Economic system brushes aside common people<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The common people will never benefit if the
\nsystem of Indonesia's economy continues to favor the influential
\nand the haves, experts warned yesterday.<\/p>\n
Sritua Arief and Loekman Soetrisno of Yogyakarta-based Gadjah
\nMada University shared the view that Indonesia needs to
\nreconsider its attitude towards the economy of the common people.<\/p>\n
\"As long as collusion between businessmen and government
\nofficials, monopolies and nepotism practices still prevail, any
\nefforts to help the economically-weak people will never bear
\nfruit,\" Loekman said at a seminar held by the Bina Desa
\nSecretariat, in cooperation with a number of other non-
\ngovernmental organizations.<\/p>\n
Loekman, who presented a paper on the history of the economy
\nof the common people, said such practices had never been touched
\nby the government's deregulatory measures.<\/p>\n
He added that the government is still using the same method of
\neconomic development as that used by the colonial government.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore it is just logic that even though we have been
\nindependent for 50 years, we have not been able to solve the
\nsocial, economic and political problems inherited from the
\ncolonial rulers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Concurring with Loekman, Sritua said the economy of the common
\npeople was brushed aside amid the heavy inflow of foreign
\ninvestments and loans to Indonesia. Only those affiliated to the
\ntop bureaucracy could benefit from the inflow of foreign
\ninvestments and loans.<\/p>\n
Profit repatriation<\/p>\n
Sritua noted that a substantial portion of profits in
\nIndonesia was repatriated by foreign investors. Quoting data from
\nthe International Monetary Fund, he said cumulative net foreign
\ninvestment in Indonesia for a period of 1973 to 1990 was US$5.77
\nbillion, while the profits repatriated from the investment during
\nthe same period reached $58.85 billion.<\/p>\n
\"It means every $1 of foreign investment in Indonesia had
\nbrought $10.19 out of Indonesia within 27 years. The main reason
\nfor this phenomena is that foreign investors could tap funds from
\ndomestic financial resources to finance their investment,\" Sritua
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The condition is worsening as Indonesia's new foreign debts
\nare used only to repay the principals and interest of its
\nexisting foreign debts, Sritua said.<\/p>\n
Referring to the World Bank's 1994 report, Sritua noted that
\nthe government paid a total of $41.4 billion for the principals
\nand interest of its debts during the 1980-1993 period, while it
\nobtained $69.4 billion in new debts during the same period.<\/p>\n
The value of the government's net transfer of funds abroad was
\n$7.8 billion for the 1985-1993 period, and it was forecasted that
\nthe government would suffer a net transfer of $19 billion for the
\n1994-1998 period, Sritua said.<\/p>\n
\"In the whole processes of economic dialectic relations, the
\nelite group at the power center has directly or indirectly
\nsupported the interests of the haves and the powerful,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Abdurrachman Wahid, leader of Indonesia's largest
\nMoslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama, who acted as one of the
\ndiscussants, noted that the government lacked political will to
\ndevelop the economy of the common people.<\/p>\n
Citing an example, he said that cooperatives could not grow
\nwell because of the tight control from the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"What cooperatives need is the freedom to move. But now, if
\nthey want to elect a new chairperson, they have to go to the
\ndistrict head,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Abdurrachman said he was sure that cooperatives would be able
\nto develop, find credits, improve managerial skills and expand
\nmarket networks by themselves providing they were given the
\nopportunity to do so.<\/p>\n
\"The state will have a healthy and strong economy if the
\neconomy of the people is good. Otherwise, we will be strong only
\nin the franchise business and it is the foreigners who will enjoy
\nall of the benefits,\" he said. (sim\/rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/economic-system-brushes-aside-common-people-1447893297",
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