Forget the New Order<\/p>\n
High-profile Gen. (ret) Hartono - accompanied by a daughter of
\nformer president Soeharto, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana (Tutut) - told
\nthe audience during a rally for their party, the Concern for The
\nNation Functional Party (PKPB), in Yogyakarta on Sunday that they
\nshould become \"cronies\" of Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Tutut in her speeches during the recent campaign has vowed to
\nreturn the nation to the \"glorious days\" she claims it
\nexperienced under her father. There was no explanation, however,
\nas to how Tutut would do this.<\/p>\n
What needs clarification here are the statements that the so-
\ncalled golden days were the result of Soeharto's work alone. If
\nthe barometer of success is money, most people may agree that
\nmany Indonesians enjoyed better economic times. It is true that
\nthe economic growth reached 7 percent per annum, prices were
\nstable and Indonesia exported rice. But, these \"achievements\"
\nwere the result of oil, foreign borrowing, a stable world
\neconomy, and sheer good luck. By the early 1980s, the government
\nhad achieved many things.<\/p>\n
The situation then started to change. Regulation was loosened
\nto accommodate rising demand. New banks were easily established.
\nUnfortunately, the monitoring and control systems were so weak
\nthat political and individual interests took charge of
\ndevelopment programs. Corruption got out of hand and had reduced
\nthe country to helplessness when the economic crisis hit Asia in
\n1997. The rupiah collapsed against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
Over the last five years we have been striving to return to
\nthe \"good old days\" but have so far failed, making some people
\ndream of turning the clock back to the New Order era. However,
\nthe good economic times will not come back for so long as we just
\ntry to forget the New Order, but allow old practices, such as
\ncorruption and poor law enforcement, to continue.<\/p>\n
So, it is essential that through the current election the
\nnation chooses the best leaders for the sake of real reform.<\/p>\n
-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/forget-the-new-order-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }