http://thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/strong-leadership-needed-on-poverty/314518
June 25, 2009 Editorial A child sits near his makeshift house underneath a toll road in Jakarta on Thursday. (Photo: Supri, Reuters) Strong Leadership Needed on Poverty With the sharpest economic downturn in living history hampering poverty reduction efforts in developing nations, the topic of Thursday night's presidential debate was spot-on. As the crisis continues to drag on and more companies either fold or downsize operations to survive, the poverty and unemployment situation in the country will worsen. Unemployment in the country is expected to increase by about 9 percent this year, which translates to about nine million jobless Indonesians who can't provide for their families' needs, consequently exacerbating the poverty situation. And if we take underemployment into account, we are talking about more than 30 million Indonesians who are unable to make ends meet, further straining the country's already poor social services infrastructure. For Indonesia, poverty, which officially grips 15 percent of the population, and unemployment are the twin challenges the next president must seriously address . However, all three presidential candidates failed to propose any meaningful programs to address society's widening income gap. They all stuck to the hackneyed approach of meeting the basic needs of the poor first, while setting aside socioeconomic needs. Empathy often compels us to help the poor by throwing money at them; but to really help the poor, we must provide decent jobs. Poverty eradication is not just about making sure families have three meals a day; it is also about ensuring access to health care and education, providing opportunities to earn a decent income, making sure the rule of law is upheld and eliminating corruption. It is about embracing the foundations of democracy, the rule of law and free markets. Empowerment, rather than bigger government and a bloated bureaucracy set up to monitor "pro-poor programs," is the solution to the country's problem. We as a nation must invest heavily and continuously in infrastructure and human development. We must improve and reform our educational system to produce people who can work in modern industries and thereby improve their standard of living. We must lower taxes so companies, businesses and individuals can invest more, thus creating a virtuous cycle of growth and innovation. A strong rupiah policy must be pursued so our currency has greater value, which builds confidence and encourages spending. Having a sound macroeconomic policy and a light touch on regulations will do far more to alleviate poverty than any government program. We therefore fully applaud the nomination of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati as the next governor of the central bank. With her appointment, there will be improved coordination between Bank Indonesia and the Ministry of Finance. Sri Mulyani has done an outstanding job as finance minister. She would bring her powerful intellect, her sense of national duty and her no-nonsense approach to reform to the central bank, and thereby strengthen this crucial institution, which has suffered from recent scandals [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
