Business revival key to nation's security<\/p>\n
Wimar Witoelar, InterMatrix Communications, Jakarta, wimar@witoelar.com<\/p>\n
As Indonesia licks its wounds form the nation's latest
\ntragedy, the outside world increases its pressure not just on
\npotential terrorists, but on anyone who happens to be
\ncircumstantially linked to the al-Qaeda and the Jamaah Islamiyah.
\nThey are not our only problem. The world should know domestic
\nterrorists have plagued us for a long time. As the professor
\nJeffrey Winters enumerated in his recent article Did the al-Qaeda
\nreally do it?, six bombs were detonated in 1998, nine in 1999, 20
\nin 2000, and seven in 2001.<\/p>\n
Not too many people wept for Indonesia internationally then as
\nthey do now for Bali. It is actually the same show of terror made
\nworse by the addition of international victims which puts it on
\nan international stage.<\/p>\n
But while New York after Sept. 11 received a huge outpouring
\nof support and sympathy, Indonesia receives recrimination and
\nsuspicion even as we are still weeping at our huge loss.
\nTravelers are advised to stay away from Indonesia while they were
\nnot told to stay away from New York. A scaremonger in Brisbane's
\nCourier-Mail even described Jakarta as a \"city of fear\". Actually
\nthe most fearful thing about Jakarta is that it may be pushed off
\nthe map before people get a chance to know its chaotic charm.<\/p>\n
Wile international terror is still under investigation,
\ninternational business has condemned Indonesia as a hopeless
\nplace to do business. We are losing big in the international
\npublic relations and media game. As long as the al-Qaeda elude
\nGeorge W. Bush, we get pushed on a downward spiral with the
\ncollapse of our international business image.<\/p>\n
Singapore might complain about being put on the Australian
\ngovernment's travel advisory list as a dangerous place to visit,
\nbut at least their business credibility is still intact. They
\njust reached an agreement with Australia on a free trade deal,
\nwhich could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in export
\nrevenue for both sides. The Australian Trade Minister sent a
\nclear signal that Australia is going to remain there and increase
\ntheir engagement throughout Southeast Asia. They are negotiating
\nwith Thailand and remain open to offers to negotiate similar
\ndeals. Is Indonesia on their agenda? Probably not, to put it
\nsuccinctly.<\/p>\n
At the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, Japan will tantalize
\nSoutheast Asian leaders with talk of free-trade agreements and
\ncloser relations. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has
\nannounced that the proposed trade agreement will be high on the
\nagenda when he meets with ASEAN leaders on Tuesday. We have no
\nidea how our own President Megawati Soekarnoputri will perform;
\nwe do not expect overly joyous news.<\/p>\n
It is highly uncertain whether Indonesia will be able to share
\nthe recovery of international business. But this is not
\nexclusively related to the terrorism issue. We have many foreign
\nbusiness people still operating in Indonesia, and multinational
\nfirms committed to stay for years, even decades. They feel quite
\nsafe, at least normal, in their everyday rounds.<\/p>\n
These people make up the international business community that
\nwe should court. A management guru at IBM once revealed a study
\nthat showed gaining new customers costs 12 times as expensive as
\nretaining old ones. We have so many international names here that
\nmentioning them would make this article look like an
\nadvertisement. But they are pressed against the wall when their
\nbosses and owners ask back home ask why they still have hope in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
For business people who have long experience and good
\nknowledge of Indonesia, the issue is not terrorism, which has
\nturned global. They are facing a more serious problem, a truly
\ndebilitating disease in the form of an uncertain business
\nenvironment, poorly articulated policies left undefended. The
\nbusiness-political system leaves the reform attempts vulnerable
\nto cooption and sabotage.<\/p>\n
The battle for clean government and good corporate governance
\nhas always been difficult but now it has become a losing one.
\nLegal uncertainty has reached the level of celebrated cases.
\nOther crises are brewing in the background. There is a prevalence
\nof regional insubordination to central authority. Further
\nproblems come from political opportunists who exploit public
\nignorance about foreign investment and privatization.<\/p>\n
In terms of business recovery, these are the real terrorists
\nwhom the international war on terror leave unscathed. When you
\nlook at the due of corruption and violence, corruption is left
\nunchecked by our government while perpetrators of violence are
\ngetting merciful treatment by foreign governments eager to work
\nwith the military.<\/p>\n
It is disappointing to hear of groups who are fishing in
\ntroubled waters. Instead of strengthening the market economy,
\nthey seek to stop the government privatization program through
\nclass action suits. These misguided ideas are expressed in
\ndemonstrations and unilateral declarations against legal
\nauthority. There is wry humor here considering that the
\ngovernment has not been particularly forceful about privatization
\nanyway.<\/p>\n
Populist politicians play to the uninformed public by
\ndepicting privatization as loss of local ownership and
\ninternational acquisition as a takeover by foreigners to send
\nIndonesians deeper into poverty. They draw parallel lines of
\nxenophobia along political and economic themes.<\/p>\n
The public stands to increase their chances against poverty
\nthrough privatization. The market takes control away from
\nbureaucrats and corrupt management. That is why these groups of
\npeople drag their feet on privatization. They are worried about
\ntheir own privileged positions, not the public interest. The
\ngovernment would be much less in debt if their privatization were
\npursued with more energy. In fact, the reason the national budget
\nfaces problems is because privatization targets for cash revenues
\nare not being met.<\/p>\n
It takes a lot of patience and sensitivity to explain these
\nthings, but it has to be started. The worry now is that Indonesia
\nis going to be trampled in the world hunt for terrorists, and
\nthat business will suffer. We should position ourselves such that
\nwe all join hands in making the world safe from terrorists.<\/p>\n
But it is business recovery that will make Indonesia a better
\nplace for its people. And it would make it less fertile for hate-
\nspreading radicals and scare mongering overseas writers.<\/p>",
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