TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Hanura pledges to boost business climate
With media baron Hary Tanoesoedibjo on board, the Hanura Party has seen its electability soar, as the media power he wields has transformed the party into a force to be reckoned with
Change Size
W
ith media baron Hary Tanoesoedibjo on board, the Hanura Party has seen its electability soar, as the media power he wields has transformed the party into a force to be reckoned with.
But, the party might have more to offer rather than just attention-grabbing advertisements, as the presence of Hary ' one of the country's richest men and CEO of the MNC Group, the biggest media conglomerate in Indonesia ' might offer a fresh perspective of Indonesia's economy from the view of a businessman.
In a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, Hary noted that one of the major economic factors that needed urgent attention was the business climate.
'The only thing certain about Indonesia is uncertainty,' said Hary, who has been named the party's vice-presidential candidate. 'Our task now is to build a conducive investment climate so [foreign investors] want to invest here, which is why business certainty is required.'
He underscored the lack of clarity involving concessions for infrastructure projects, as well as land related to investment in the fishery and farming sectors. Indonesia could learn from foreign countries, where concession requirements and specifications were more detailed and more transparent, the Hanura executive said.
The lack of consistency in the implementation of business-related bylaws affects investors' sentiment, according to Hary, who specifically cited the way the government handled US-based mining giants Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and Newmont Mining Corp., which currently faced business uncertainty here.
'On Freeport and Newmont, we already have an agreement in place, so we should not do things haphazardly,' he warned. 'If we cancel the agreement, then people won't trust us anymore ' it's about credibility.'
Hanura, the smallest party in the House of Representatives, which controls only 18 out of 560 seats, was initially predicted to fail the electoral threshold this year. Various polls have shown that support for the party was waning, mainly because it depended on the charisma and resources of party chairman and presidential candidate Wiranto, a former military general.
However, Hanura has seen its fortunes reversed since the arrival of Hary, 48, who officially joined the party in February last year.
In the last 2009 election, Hanura only reaped 3.7 percent of the total vote, yet according to a survey by Kompas daily, its electability is now 6.6 percent, thanks to the party's aggressive promotional strategy across Hary's newspapers, newswires, television stations and radio stations.
Hanura's electability is currently not too far off the ruling Democratic Party, which is predicted to collect 7.2 percent of the vote, according to the same survey.
However, Hary rebuffed the notion that the recent improvement was solely attributed to his media influence.
'The media does not always affect electability positively. If the public sees the person in a negative light, then [his or her] electability can decline. So, the media may help popularity, but popularity does not have a positive correlation with electability,' he argued.
Hanura has a history of a close relationship with the Golkar Party, as Wiranto was once named the vice-presidential candidate of Jusuf Kalla ' then a Golkar politician ' for the 2009 election. At the time, the pair promised Indonesia would post 8 percent economic growth if they were elected.
Currently, Hanura is a member of the opposition camp and has consistently rejected the government's move to hike the subsidized fuel price every time the idea has been floated.
To tackle its high oil-trade deficit, Indonesia should not focus on eliminating fuel subsidies, but rather on how to tap into new oil deposits to boost production, according to Hary.
'We must intensify exploration efforts offshore, though they tend to be more expensive,' he said. 'We can adjust the compensation scheme so that contractors want to invest in offshore wells ' I'm certain we still have abundant oil reserves in the sea.'
While highlighting the importance of the relationship with overseas investors, Hary had a somewhat different stance on the issue of free trade, where he argued the country should focus on promoting the development of domestic businesses.
Free trade is 'impossible' to be totally free, as the country needs barriers to safeguard national interests, he said.
