonization between civilizations, Indonesia and Turkey have a similarity in the role and dialogues between religious peoples and between the eastern and western civilizations and cooperate in building communication between civilizations.
"Promoting democracy, the third factor, does not mean we are exporting democracy, but sharing experience on democracy and learn from making mistakes from one another," the President Yudhoyono said.
Turkey, he added, like Indonesia in the beginning of the 20th century underwent changes and reforms and develops into a strong democratic country.
In the area of conflict solution, he underlined the importance of the role of Turkey and Indonesia in helping solve the Palestinian problem. He touched on the tragedy of the Mavi Marmara humanitarian ship and expressed deep regret over the incident and demanded for a fair and transparent investigation.
"Israel also needs to open the illegal blockade of the Gaza strip as it promoted and triggered a humanitarian crisis which is against international law," Yuhoyono pointed out.
On the global issues, the President called on Indonesia and Turkey for their support in dealing with global issues like climate change, terrorism and other issues.
"I called on all of you to join hand in hand and cooperate in developing a better future," he said.
(T.A014/A/HAJM/13:10/... ) June 30, 2010Minggu, 27 Juni 2010
RI EXPECTS COMMITMENT ON INFRASTRUCTURE AT G20
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, June 27 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, which needs over Rp2,000 trillion to build its infrastructure and to achieve an economic growth of about 6-7 percent in the next five years, expects investment commitments from bilateral countries taking part in the current G20 summit in Toronto, Canada. The Indonesian government hopes that about 70 percent of infrastructure development in the next five years to boost domestic economic activities would be financed and carried out by the private sector. Therefore, according to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian government would continue to encourage infrastructure development cooperation with private parties. Speaking on board the Garuda Indonesia presidential aircraft flying him to Toronto on Friday, the president said infrastructure development could not be the government's responsibility only because it did not have enough funds. "The government needs private sector involvement in infrastructure development at home. If necessary, foreign investors will be invited to take part because our infrastructure sector is of high value," President Yudhoyono said. Based on an estimate of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Indonesia will need Rp2,855 - Rp2,910 trillion to finance its infrastructure development in the 2010 - 2014 period. Paskah Suzetta, then minister of national development planning/head of Bappenas, once said that the government will stimulate investment in infrastructure development in order to boost economic growth to about 6-7 percent by 2014. "We hope for a total investment of Rp2,000 trillion while actually we will have an investment of about Rp1,600 trillion in the next five years in order to achieve this growth," he said. Owing to the big investment needed to develop infrastructure, the government has to promote its infrastructure development to the private sector as it could only finance 30 percent of the total funds needed for the projects. About 70 percent of the infrastructure projects are expected to be financed by private companies, among others through a private public placement (PPP) scheme. According to President Yudhoyono, the infrastructure sector has an important position to step up national economy through among others transportation facility, agriculture sector, and services. "We will continue to increase infrastructure budget because in many countries, infrastructure development is the unification of public and private partnership," the president on said on his way to Toronto. The president among other hoped that cooperation between China and Indonesia could be further expanded in various sectors to bring more benefits to both countries. "As we know, the cooperation and relations between Indonesia and the People's Republic of China have been very good and continued to develop. We hope the strategic partnership as well as cooperation and friendship will grow further," he said at a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao at Hotel Intercontinental in Toronto on Saturday morning. He said the two countries had a very good history of relationship and he hoped with the meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 Summit the relations would continue to improve. "China is an important partner and a good friend of Indonesia. We hope the cooperation would continue. I wish to hear anything we can do (for cooperation) in the future," he said. In their later meeting Saturday evening China agreed to increase its investment on infrastructure so that by the end of 2014, its investment in Indonesia would reach US$50 billion. According to Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono discussed the matter in their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit which is being held in Toronto on June 26 and 27. The minister said that the talks between Yudhoyono and Hu were very productive and that the two sides agreed to continue increasing both countries' economic relations. China will continue to increase its investment in the infrastructure and trade sectors so that by 2014 it is expected to reach US$50 billion, Hatta Rajasa said. Deputy Public Works Minister Hermanto Dardak said recently in Jakarta that four infrastructure projects funded with loans from China were likely be carried out fully by Chinese contractors. "That is what the Chinese ambassador has said. The packages will be one hundred percent carried out by Chinese contractors. We are now still trying to ask for the involvement of local contractors in the projects," he said. He said his office would continue to negotiate so that local contractors could be involved in the projects. "In reality and based upon experience it was possible like in the construction of the Surabaya-Madura bridge which was also funded with loans from China. Indeed China controls up to 60 percent of the project with the rest going to local contractors," he said. He said the four infrastructure projects to be carried out by Chinese contractors are the 25-kilometer long Medan-Kualanamu toll road project in North Sumatra worth US$150 million in investment, the Cileunyi-Sumedang-Dawuhan toll road project in West Java with part of its funding to come from national and regional budgets and the Tayan bridge in West Kalimantan and the Kendari Bay bridge in Southeast Sulawesi. |
Sabtu, 26 Juni 2010
PRICE HIKES EXPECTED TO HAVE LITTLE EFFECT ON INFLATION TARGET
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, June 26 (ANTARA) - Prices of consumer goods in several parts of the country have begun to rise in the face of the government's plan to raise the basic electricity tariff (TDL) by an average of 10 percent early July but the upward price trend is unlikely to affect this year's inflation rate forecast of 5, plus and minus 1, percent. "It will have no significant impact on the inflation rate," Bank Indonesia (BI) Deputy Governor S. Budi Rochadi said. He predicted the planned electricity tariff hike effective early July will have little effect on the inflation rate so that the on-year inflation rate was likely to match the bank's forecast of 5, plus and minus 1, percent in 2010. The BI deputy governor said that as the power tariff hike was only to apply to customers with an installed capacity of more than 900 VA, the inflation rate would likely increase by 0.2 percent. So, the country's inflation this year is expected to remain at previously predicted level of 5 percent, even though there will be a post-fasting month and year-end festivities during which prices usually soar. "The inflation rate forecast of 5 percent already includes the planned electricity tariff hike," Perry Warjiyo, BI's director of economic research and monetary policies, said meanwhile. He said the inflation target for 2010 remained unchanged despite inflationary pressure in May caused by non-fundamental factors including volatile prices in the food sector. "The inflationary pressure at the start of this year was caused by the rising prices of rice and in May by the rising prices of food seasonings such as red chili, and garlic," he said. The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said early this month the on-month inflation rate in May reached 0.29 percent, bringing the year-on-year inflation rate to 4.16 percent. "One of the factors pushing up the May inflation was the rising price of garlic. Much of the national need for garlic is supplied by China. Because of tight import policy the price of garlic rose and affected inflation," he said. Given the slight inflationary pressure, the on-year inflation would match the bank's forecast of 5, plus and minus 1, percent, he said. Bank Indonesia's prediction is almost the same as that made by the World Bank. The World Bank has predicted that Indonesia's inflation rate in 2010 will reach 5.1 percent despite an expected surge in consumer prices in the second semester. "The unexpected bearishness in the first semester in 2010 and volatile food prices have caused a lowering of the annual projection of inflation," World Bank's lead economist Shubhan Chaudhuri said. He said the House of Representative's (DPR) approval of a 10- percent hike in electricity prices seemed to cause only a slight impact on inflation and was an initial step in connecting the regulated price of energy with the economic cost of the energy. "The electricity price hike will have a small impact, just one- or two-tenths of a percent on inflation," he said. He said the biggest electricity price hike would be borne by commercial and rich customers while the price for household consumers would not change meaning the hike would only have a small direct impact on the Consumer Price Index. In 2011, however, inflation was predicted to be higher because of a rise in commodity prices, the weakening of the depreciation of the rate of exchange to a lower level, initial adjustment to the 10 percent electricity hike, projection of speedy money and credit growth and increased demand. "The recovery in stages of economic activity is absorbing the capacity that has not been used and speedy credit expansion will spur demand-pull inflation as of early 2011," Shubham said. The higher than expected world demand for raw materials, metals and oil that have caused an increased revision of indices of world commodity prices would cause higher cost of distribution for business players through consumer goods as of early 2011. "This is what has made inflation forecasts for 2011 to rise to 6.3 percent from initially 6.0 percent," Shubham said. This would cause BI to raise its benchmark rate. This year alone BI is predicted to increase its key rate at about 0.25 - 0.25 percent. According to PT OCBC NISP chief commissioner Pramkti Surjaudaja, the government's plan to increase the basic power rates and the fuel oil prices will push up the inflation rate, and cause BI's key reference rate to be raised by 0.25 to 0.50 percent. The 10-percent increase in the electricity tariff for middle and upper class consumers will lead Bank Indonesia to increase its benchmark rate by about 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent by the end of this year. Therefore, Vice President Boediono has asked for continued monitoring of the inflation rate in 2010 ahead of the Muslim fasting month. After all, financial crisis in Europe could escalate and affect the country's economy. "The rate of inflation must be closely watched moreover now following a financial crisis in Europe and ahead of the fasting month," his spokesman, Yopie Hidayat, said quoting him to newsmen recently. |
Jumat, 25 Juni 2010
GOLKAR WARNS CADRES FOR JOINING NATIONAL DEMOCRATS
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, June 25 (ANTARA) - Second winner of the 2009 general elections Golkar Party has called on its cadres who joined the National Democrats (Nasdem) to reunite, or face discharge if the organization, which was founded by media magnate Surya Paloh, turns into a political party. "The Golkar Party is from now reminding its cadres to return. If they have been reminded repeatedly and still stay there while Nasdem has become a political party, they will be sacked. They cannot possess membership in two concurrent political parties," Golkar General Chairman Aburizal Bakrie said. Bakrie believed that Nasdem, which was founded by a number of Golkar cadres sphere headed by Paloh, a Golkar patron board member, was being prepared to become a political party. Paloh recently hinted Nasdem's ambitions of mobilizing as a political party in time to contest the 2014 general elections. Bakrie said that Golkar's cadres should be gentle and possess single loyalty to Golkar so that cadres who had joined Nasdem should return to Golkar. Nasdem is a social organization movement founded by Surya Paloh, a patron board member at the Golkar Party. Paloh founded the National Democrat movement shortly after he was defeated by Aburizal Bakrie during a vote to name the chairman of the party at Golkar's national congress in Pekanbaru, Riau province, in October 2009. Several high-profile Golkar members currently hold key posts as National Democrats, including Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) official Syamsul Ma'arif, who is the organization's secretary general, and TV news anchor Meutya Viada Hafid, who heads its division for women, youth and student affairs, according to the Jakarta Globe. Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwiono X, has also joined the organization. However, Bakrie said that the presence of Nasdem was not a threat to Golkar. "The presence of Nasdem is no threat to Golkar. It is only a small social organization," he said after a discussion on the impact of the ruling party coalition secretariat on democracy on Thursday night. Bakrie said that he pleased Nasdem if it was willing to stay as a mass organization but warned that it should not influence the Golkar Party cadres. However, Golkar will not leave it unquestioned if Nasdem tries to tempt, influence or even incite the Golkar Party cadres. "If it develops a disturbing situation, the Golkar Party will act," Bakrie who is also a former chief minister for people's welfare and the chairman of the ruling party coalition secretariat, said. Therefore, he said that if Nasdem later became a political party, cadres should return or quit the Golkar Party. The party's deputy secretary for organization affairs, Samsul Bahri meanwhile asked Golkar Party cadres that have joined the National Democrat organization to resign and return to the party's fold. "So far we are still appealing to them and have not yet given any warning. However, Golkar will issue firmer directives if its appeal is ignored," he said. Nurul Arifin, another deputy secretary general of the party, said it was unethical for the leaders of Nasdem in recruiting its members because they use Golkar's infrastructure. "There are many Golkar cadres in Nasdem. They are both Golkar's executives and those who are not accommodated in the current Golkar leadership. They recruited Nasdem members using the Golkar Party's infrastructure," Nurul Arifin, said. Arifin explained that Nasdem approached Golkar cadres in a number of provinces in Indonesia asking them to join as if Nasdem was part of Golkar. Previously, Golkar Party Secretary General Idrus Marham called on party cadres not to be influenced by approaches made by Nasdem. "To those who have already joined it we ask them to withdraw and reunite to build Golkar Party together," Idrus Marham said on Wednesday, stressing that the mass organization was not part of the Golkar Party infrastructure and was being prepared by its founders to become a political party later. Signs that the National Democrat was being prepared to become a political party, he said, could be seen from the organization's efforts to set up executive boards at provincial, district and mayoralty levels so far by recruiting Golkar Party cadres, he said. "Therefore, I call on party cadres not to be influenced by any offer from the National Democrat organization and to remain loyal to the Golkar Party," he said on Wednesday. The National Democrats responded by saying Golkar's warning was inappropriate, and called for a high-level dialogue between officials from the two groups to settle any differences, according to the Jakarta Globe. On Thursday however, Marham said that Golkar warning for all its members to steer clear of the National Democrats social organization should not be misconstrued as a sign of the party panicking over the emergence of a potential rival. Marham said the party did not see the organization as a threat. He also clarified his earlier warning by saying Golkar members currently affiliated with the National Democrats would not face administrative sanctions. However, he went on, if the organization went on to become a political party, Golkar members would have to pick a side. The National Democrats' organization and membership head, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, said Idrus'claim that Golkar did not feel threatened by the group made no sense in light of his earlier call for party members to distance themselves from the social organization.***1*** |
Rabu, 23 Juni 2010
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES EXPECTED TO GET NEW BOOST
| By Andi Abdussalam |
Jakarta, June 23 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government will boost development of the country's creative industry so that it will contribute at least 8 percent to the national gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015. "Therefore, we hope all sides will strengthen their commitment to promote the creative industry. The government will always try to create a conducive business climate but more importantly, industrial players must continue to develop their creativity so that their products will have a high competitive edge," Vice President Boediono said when he opened the Indonesian Creative Product Week 2010 on Wednesday. The government is paying serious attention to development of creative industry because it is one of the economic sectors which is expected to improve the people's welfare. In his address at the opening of the Jakarta Fair (PRJ) and International Expo in Kemayoran last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that besides improving their welfare, economic growth born out of creative economic activities would also serve as a correct and attractive means of enriching the nation's cultural values. He said that developing a creative economy was in line with the country's economic development direction which prioritizes inclusiveness and justice. "By adhering to this principle, it will be possible to achieve high economic growth and strong economic stability for all groups of people in the country. We want prosperity to spread evenly and reduce the number of unemployed and poor people," the president said. As part of the efforts to promote development of the creative industry and its products, the government has instituted an annual creative product week. This year's creative product week was opened by Vice President Boediono on Wednesday. In his opening remarks he said that the government had projected the national creative industry's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) to increase to 8 percent in 2015. "So far, the national creative industry's contribution (to GDP) reaches 7.6. We hope it can increase to 8-9 percent," he said. He noted that the national creative industry had shown positive growth in the past five years. With the positive growth, the government was convinced that the national creative industry would be able to serve as one of the main pillars in implementing economic development in the future, he said. Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu on the occasion said meanwhile that this year the government had set itself a target of 5.8 percent growth in the country's creative industries. "Our target is to have at least an increase of 5.8 percent from the value of creative industries' contribution to the GDP in 2009," she said at the launch of a Creative Industry Portal at the Jakarta Convention Center on Wednesday. She said, so far creative industry growth was recorded at an average of 3.8 percent per year. Yet, the government did not yet have data on the growth of creative industries in 2009 but estimated it had reached 4.5 percent. Data at the ministry of trade show that the contribution of creative industries to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounted to Rp151 trillion, or 7.28 percent of total GDP in 2008. "There five biggest contributors to GDP were fashion, crafts, advertising, design and music," she said. Fashion contributed 43 percent, crafts 25 percent, advertisement eight percent, design six percent and music five percent. The minister said that creative industries which had a double-digit growth potential, included computer services and software (12.5 percent), advertising (12 percent) and interactive games (14.9 percent). Last year, exports from the creative industry were valued at Rp114.9 trillion or 7.52 percent of the country's total exports. The government, she said, was trying to encourage the growth of creative industries by facilitating increased access to financing sources, technology, protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), raw material supplies, as well as providing promotional facilities and product exhibitions. "We intend to create a pilot project with several banks, including Bank BNI which has long been involved in the development of creative industries, to try to provide financing. With that we want to see the problem being faced to find their solutions," she said. This will be done because so far creative industries still have limited access to capital sources at banks and other financial institutions. In the meantime, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said that the government was emphasizing efforts to explore creative economic potentials through Presidential Instruction no. 6 / 2009 on development of a creative economy. The potentials of creative industry could among others be explored through the creative product week, which was opened on Wednesday. He said that the government was targeting transactions worth a total of Rp40 billion in the 2010 Creative Product Week (PPKI). Laksono said that in 2007 transactions in the creative product week reached a value of Rp16 billion while in 2008 it stood at Rp34 billion and Rp31 billion in 2009. "We hope transactions this time will reach a total value of Rp40 billion," Agung Laksono. "The PPKI 2010 which is now being held for the fourth time since 2007, is expected to become a reliable instrument for the development of creative economy. This should not be developed only through presentations on various advancements of creative products but also through efforts to encourage the creation of the seeds of entrepreneurship," the minister said. ***2*** |