I'm optimistic about our economic growth: VP Kalla

Tue, 06/24/2008 10:01 AM  |  Headlines

Many people believe in the old adage: "Where there is a will, there is a way." Jusuf Kalla is one such believer. The Vice President and Golkar Party chairman spoke to journalists, including The Jakarta Post's Imanuddin Razak, on several issues, including the country's economic performance, government policies and the upcoming 2009 general elections, in an interview at his office Monday. The following are excerpts of the interview.

JUSUF KALLA: (JP/Arief Suhardiman)

Question: What is your opinion of the country's economic outlook for the future?

Answer: Even though we faced problems in terms of bureaucracy, infrastructure, corruption, collusion and nepotism (known collectively as KKN) and law enforcement, we still enjoyed an economic growth of 6.3 percent last year.

I am sure if we can put those four major problems to rest, we will see economic growth of 9 to 10 percent in 2011.

Why 2011 and not 2009?

The year 2009 is only a matter of months away. It is impossible to solve those problems and reach such an economic growth target within that time.

Why are you so optimistic about our economic growth?

First of all we must be consistent and firm in solving these four problems. If we can solve them and at the same time intensify production, minimize energy consumption and maintain food sustainability, I am sure we can reach the target.

Also, the competitiveness of our products is expected to increase within the next three years as cheap products from China, which currently dominate global markets, and also India, will cease being competitive because of rising fuel costs for transportation from these two countries to, for instance, the United States, one of their largest trading partners. U.S. consumers might then turn to cheaper products from neighboring Mexico. So China and India will have to focus on their domestic markets.

Speaking of fuel, why did the government decide to increase fuel prices in spite of popular opposition?

We had no choice but to increase the prices. Everyone criticized the government's decision to do so, but none of these critics said anything about the negative impact to the country and the people if fuel prices were not raised.

Besides, there is no guarantee (President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and I) will secure reelection next year by not increasing fuel prices. (Former president) Megawati's decision not to raise fuel prices months before the 2004 general elections did not prevent her losing the election.

After all, demonstrations against the fuel price increase did not linger for months... they lasted only two weeks.

Despite the price increase, the government still maintains the fuel subsidy. Will there be another price increase this year or perhaps a few months ahead of the 2009 general elections?

I think no one in the government dares to raise fuel prices again. We can seek other ways to lessen the impact of rising global fuel prices. We could increase private vehicle taxes, for instance, and leave public transport vehicle taxes unchanged.

Why did the police take such a hard line in dealing with National University students who were protesting the fuel price rise?

We are sorry for the students, who were victims of the police's firm actions. But I ordered the police to be firm because the students had committed violations by protesting at night and attacking the police with projectiles. In the U.S., for instance, attacking police officers can lead to years of imprisonment.

Can you tell us why the State Intelligence Agency's (BIN) former deputy chief, Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Purwopranjono, was named a suspect in the Sept. 7, 2004 murder of human rights activist Munir? Did the police have the President's approval to arrest him?

Muchdi's arrest was based purely on the results of the police investigation of the murder case, including evidence and witness testimonies from the trials of the two already convicted suspects (Garuda Indonesia pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto and former Garuda president Indra Setiawan).

As far as I know, there was no such approval from the President to arrest Muchdi as a suspect.

The Golkar Party has suffered defeats in two gubernatorial elections in Java, believed to be the catalyst for the 2009 general elections. Will the defeats influence Golkar's 2009 elections achievement?

Based on our calculations, the results of gubernatorial elections, including in Java, cannot be used to determine our achievement in the 2009 general elections. The general elections, in particular the presidential election, have different characteristics to gubernatorial elections.

Let me ask you and the general public a question: Of all the parties in the 2009 election, which one, according to you, meets the need of the majority of Indonesians' for a pluralist, nationalist political party? Those religion-based political parties cannot secure support for more than 15 percent of votes. And do people still want to vote for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle after their performance in governing the country from 2001 to 2004?

Besides, Golkar cadres still dominate regency and mayoral elections nationwide.

Speaking of next year's presidential election, will you run on the same ticket as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or on your own ticket?

Golkar will decide on that after the results of the legislative election in April 2009 have been issued. For now, we'll just wait.

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