A peacemaker behind the scene<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Relations between Indonesia and Australia have always had high
\nand low points over the decades.<\/p>\n
At the end of 1980s, relations reached their lowest level
\nafter Sydney Morning Herald's David Jenkins wrote articles
\ncritical of then president Soeharto and his family. Relations
\ntouched rock bottom in 1999 following a UN-sanctioned referendum
\nthat gave East Timor independence.<\/p>\n
The two incidents are just two examples of how shaky the
\nbilateral relations can be.<\/p>\n
But even during the turbulent times, there have been
\ninstitutions and individuals who strive to improve the situation.<\/p>\n
Among the peacemakers is the Victorian Government Business
\noffice here in Jakarta, and its executive director Philip James
\nMorey.<\/p>\n
Victoria is one of Australia's federal states and its capital
\nis Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Putting aside the frequent disputes, Morey and his office
\nstrive to promote business partnerships between the Australian
\nand Indonesian business communities.<\/p>\n
Morey and his office play an important part in boosting trade
\nbetween Victoria and Indonesia. Bilateral trade between them has
\nmore than doubled over the last five years, from about A$600
\nmillion in 1994\/1995 to A$1,400 million in 2000\/2001.<\/p>\n
The trade is significant as it reaches one-third of the
\nbilateral trade volume between Indonesia and Australia as a
\nwhole, which reached A$6,300 million in 2001.<\/p>\n
Morey said his office boosted bilateral trade by, among other
\nthings, providing agricultural training for Indonesian dairy and
\nvegetable farmers.<\/p>\n
The office has also promoted potential products of both sides,
\ngiven 70 public presentations to promote Victoria and facilitated
\n90 Indonesian business visits to Australia.<\/p>\n
\"We try to introduce Australian businesspeople to the right
\npeople in Indonesia, and vice versa,\" Morey told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Despite the good news, Morey soon bids Indonesia goodbye as
\nthe government of Victoria has decided to close down its business
\noffice in Indonesia by June 30.<\/p>\n
The office was opened in January 1995 to promote and
\nfacilitate trade and investment between Indonesia and Victoria.<\/p>\n
Victoria decided to close the office following its review of
\nits overseas network and it is now refocusing on wooing
\nbusinesspeople to invest in Victoria.<\/p>\n
Victoria has eight offices worldwide, including those in
\nEurope, the U.S., Indonesia and South Korea. The latter is to be
\nclosed as well.<\/p>\n
We do not need an office here since we can nurture business
\npartnerships and manage the ongoing projects in a smarter way,
\nfor example through the virtual way, said Morey.<\/p>\n
Morey was born in Australia on Oct. 30, 1956. Married with
\nthree children, he obtained a bachelor of business degree from
\nMonash University (1976-1978), and also a diploma of exporting
\nfrom the Australian Institute of Export (1981-1982).<\/p>\n
He has been 20 years with the government of Victoria in market
\ndevelopment activities, with the last five years being focused on
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
He worked as a market development manager at the department of
\nagriculture in the Victoria administration from 1980 to 1994.<\/p>\n
His involvement with Indonesia started in 1994 when he became
\nmanager for the Indonesian Market Development Program. He
\neventually landed the top job in 1998 when he was appointed the
\nexecutive director at the Victorian Business Office in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The three key programs that he and his office were tasked to
\npromote were investment attraction, export facilitation and
\npromoting Victoria as a place to do business and investment.<\/p>\n
He said a precious lesson he has learned from his Jakarta
\nstint is the importance of building trust in business.<\/p>\n
\"To do successful business, people must get to know their
\ncounterparts and have trust in them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Australians often ask his advice on which Indonesian
\nbusinessman they should form a partnership with and vice versa.<\/p>\n
\"It is difficult to find the right partners, especially if the
\ntwo people are from different cultures. While, it also takes time
\nto build a warm and mutual relationship,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that people must build a relationship with the
\npartners before obtaining trust, such as attending wedding
\nparties held by the partners for family members and lunching
\ntogether.<\/p>\n
\"The art of (nurturing a) relationship is important,
\nespecially if you do business in Asia, which emphasizes personal
\nrelationships more than in the West, which counts much on
\neconomic numbers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"So we may use the term NKK, that is Nolong Kawan-kawan
\n(helping friends). It is good, because you're networking. People
\nmight make mistakes if they do not know the business practices
\nhere,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) were still a
\nproblem, but businessmen should not look upon this as a stumbling
\nblock.<\/p>\n
\"Despite KKN, business activities must still go on, and the
\ngovernment and the private sector should cooperate to address
\nthis,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Morey's family left for Australia in December, and he will
\nleave later this year.<\/p>\n
\"I will start my own business after I retire from the
\ngovernment later this year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Once back home, Morey plans to establish agribusiness
\ncompanies named GAP Agrifood Export and GAP Consulting Exports.<\/p>",
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