Technocrats the way to go in politics; Political considerations have not served Indonesians well in several sectors, and capable and honest administrators are needed

Updated: Tuesday March 18, 2014 MYT 10:42:13 AM

Technocrats the way to go in politics

BY KARIM RASLAN

Gita Wirjawan

Political considerations have not served Indonesians well in several sectors, and capable and honest administrators are needed.

ON Jan 31, 2014, Gita Wirjawan, who was Indonesia’s Trade Minister, surprised everyone by resigning from his Cabinet post in order to concentrate on his nascent political career.

Gita – a Harvard-educated investment banker turned government official – is running in the ruling Democratic Party’s presidential primaries.

He’s also a close confidant of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY).

While the Democrats are suffering from corruption scandals and the sheer fatigue of incumbency, Gita is a fresh face who has both integrity and policy smarts.

His move is likely to turn the heat on his political rivals.

Still, Gita is not the only technocrat who is toying with full-time politics.

His fellow Democrat hopefuls (all technocrats par excellence) Anies Baswedan and Dino Patti Djalal have also put their careers on hold.

However, given the current mood vis-à-vis politicians, maybe they should all reconsider their choices.

As disenchantment with professional politicians grows, voters are looking to technocrats to fill the leadership void.

This isn’t something new. When Suharto became President in 1967 (having taken effective power from Sukarno in 1965), Indonesia’s economy was in dire straits and parts of the country were on the brink of famine.

Suharto moved to rope in a group of US-educated Indonesian economists, dubbed the “Berkeley Mafia” (after the alma mater of several of them) for his administration.

Prominent members of this group included the respected economist Widjojo Nitisastro, who eventually became Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry in 1973.

There was also Emil Salim, who among other things was Minister of State for Development, Supervision and the Environ-ment from 1978–1983.

Under the Berkeley Mafia, Suharto’s New Order reversed Sukarno’s policies of nationalisation and heavy borrowing in favour of deregulation, controlling inflation and producing a balanced budget.

While many blamed them in later years for failing to rein in Suharto’s excesses, under their watch, Indonesia’s economy enjoyed three decades of economic growth averaging at around 6.5% per annum between late 1960s and 1997.

Fast-forward to today and Indonesia still needs technocrats, if not more so.

SBY has drawn from their “class” extensively – Boediono, Chatib Basri, Dahlan Iskan and Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

All of them have played a vital role in managing Indonesia’s economy in the wake of recent global economic uncertainties.

But their tenure is coming to an end and it would be a tragedy if the next government – whoever leads it – privileges political ties above talent.

Because, make no mistake, Indonesia’s economy, although promising, is facing huge challenges.

Inflation rose 11.35% in 2013 due to increases in staple food prices, including rice.

This in turn can be attributed to failed agricultural policies.

Indonesia is an enthusiastic practitioner of import restrictions for agricultural products in the name of protecting local farmers.

Such policies have, however, not included complimentary attempts to boost local agricultural production.

This inevitably results in shortages, which further drives prices up.

At the same time, Indonesia’s education is sorely under-performing despite US$30.4bil (RM99.5bil) (or 20% of the entire state budget) being funnelled to it last year.

A major controversy erupted last year when it was announced that under a new curriculum, Indonesian school children would spend less time learning science, English and information technology (IT) in favour of Bahasa Indonesia and religious as well as civic studies.

Clearly, political considerations have not served Indonesians well when it comes to agriculture and education.

These are just two policy sectors for which Indonesia needs capable and honest administrators.

This is all the more so with the advent of the Asean Economic Community in 2015 looming, when already-intense regional competition will become a brutal free-for-all.

Regardless of where his political future takes him, men like Gita can transform the Republic.

So in conclusion, Indonesia needs more technocrats, not less, and two critical ministries – Agriculture and Education — require professional leadership to propel the Republic forward.

Come to think of it, having more technocrats in our Cabinet could also do Malaysia a world of good.