What are the most urgent issues facing the Indonesian economy?
Creating jobs is the priority. With the economy growing at only 3% to 4% per year, it’s tough to employ 3 million new job-seekers every year. Everything hinges on growth. If exports recover, the ratio of debt service will go down. It’s very difficult at this moment to predict export levels. We are facing a very uncertain time. Q: How will you avoid trampling on special interests in managing the budget — for example, in reducing fuel subsidies? A: This is the problem. But the mood in the country [is that] people really want to move back to normalcy. I have asked for a cease-fire in Parliament. We should have passed the budget by Aug. 16. But I’ll be lucky to line it up by September. Q: How do you plan to restructure the government’s staggering debt? A: The government ended up as the owner of thousands of private companies in the private sector. Now it has reverted back to a socialist situation. The big question is, should we allow the old owners to go back? We’re talking about “haircut
