Economics over politics
\nJP\/5\/INQUIRER<\/p>\n
Economics over politics<\/p>\n
MANILA: The new presidents of the most politically turbulent
\nstates of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- President
\nGloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines and President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri of Indonesia -- followed one another in visiting
\ntheir Southeast Asian neighbors recently.<\/p>\n
President Arroyo visited Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.
\nPresident Megawati visited Manila, then went to Singapore, Brunei
\nand Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Both leaders were warmly received by their older ASEAN
\ncolleagues as they followed a tradition among ASEAN leaders to
\ngive priority to visiting their neighbors and establishing
\npersonal ties with other leaders of the region.<\/p>\n
The visits were seen in the region as a fresh attempt to
\nstrengthen economic ties and revitalize the ASEAN after the 1997
\nAsian financial crisis which battered the regional economies.<\/p>\n
In Kuala Lumpur, President Arroyo mended economic and
\npolitical fences with Malaysia, and in Brunei, she made a pitch
\nfor the revival of the East Asia Growth Area that embraces
\nIndonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines after it went
\nmoribund as a result of the financial meltdown as well as the
\npolitical turbulence that attended the accession to power of
\nArroyo and Megawati.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is an old hand in the ASEAN,
\nhaving ruled Malaysia for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, Arroyo picked up the shreds of Malaysian-
\nPhilippine relations with new cooperation arrangements over
\nborder crossing.<\/p>\n
Her statement at the end of her Kuala Lumpur visit saying that
\nshe was not ruling out the option of imposing capital controls to
\nhalt the depreciation of the peso relative to the US dollar must
\nhave pleased Mahathir.<\/p>\n
President Megawati's visit to Manila reaffirmed the close
\nrelations between Manila and Jakarta anchored on the fraternal
\nties between President Sukarno and President Arroyo in the early
\ndays of regional cooperation of the post-colonial period.<\/p>\n
President Megawati and President Arroyo came to power under
\nvery similar circumstances. Both took power after a period of
\ndomestic turbulence.<\/p>\n
Megawati was elected president after Indonesia's highest state
\nbody, the constituent assembly, removed President Abdurrahman
\nWahid following an impeachment vote. Arroyo succeeded President
\nJoseph Estrada, following an aborted impeachment trial.<\/p>\n
Their visits, however, highlighted the economic problems of
\nthe Philippines and Indonesia, and allowed them to present their
\nefforts to rebuild their countries' economies.<\/p>\n
Megawati's Cabinet appointments have been favorably received
\nin the region as a step toward restoring political stability in
\nIndonesia. Arroyo was able to project the larger economic picture
\nduring her visits, setting aside the domestic turmoil over
\nlegislative investigations of the alleged involvement of Sen.
\nPanfilo Lacson in money laundering, drug trafficking, murder and
\nother high crimes.<\/p>\n
One salutary outcome of Megawati's visit to Singapore was the
\nannouncement that Indonesia and the International Monetary Fund
\n(IMF) have signed an agreement that would pave the way for the
\nrelease of a US$400 million loan tranche that the IMF had
\nwithheld because of differences with the Wahid government over
\nits reform agenda.<\/p>\n
Also in Singapore, Megawati and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
\nagreed to discuss all \"issues of importance\" in a \"quiet and
\ninformal way.\"<\/p>\n
Outside Manila and Jakarta, the view is different. The press
\nin the region does not focus on the scandals in Manila or the
\nproblems of leadership change in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
There's hardly a mention of the scandals in Manila, and the
\nview from outside makes the Filipinos appear like they have a
\npenchant for self-laceration in the political arena.<\/p>\n
The refreshing aspect of giving primacy to economic concerns
\nover their domestic turbulence is that it projects to the world
\noutside a picture of ASEAN leaders again coming together to find
\nways of reviving their economies as they confront the reality of
\na slowdown in the advanced Western economies which are their main
\nexport markets.<\/p>\n
For instance, almost forgotten on account of its obsession
\nwith domestic political squabbles is that the Philippine economy
\nis holding up well despite the contraction of advanced economies
\nand in fact a modest growth is forecast for the year 2001.<\/p>\n
The signs in the region indicate that domestic turmoil is not
\nbeing allowed to pull down efforts by its new leaders to
\nrevitalize their national agenda.<\/p>\n
It's time to separate the economy from the conflict of
\nadversarial politics.
\n
\n-- Philippine Daily Inquirer<\/p>",
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