REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The president director of state-owned weapons industry PT Pindad, Silmy Karim, said that through the Ministry of Defense, the government plans to increase the procurement of weapons by up to 40 percent of its needs from the company.

"The Ministry of Defense will increase its purchases. We are ready to meet the demand by continuously improving the quality and capacity of our weapons and ammunition products," he stated after being inaugurated as the new chief of the company at the office of the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises here on Monday (22/12).

He pointed out that the transformation of PT Pindad was still ongoing and had three targets to meet. These include meeting the government's needs for weaponry, consumers' need for specifications and quality, and preparing the company to be able to compete with international weapons producers.

"I will continue to meet the expectations of stakeholders, i. e. those of the government and users, and to prepare Pindad to compete at an international level," he affirmed.

The increasing demand for products from Pindad, including bullets, armored vehicles, and ammunition, is in line with the directives of the cabinet secretary.

Karim, who graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School of the U. S. Navy, is known as a professional with an educational background in economics and defense. He has long been involved in policy making and in the defense industry in Indonesia.

He studied defense in various institutions, including the NATO School in Germany and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany.

At an international level, the newly-installed president director has experience working at FMC Corporation, one of the world's most noted chemical companies, where he looked into meeting the needs of the agricultural, industrial and energy sectors, as well as those of the global market.

Karim used to be a special staff of the country's Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM) and a spokesman for the Defense Industry Policy Committee (KKIP) of the Ministry of Defense.

The best graduate of the National Defense Institute's young leader education program, he also used to work at state-owned shipbuilding industry PT PAL Indonesia.

Karim was also an associate chairman of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI).

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