Kamis, 29 Januari 2009 | 13:41 WIB (www.kompas.com)
BEIJING, KAMIS — China telah memerintahkan para pejabatnya mengurangi mobil mahal dan perjalanan ke luar negeri pada tahun ini. Beijing kini sedang berusaha untuk mengatasi dampak krisis keuangan global. Hal ini dikatakan media pemerintah, Kamis (29/1).
Para pejabat juga harus berhati-hati tidak membelanjakan terlalu banyak untuk pertemuan dan resepsi, kantor berita Xinhua melaporkan dengan mengutip sumber tanpa nama di kementerian keuangan. Sementara itu, pemerintah akan memperkuat pengawasannya terhadap penggunaan uang publik dan memberantas korupsi.
Menteri Keuangan Xie Xuren mengingatkan, Senin, bahwa perekonomian menghadapi kondisi yang "sangat berat" pada tahun ini dan mengindikasikan anggaran pemerintah akan ketat karena pajak akan dipangkas untuk mengatasi penurunan perekonomian.
Pidato Menteri Keuangan itu merupakan sinyal terbaru dari kekhawatiran pejabat terhadap keadaan keuangan dan perekonomian negara ketika sejumlah masalah yang diakibatkan krisis global terus menghantam perekonomian China yang bergantung pada ekspor.
Beijing pada November mengumumkan paket stimulus 590 miliar dollar AS untuk mendorong permintaan domestik.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Pejabat China Dilarang Jalan-jalan
Editorial: Politicizing economic issues
The Jakarta Post | Thu, 01/29/2009 10:05 AM | Opinion
With parliamentary and presidential elections coming up in April and July respectively, we find it increasingly difficult to ascertain whether politicians or officials, when commenting on economic issues, are making fair observations or are simply campaigning for their parties.
It is understandable if officials of the incumbent government focus their public commentaries on the positive aspects of the economy, while politicians of the opposition parties tend to be extremely critical in their assessment.
Look, for example, how President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono went all out to exploit the government-mandated fuel price cuts over the past three months for his political grandstanding, as if claiming credit for what should have been attributed to the economic downturn in developed economies.
There is nothing wrong, nor illegal, in the official emphasis on the positive multiplier of the fuel-price decrease and other positive indicators of the economy. It is also politically understandable if opposition parties emphasize the shortcomings of the incumbent government, citing the high unemployment and poverty rates.
It would, though, be damaging to the market confidence in our economic management and the credibility of government policies if inordinately optimistic forecasts by officials and members of the President’s political camp meant mainly for election grandstanding were seriously considered in policy making.
Likewise, an irrationally adversary stance on the part of the opposition parties in parliament against any law or reform proposals from the government could adversely affect our macroeconomic stability, especially now when firm and quick decisions are required to cope with the fallout from the recession in the world’s economic powerhouses.
True, our economic resilience and institutions are now much stronger than during the 1997-1998 economic and political crisis, and our dependence on exports is not as large as many other countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
But the blunt fact is our economy is suffering from the brunt of the sharp downturn in the developed countries and major emerging economies. The government can still be highly optimistic, expecting 4.5-5.5 percent economic growth this year, as against 2.75-4 percent predicted by independent analysts. But it is much better to err on the conservative side than on highly optimistic forecasts because the adjustments needed to cope with the impact of the latter error are more painful for the common people.
This is, we think, the main challenge for Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who is in charge of fiscal management, and Bank Indonesia Governor Boediono as the chief of the monetary management.
Since both officials do not belong to any political parties, their integrity, competence and leadership become the key to maintaining the credibility of government policies. As the leaders of the economic management they should have the courage to stand up against any demand even from the President for economic measures which seem beneficial in the short term but damaging in the long term.
The first test case will be the sorely needed amendments to the 2009 state budget. The budget revision should reflect a consistently high fiscal discipline, despite the big pump priming to cushion the impact of the global economic downturn.
