A new friend in Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's incoming President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
\ntakes office tomorrow with a promise of \"a beautiful era\",
\nincluding better relations with the West.<\/p>\n
In a public, and unprecedented, gesture of goodwill, the Prime
\nMinister, John Howard, will attend the inauguration ceremony in
\nJakarta. Prospects for diplomatic harmony have rarely been
\nbetter. Susilo comes to the job with a polished rhetoric of
\npolitical and economic reform, language the West understands. For
\nAustralia, a Susilo government will mean smoother communication
\nin general, and enhanced security co-operation over the terrorist
\nthreat to Australians and their interests in particular. But just
\nhow \"beautiful\" the broader bilateral relationship will prove
\ndepends largely on whether Susilo succeeds in reshaping his
\nnation.<\/p>\n
The catch is this. Susilo inherits a faltering economy and
\ngrinding unemployment. On paper, Indonesia's 4.8 percent growth
\nrate looks like a respectable recovery from the Asian economic
\ncrisis of the late-1990s. But Indonesia's domestic market is so
\nlarge that this merely reflects consumer spending. What Indonesia
\nmust achieve, just to absorb the millions of school leavers who
\nenter the job market each year, is growth of 6 percent to 7
\npercent. Eight would be better. Anything less and poverty and
\ndeprivation will continue to fuel resentment and instability, to
\nfoster corruption, and, arguably, to feed Islamic extremism. But
\nthese are some of the very problems which discourage the new
\nforeign investment upon which growth depends.<\/p>\n
Foreign investors are clear on what it will take to lure their
\nmoney back. For a start, security -- and a very hard line against
\nterrorists. Legal certainty, clean government, less restrictive
\nlabor laws and keen attention to policy detail -- rather than the
\ndistraction of political infighting -- would greatly assist. This
\nis a truly sweeping reform agenda. Each area in itself represents
\na minefield of vested interests, with political cliques attached.
\nAnd despite the popularity of the \"reform\" mantra there are some
\nvery sensitive issues on the table. Costly oil subsidies, for
\nexample, are unsustainable but any rise in the artificially low
\nprice of fuel will send shock waves through a fragile economy.<\/p>\n
What he has running firmly in his favor is the sorry record of
\nthe outgoing President, Megawati Soekarnoputri. The Indonesian
\npublic understands the cost of policy stagnation and wants
\nchange. This is democracy taking hold. He can count, too, on the
\nsupport of the international community, including Australia.
\nIndonesia is a large, important Muslim nation. Its stability and
\nprosperity matter, far beyond its borders.<\/p>\n
-- The Sydney Morning Herald<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-new-friend-in-jakarta-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }