Economic ministers less sensitive to basic needs

JAKARTA. President Joko Widodo's economic ministers are less sensitive to the people's basic needs, Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) for inter-agencies relations, Bambang Soesatyo said.

In a press statement received by Antara on Sunday, Bambang Soesatyo said Joko Widodo's economic team was not sensitive to the people's basic needs after the abolition of energy subsidies.

"Joko Widodo needs to expedite his agenda on cabinet reshuffle by changing his economic team," Soesatyo said.

He said that Jokowi, as the president is popularly called, should reshuffle his cabinet because the popularity of his government was currently going down.

Soesatyo quoted a survey result which revealed that about 66.6% of the public were not satisfied with the government's performance because the prices of basic necessities had been increasing significantly. The prices of sugar and electricity were on the rise and fuel oil prices were also fluctuating.

Soesatyo, who is also a member of Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR), stated that the economic ministers of Jokowi's Working Cabinet were not able to adjust to the working rhythm after Jokowi adopted a policy on the abolition of energy subsidies.

The policy has direct impact on the people namely as it left the retail prices of the fuel oils to the market mechanism.

As a result, the people felt significant impacts because the policy affected the prices of basic necessities and transportation service fares which can any time increase or go down.

"In such a situation, the government should not remain silent. As a regulator, it should be present in the market to stimulate and stabilize prices and goods supplies so that they will be under control and within the financial reach of the people," he said.

He therefore suggested that the President should form a strong economic team. "Besides focusing on large scale projects in the infrastructure sector, the team should also consistently heed the basic need issues," he added.