Rizal Ramli
Encyclopedia
Rizal Ramli is an Indonesia
n politician
. He is a prominent Indonesian economist
graduated from Boston University
with a Ph.D degree in economics in 1990. Ramli served as Coordinating Minister for Economics Affairs (August 2000–July 2001) and Minister of Finance (July 2001) under President Abdurrahman Wahid
administration. He was the chairman of Komite Bangkit Indonesia (Indonesia Awakening Committee) and an independent candidate for president in the July 2009 elections.
Dr Ramli was sent to prison by the New Order regime for his protesting against Suharto's re-election in 1978. Upon his return from the United States, he founded ECONIT Advisory Group, an independent economic think-tank, with some of his colleagues. In the beginning of President Abdurahman Wahid's administration, Dr Ramli was appointed as the Chairman of Bulog.
When he was still active as the managing director of ECONIT, Dr Rizal Ramli and his team have been very critical on the government policies, particularly that ignored public and national interests, such as: national car policy, urea-tablet fertilizer, Freeport mining, etc.
In January 2009, Indonesian police charged Ramli with inciting street riots in May 2008 protesting government fuel price increases.
Role as Chair of Rice Logistics Bureau (Bulog)
Dr Rizal Ramli's career in government started when he was appointed as the Chairman of Bulog (Indonesia's large rice procurement agency) in Gus Dur's
Administration in March 2000. He was the chairman of Bulog for less than a year but he was regarded by some as making notable breakthroughs during the period. He introduced steps to improve Bulog's performance. He made efforts to reform Bulog into a more transparent and accountable institution such as transforming off-budget accounts of Bulog to on-budget ones. During Dr Ramli's period with Bulog there were reports of significant cost savings and efficiencies in the operation of the agency. As result, Bulog had a surplus on its account. Dr Ramli simplified and consolidated Bulog's accounts from 117 to only nine accounts.
Recent activities
Since leaving government, Rizal Ramli has continued to play an active role in public policy discussion in Indonesia. He is frequently critical of the government, often providing media comment and arguing that further reform is needed in various areas in Indonesia.
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He is a prominent Indonesian economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
graduated from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
with a Ph.D degree in economics in 1990. Ramli served as Coordinating Minister for Economics Affairs (August 2000–July 2001) and Minister of Finance (July 2001) under President Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid, born Abdurrahman Addakhil , colloquially known as , was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001...
administration. He was the chairman of Komite Bangkit Indonesia (Indonesia Awakening Committee) and an independent candidate for president in the July 2009 elections.
Dr Ramli was sent to prison by the New Order regime for his protesting against Suharto's re-election in 1978. Upon his return from the United States, he founded ECONIT Advisory Group, an independent economic think-tank, with some of his colleagues. In the beginning of President Abdurahman Wahid's administration, Dr Ramli was appointed as the Chairman of Bulog.
When he was still active as the managing director of ECONIT, Dr Rizal Ramli and his team have been very critical on the government policies, particularly that ignored public and national interests, such as: national car policy, urea-tablet fertilizer, Freeport mining, etc.
In January 2009, Indonesian police charged Ramli with inciting street riots in May 2008 protesting government fuel price increases.
Role as Chair of Rice Logistics Bureau (Bulog)
Dr Rizal Ramli's career in government started when he was appointed as the Chairman of Bulog (Indonesia's large rice procurement agency) in Gus Dur's
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid, born Abdurrahman Addakhil , colloquially known as , was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001...
Administration in March 2000. He was the chairman of Bulog for less than a year but he was regarded by some as making notable breakthroughs during the period. He introduced steps to improve Bulog's performance. He made efforts to reform Bulog into a more transparent and accountable institution such as transforming off-budget accounts of Bulog to on-budget ones. During Dr Ramli's period with Bulog there were reports of significant cost savings and efficiencies in the operation of the agency. As result, Bulog had a surplus on its account. Dr Ramli simplified and consolidated Bulog's accounts from 117 to only nine accounts.
Recent activities
Since leaving government, Rizal Ramli has continued to play an active role in public policy discussion in Indonesia. He is frequently critical of the government, often providing media comment and arguing that further reform is needed in various areas in Indonesia.