T

his is again the time when we should give credit where credit is due. New Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung, who replaced Hatta Rajasa, deserves high commendation for taking on the right set of priorities during his first two weeks in office.

We initially played down the role Chairul would have, given only five months remain for the present Cabinet. Moreover, the role and influence of the minister as the coordinator of economic policies has always been small, especially during the transition to a new government later in October.

Moreover, we saw a lot of potential conflicts Chairul would face in the execution of his job, given his control of widely diversified CT Corp., which has big interests in banking, property, electronic media, plantations and mining, just to mention a few. But Chairul seems to have realized the perceived negative sentiment toward his appointment. His assertion right after taking office that he did not harbor any ambitions, nor would he be willing, to join the next administration helped build up his profile as being political independent in his five-month tenure.

Yet, most impressive has been that the top priority he set for himself was quite strategic, given the legal restrictions he encounters regarding policy-making during this transition period. He rightly focused his attention on loosening the bureaucratic inertia that hinders investment and business operations in the mining sector and oil and gas industry. As an entrepreneur himself, Chairul fully realizes the costs of delays in corporate moves or project implementation.

He immediately set policy meetings with Freeport and Newmont, the country'€™s largest gold and copper producers whose exports have been blocked since January by the government regulation banning the export of unprocessed minerals. Chairul seemed to be fully aware that the stalemate should be stopped, otherwise Indonesia'€™s export performance would worsen and its trade deficit would continue to increase, threatening the current-account balance and the stability of the rupiah.

The latest data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported a cumulative trade deficit of US$900 million in the first four months of the year, and this deficit could increase significantly without any breakthrough in the export ban on unprocessed minerals.

More worrisome is the damage the deadlock could cause to investor confidence in Indonesia'€™s mining industry.

Chairul has also endeavored to expedite the elaborate licensing procedures for geothermal power projects, including the long-delayed $1.6 billion Sarulla project in North Sumatra, and Chevron'€™s $12 billion deep-water gas development project in the Makassar Strait in South Sulawesi. Its is needless to reiterate the multiplier impact these energy projects would have on the economy, especially because the main reason for the steep trade deficit is the increase in oil imports.

We hope Chairul also will soon improve the coordination of inter-ministerial efforts to expedite licensing procedures for state-owned electric company PLN to build overhead high-voltage transmission lines.