Indosat Must be Bought Back to Restore Sovereignty: Observer

Jakarta, June 24 (Antara) - An economic observer has expressed his agreement that PT Indosat must be bought back in order to restore the country's telecommunication sovereignty. "If the state has money and the clause allows the buyback then it must indeed be bought back. We must restore our telecommunication sovereignty," Evo S. Hariandja from the Maranatha University in Bandung, West Java, stated here on Tuesday, when contacted to comment on the issue. Hariandja, who is also a lecturer at the School of Business and Management of the Bandung Institute of Technology, remarked after Indosat was bought by a Singaporean company that telephone calls between Singapore and Jakarta were no longer international. "This is certainly not fair for Indonesia. It is cheaper for Singaporeans to call Jakarta than Jakartans to Singapore," he pointed out. Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto raised the Indosat issue during a presidential debate on Sunday. The decision to sell PT Indosat was made by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is currently the general chairperson of the Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP) that has named Joko Widodo, or popularly known as Jokowi, as a presidential candidate. "Talking about drones and other means such as satellite will be very strategic but the question is Indosat was sold by Megawati while it has two geostationary satellites in space. So, what would you do? Would you buy it back?" Prabowo stated in response to Jokowi's plan to deploy drones to strengthen the country's defense during the debate. "We will buy it back, and in view of that, we must make our economy grow above seven percent," Jokowi added. He stressed that Megawati had made the decision because Indonesia was then hit by an economic crisis. "During the crisis, the state finances were bad. Thus, we decided to sell Indosat. But, let us see the clauses. They allow us to buy back. But, we were not able to do so until now," he affirmed. Jakarta Governor Jokowi, with former vice president Jusuf Kalla as his running mate, will contest against former military figure Prabowo Subianto who pairs with former economic minister Hatta Rajasa in the election on July 9. (*)