Yudhoyono Denies Adopting Neo-liberalism

Speaking before the country’s top businesspeople, incumbent presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denied on Wednesday of having been implementing a neo-liberal economic policy during his five year tenure.

“(The government) is not a neo-liberalist. People are raving about neo liberalism but they don’t actually know what it is,” he was quoted by Antara as saying during a dialogue with members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Yudhoyono, who is running for a second term presidency on the upcoming July election, also said that for the last five years, his economic policies had been giving protection to financially-weak people while ensuring economic growth.

The government, he said, did not sit and let the businessmen, especially the multinational companies, define the country’s economy, rather it had done many interventions through various pro-poor policies.

Yudhoyono also promised a seven-percent economic growth if he gets reelected for the 2009-2014 term.

The number is lower than the eight-percent promised by his rival Jusuf Kalla. However, Yudhoyono argued that he based his promise on the fact that the world is in a great recession due to the global economic crises.

He also promised that he would pursue more equity in the economic growth, so that the less fortunate segments in the society could also enjoy the benefits of development. (Antara/Jakarta Post)