PRESIDENT PREPARES SEVEN PRIORITY POLICIES

Jakarta, Aug 3 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prepared seven priority policies for implementation by his government in 2010.


The President made the statement in his State Address on the 2010 Draft State Budget and Financial Note to an extraordinary plenum of the House of Representatives on Monday.


Firstly, the real sector will be constantly carried out, following the issuance of various policies including fiscal incentives to encourage the real sector to grow faster.


Secondly, the prevention of dismissals while constantly lowering the unemployment rate.


The President said in facing the current crisis Indonesia is also preventing unjustifiable and unfair dismissals. Under various programs of minimizing the impact of the global financial crisis and maintaining the number of unemployment people at less than 60,000, far less than the originally estimated 1.5 million.


Thirdly, maintaining price stability, especially the prices of the people's daily staples. The government will also try to maintain the inflation rate at a relatively low level.


Up to July 2009, the year on year inflation rate reached only 2.71 percent, which was a record low since 2000.


Fourthly, maintaining and promoting the purchasing power of the people, in this case lowering tax on personal income, and increasing tax on non-taxable income.


Lowering of fuel oil prices, increasing salaries --- for civil servants, the Armed Forces, the National Police, and pensioners as well as teachers/university lecturers --- and giving cash assistance during most difficult times for poor families.


These measures are necessary because public consumption constituted a dominant contributor to the total national economic growth.
Fifthly, protecting the poor or near poor people. One of the tasks of a state is protection and providing a social safety net to lower income people.

For that purpose various pro people programs like BOS, Jamkesmas, PKH, Beras Bersubsidi, conditional BLT, and others, will be continued.

Sixthly, maintaining food and energy security. Food prices must be constantly affordable in adequate quantities.
"We also have anticipated the arrival of the El-Nino in some parts of Indonesia which may cause drought by the end of 2009, and early in 2010," he said.

He added that to prevent disrupted food security, measures in anticipation and overcoming the impact of El-Nino have been taken and will be constantly carried out such as by maintaining adequate rice stocks through the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) of at least 1.5 million tons.

The government will also continue with its subsidized rice program for 17.5 million targeted households with 15 kg per home for 12 months.

The government will continue maintaining food price stability, especially rice, by providing emergency funds in anticipation of such situation, amounting to Rp 1 trillion in 2010.

Besides the government will see that dams function well and properly. In anticipating droughts which may cause forest fires, the President ordered the regional administrations to anticipate and prevent the spread of the fires.

In the fields of energy security, production will be boosted and diversified, and distribution will be improved to secure energy supplies. The management of demand for energy also needs to be constantly improved.