Jakarta (ANTARA) - The general chairman of the Association of Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs (HIPMI), Edwin Aksa, said the assumptions in the 2012 Draft State Budget presented by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to parliament on Tuesday were positive. "The assumptions are very positive. They show that our economy is getting stronger," he said here on Wednesday. He agreed the fuel oil subsidy that had reached the wrong target must be reduced and shifted to other sectors that need it such as the direct cash assistance program for the poor or infrastructure projects. Erwin also considered the draft budget very conservative. "We all actually know that the core problem behind the bottle necking in economic activities so far had been infrastructure. So this sector must be the one that should be given a priority," he said. He believed if this sector was given a priority the economy could grow higher in 2012. "I am optimistic it could reach seven percent," he said. He also said that anticipation should be made on food problems and energy crisis. "We must all be realistic that the allocation of subsidy in the budget has been too big. Regarding the deficit I think it is still too small and the room for expansion is still big," he said. He viewed the debt assumption which is still below three percent is still reasonable. Regarding debts he said "we must not be too afraid of its ratio. I think debts are a normal thing so long as they are really used for national development." Edwin said there is actually still room for Indonesia to expand so long as public spending is really absorbed in projects according to priorities.


Editor : Chandra Hamdani Noer
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