ASEAN will pierce a new phase in 2016, as it will act as an economic community. Indonesian market will become part of ASEAN market with borderless interaction. With no doubt, Indonesia will become main target of foreign investors with strong financial to infiltrate the market. Indonesia herself has become an open market moving to market liberalization in several sectors like airport, port, train, water, and oil and gas. If it fails to anticipate, this change will squeeze the country itself.

The provision will lead to complexity of national competition, since those with high capital will create innovation and high creation, embrace with complex business process. They will closely face Indonesian enterprises, which in some aspects still behind in term of their competitiveness. This definitely creates negative impact to Indonesia, should not be coped with high productivity and efficiency, and identification of unfair competition by the strong capitalist.

These challenges had triggered the government to extend the role of competition authority, through recent national development plan for 2015-2019. Competition policy names as one of the highest priority, and the strengthening of KPPU is inevitable. Government must further realize that, fair competition should become a value to lead Indonesia toward desirable outcome. Competition policy will create an efficient and productive enterprise through innovation, and by end, will improve Indonesian competitiveness.

To have competition policy as part of national economy and adapted by all policy makers, the mainstreaming of competition policy will become mandatory. It has been facilitated through the following:

1. The creation of fair competition as part of mental reforms, must be implemented through internalization of fair competition in formal education (higher education) and other official education;
2. The strengthening of fair competition by the enterprise, government, and society to prevent monopolistic practices;
3. Anti competition practices might impede the incentive for investment and industrial growth. Thus, Indonesia urgently need to implement strong prevention mechanism towards anti competition practices, enforcement of competition law, and internalization of fair competition principles on each business regulation, in order to create conducive competition climate;
4. The amendment of Law Number 5 Year 1999 concerning Prohibition of Monopolistic Practices and Unfair Business Competition, especially on several articles concerning institutional status of KPPU Secretariat, merger control, substantial matters that should be in line with economic principles, and policy harmonization. The changes of KPPU’s institutional status will strengthen its legitimacy to support the KPPU duties to implement the Competition Law.
5. The preparation of Presidential Regulation concerning Second Amendment of Presidential Decree Number 75 Year 1999 on Komisi Pengawas Persaingan Usaha (KPPU), in order to strengthen KPPU’s status to support its functions and duties. KPPU should play important role to run the policy direction as stated on Indonesian National Development Plan 2015-2019, especially on the implementation of fair competition policy and internalization of competition values as part of mental reforms.

Being part of national development plan considers as an important phase of competition policy and law development in Indonesia. It will escalate competition culture in any policy by the government. Strong support for the improvement of competition authority may lead to a stronger competition regime in Indonesia. Hence, we can convince for a brighter future of competition environment Indonesia in years to come.