Sutanto’s Daunting Tasks The Jakarta Post, Thursday, 15 January 2009
The recent appointment of General (ret.) Sutanto -- the country’s former National Police chief, as president commissioner of state oil and gas company Pertamina brings hope that the company will perform better. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s choice to appoint him, replacing General (ret.) Endriartono Sutarto, might have been based on Sutanto’s achievements both before and during his tenure as the National Police chief. Sutanto, one of the most successful national police chiefs in transforming the national police force’s image as well as in its performance to better serve the people, has so far been lauded by many. The extension of his term was expected when SBY was a bit late to appoint his successor. With his new post, it is expected that he will be able to turn Pertamina into a world-class oil and gas company. However, the company has been suffering from repeated illnesses when it comes to its distribution system. It has been under fire for a recent scarcity of subsidized 3-kilogram liquefied petroleum gas cylinders and gasoline and diesel fuels at many gas stations over the past few days. Sutanto pledged, after his inauguration, that his first priority as president commissioner was to prevent a repeat of fuel scarcity. However, the other issues he has to deal with are so daunting — especially when it comes to directing Pertamina’s board of directors in order to create a healthy, profitable and competitive company. Together with other commissioners, his tasks will be, among other things, to oversee the running and the growth of the company. Sutanto should not hesitate to learn from Malaysia’s Petronas — Pertamina’s one-time younger sibling which since 2003 has became the seventh top oil and gas firm in the world. Its 2004 profits were US$5 billion, and when oil prices soared to $145 a barrel last August, Petronas reaped a record net profit of $18,1 billion during the 2007/2008 period. On the other hand, Sutanto should prevent PT Pertamina’s board of directors from being summoned and investigated again — as they were last year — by the House of Representatives for the company’s fuel management practices, especially in regards to irregularities in the import of crude oil and its fuel products. This included questions on the company’s partnership with oil brokers who have insufficient capacity, coupled with a lack of transparency in the import process which was blamed for causing imported products to be more expensive than what neighboring countries paid. We have high hopes for Sutanto to develop PT Pertamina into a world-class company because the last issue mentioned above is not new for him as he was quite harsh in dealing with criminals, brokers and other illegal practices, and he knows how to overcome it. He also doesn’t have to think about his remuneration, as he will receive a salary equal to half of the company’s president director who receives Rp 150 million a month ($15.000). M. RUSDI Jakarta Source: THE JAKARTA POST URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/01/15/letter-sutanto’s-daunting-tasks.html ___________________________________________________________________________ Nama baru untuk Anda! Dapatkan nama yang selalu Anda inginkan di domain baru @ymail dan @rocketmail. Cepat sebelum diambil orang lain! http://mail.promotions.yahoo.com/newdomains/id/ ------------------------------------ http://www.SuratPembaca.info Komunitas Surat Pembaca IndonesiaYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/surat-pembaca/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/surat-pembaca/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
