IN recent weeks, Minister of Manpower & Transmigration Erman Soeparno has felt that he could do no right. I want things to cool down first, said Erman weakly, to Tempo last week.

Minister Erman is indeed in a pinch. As a minister, his office has received an important order from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). The assignment is to bolster investment, as it has become readily apparent that the country is suffering from a lack of that comm