Rachmadea Aisyah, Jakarta – Beyond flashy promises and all-out commitments, business players highlighted the importance of policy and regulatory certainty when it comes to presidential candidates as they gear up for the April election.
Businesspeople from the upstream to downstream sector called on incumbent President Jokowi "Jokowi" Widodo and contender Prabowo Subianto to maintain clear priorities and ensure business competitiveness regardless of any reforms they were offering.
Setting their priorities straight to strengthen the domestic economy were more important amid ongoing disruptions from the United States-China trade war and monetary normalization in developed markets, they said.
Representing the upstream side, food and beverage industry businessman Rachmat Hidayat said he was happy to see that both candidates have a shared mission to take Indonesia's manufacturing sector forward.
The food and beverage industry had been Indonesia's highest growing manufacturing sector over the past few years, with growth estimated to reach its peak at 8.71 percent this year, according to the Industry Ministry.
"There are business risks we can always manage, except for the ones coming from policy and regulatory [uncertainty]," said Rachmat who is the vice chairman for public policy at the Indonesian Food and Beverage Producers Association (GAPMMI).
"We want both candidates to understand that since they might become policymakers who make the rules, they are also the only ones who can manage the risks emanating from those said rules."
Efforts to boost ease of doing business, investment flows and competitiveness were vital aspects that should be adhered to by the candidates, Rachmat said.
On top of it, any elected president should align their political commitments within the existing regulatory framework of ministries and government agencies regardless of their mission, he added.
After announcing their presidential bids last year, Jokowi and Prabowo introduced their respective programs, including those related to the economy.
Jokowi and running mate Ma'ruf Amin, who is the non-active chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, offered nine mission statements based on "a productive, independent and competitive economic structure" and "fair and equal development".
Meanwhile, retired Army general Prabowo and seasoned businessman Sandiaga Uno are looking to "build a fair, prosperous, quality and environmentally sound national economy by putting the interests of the people first in accordance to Articles 33 and 34 of the 1945 Constitution".
Prabowo raised some eyebrows when he vowed, like the campaign promises of US President Donald Trump, to make massive tax cuts. However, at the same time, he said the current administration had relied too much on debt to finance the economy, while failing with its tax reforms.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) deputy chairman Tutum Rahanta hailed Jokowi's infrastructure breakthroughs that had helped boost industries and logistics, unlike most of his predecessors who had opted to "play it safe".
However, he pointed out that "the people implementing the policies are not doing much of a good job".
In contrast to the food and beverage sector, Indonesian retailers were battered by a series of retail store closures due to various factors. Late last year, supermarket chains Hero and the Central Department Store were the latest to close several outlets.
Echoing Rachmat, Tutum said elected candidates should not arbitrarily use progress made by the current administration to legitimize their own programs.
A case in point is the new Online Single Submission (OSS) system, which is designed to untangle complications in the business permit procedure by digitizing and integrating its database. The system, he said, was a "good sign of a modernized administration" that should be kept going.
"It [the OSS] is not perfect and we have been wounded in the process [to adapt to the system] but this is for the greater good," Tutum added.