16th July 2008. Banks, ports and custom offices may have to operate on weekends following the issuance of a joint ministerial decree that requires manufacturing companies to move two of their working days each month to Saturday and Sunday. "If it is to work, ports, and banks in particular, must follow suit," acting Coordinating Minister for the Economy Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Tuesday.
The decree, signed by five ministers Monday, is part of an effort to avoid an electricity deficit by distributing demand more evenly. The implementation of the decree, which will last from July 21 until the end of last year, is said to be able to save 600-700 megawatts of electricity a day and help areas in Java and Bali avoid blackouts. "The manufacturing industry needs distribution of goods, and the consequence is that the customs and excise offices must open. However, it will be difficult as it (the shift in work days) is only once a month for some regions," Mulyani said.
"We need to talk with Bank Indonesia (BI) regarding the banking sector; customs and excise offices cannot operate if banks are not open," she said.
BI spokeswoman Dyah Nastiti Makhijani assured BI would operate on the weekend if the government requested it. "We have not received it (the request), but we will follow it up," Dyah said. BI will study whether there is a niche from the financial sector if banks are opened on Saturday and Sunday, she said.
"If there are economic activities, we will operate," Dyah said. Local banks here are accustomed to providing services during holidays, particularly on days where significant financial transactions occur, such as during the Muslim holiday of Idul Fitri. The Director General of Customs and Excise Anwar Suprijadi said customs and excise offices would be ready to open on weekends with full facilities. "However, we cannot guarantee all customs and excise offices will open, particularly in certain regions," Anwar said.
He said the directorate general of customs and excise would meet businesspeople Thursday to talk about the implementation of the decree. "We are following up on the joint decree with all our offices in anticipating the needs of industry," Anwar said. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) vice chairman for investment and transportation affairs Chris Kanter said there was no need for the government to also impose the joint ministerial decree on banks and customs offices. "The regulation only requires manufacturers to move their two working days... so it's not too necessary yet to impose the regulation on banks and customs offices," he said.
The Directorate General for Electricity and Energy Utilization at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, J. Purnomo, said power supply would reach a stable level in the middle of next year as state power firm PT PLN provided an additional 2,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity from four of its new gas-fired power stations expected to reach full operation in June 2009.
