[Indonesia] Yudhoyono vows to tackle poverty

from The Peninsula Quatar

Jakarta • Indonesia’s president pledged yesterday to use an anticipated pick-up in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to tackle poverty, and also to stick with a fight against corruption and encourage foreign investment.

In an annual address to parliament ahead of Indonesia’s August 17 independence day, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono focused on the economy, but also hailed a peace deal in Aceh and repeated a willingness to commit troops to a UN force in Lebanon.

“Tackling poverty requires not just high economic growth, but also growth that directly takes into account the condition of poor people,” he said, wearing a traditional Indonesian hat.

The president, who is a third of the way through a five-year term, said a target of 6.3 per cent economic growth next year was achievable helped by public spending and lower interest rates.

The economy needs to grow at least six per cent to cut chronic unemployment, although it has been falling short of that target, hurt by big fuel price hikes last year to curb huge subsidies.

Millions in the world’s fourth most populous country live on less than $2 a day, while official data show around 11 million people out of work and 30 million working under 35 hours a week. Yudhoyono urged the country, which has suffered repeated terror attacks in recent years, to remain on its guard.

“We are grateful this year for the fact that our country has not had any more terrorist attacks, but even with this situation, let us not be careless and continue to be alert.”

Red and white Indonesian flags have been fluttering from buildings for days, with celebrations for the 61st anniversary of independence due to be held across the vast country today.

The president said that surveillance had been increased as part of efforts to combat bird flu in the country where the disease has killed at least 44 people, the highest in the world.

The country has been criticised for not doing enough to stamp out the H5N1 virus.

The 56-year-old retired general, whose approval rating in polls has slipped below 50 per cent, said high economic growth was key to tackling poverty and that programmes to help the poor in the sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands would be revamped.

He announced plans to lift wages of civil servants by 23.2 per cent next year. The low pay of public workers has been blamed for encouraging corruption, while resistance from the bureaucracy is also regarded as a key obstacle to implementing policies.

Some commentators have said an anti-corruption drive is paralysing business plans and while Yudhoyono said he recognised such worries he said the battle should continue.

“I wish to stress, however, that there is no need for worry as long as everything is done according to procedure with clarity.

Ali Muchtar Ngabalin of the Star Reform Party, a small Muslim party, said the corruption drive was not being fairly pursued.

“For a thousand times the president says there will be no discrimination in chasing perpetrators of corruption, but up until today we haven’t seen that to be the case.”