Bottom-up economic reform<\/p>\n
The majority of Indonesians live in villages. Yet they do not
\nhave any influence on the economic state of the nation. Many
\nremain poor and struggle to survive. It appears that the top-
\nbottom economic development, as engineered by Western educated
\ntechnocrats in Jakarta, has been based upon individualism,
\ncapitalism, materialism, consumerism and corporate dominance.<\/p>\n
These ideas are in conflict with traditional village values,
\nnamely gotong royong (collectivism), community living, harmony,
\nholism, family kinship, agriculture and cooperative
\nentrepreneurship. In essence, the current economic development
\nhas caused villagers to become consumers of goods and services
\nproduced by giant corporations. They are no longer self-reliant.
\nThey are no longer able to produce their basic staples (rice,
\ntapioca, coconut oil, sago, vegetable, meat, milk, eggs etc.),
\ntraditional clothes (cotton sarongs, batiks, silk, wool, etc.)
\nand traditional means of transportation (e.g. horse-drawn buggy,
\npedicab, bicycles, horses).<\/p>\n
Their clothes have been replaced by synthetic fabrics such as
\npolyester, nylon and plastic. Their basic foods have been
\nreplaced by packaged foods such as instant noodles, cookies,
\npackaged spices, bottled and canned beverages, and even
\nhamburgers and hot dogs.<\/p>\n
Credit cards and mobile phones are being used by people in
\nvillages. Plastic bags are scattered everywhere. Many villages
\nare overrun with motorcycles emitting foul and black smoke.
\nTraditional herbal medicine has been replaced by expensive
\nimported chemical drugs. This basic unit of Indonesian society is
\ncurrently affected by malaise and paralysis.<\/p>\n
In my opinion, what we need is a bottom-up economic reform and
\nnot a top-bottom economic reform. Trickle-down economy does not
\nwork for Indonesia. Economic policies should emphasize plans that
\nstrengthen the socioeconomic structure of villages, not only the
\nurban areas.<\/p>\n
Villages should be able to utilize natural resources to
\ngenerate basic staples and commodities (rice fields are
\ndisappearing because villagers are selling the land to investors
\nof real estate, agro- and techno-industries and tourism
\nindustry). Villagers should be allowed to have shares and
\ninfluence in the companies operating in their areas.<\/p>\n
The current economic reform recommended by IMF will only
\nincrease control by foreign companies over our national resources
\nand will weaken our basic village socioeconomic structure.<\/p>\n
Natural resources belong to the people and not companies of
\nforeign countries. To put it bluntly, money from Jakarta should
\nbe piped down the line (without being siphoned off) to reach the
\nvillages, to strengthen village socioeconomic structures.<\/p>\n
The economic situation stimulates migration to urban areas and
\nbig cities. Hence, the development of dirty, overcrowded and
\nover-polluted megapolitan and cosmopolitan cities. We have to
\nreverse the trend by enhancing the villages' socioeconomics
\nproperly without destroying our traditional values and strengths.<\/p>\n
This will require a national village socioeconomic master plan
\nbased on our cultural heritage and philosophy. Representation of
\nthe village people in the government should be based upon
\nelection and not appointment.<\/p>\n
A team should be established in each village to help
\nstimulate, facilitate, organize and supervise village
\nsocioeconomic activities based on collectivism, cooperative
\nphilosophy and consensus validation. Strong village socioeconomic
\nstructures will guarantee the resilience and strength of our
\nnation.<\/p>\n
K. PRIBADI<\/p>\n
Cimahi, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bottom-up-economic-reform-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }