Hoping the Government Will Move Swiftly

Industries in Indonesia are beginning to stretch awake throughout 2004. Some are even accelerating at high speed. Look at the automotive sector, which has broken an all-time high record. Several other industries are showing increasingly tougher competition, such as in the electronics, airline, commercial property, and cell-phone sectors.

In addition to sharply soaring sales volumes, customers are also benefiting because there are more choices, wider access, and cheaper prices.

This awakening of the industry deserves to be greeted joyously. But behind its brilliant performance, a number of old problems still rankle, starting from high economic costs, the uncertainty of the law and in doing business, to security issues.

The swift movement by the new government—from stopping smuggling at ports to sudden inspections on the roads—gave birth to new hope: various old problems can be overcome. Something that in the past was totally out of reach.