Gus Dur eagerly awaited in Singapore<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Diplomats, ministers and businesspeople are
\nscrambling for seats to a luncheon with President Abdurrahman
\nWahid during his visit to Singapore on Saturday, Indonesian
\nambassador to the city state Luhut Pandjaitan said here on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Pandjaitan said 400 people, including businesspeople from
\nSingapore, other Asian countries, Europe and America, 55
\nambassadors and six Singaporean ministers had registered for the
\nfunction, which is being organized by Singapore's Economic
\nDevelopment Board and will be held at the Shangri La hotel.<\/p>\n
\"Many requests for seats to the function were denied due to a
\nlack of seats,\" Pandjaitan said at the State Palace here, where
\nhe met with Abdurrahman.<\/p>\n
Singapore will be the first stop for Abdurrahman, better known
\nas Gus Dur, on his tour of eight members countries of the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations.<\/p>\n
He also will visit Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia,
\nLaos, Vietnam and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesian businessman Anwar Djohansyah, who also
\nattended the meeting at the palace, said this eagerness to see
\nAbdurrahman reflected the optimism of Singapore's business
\ncommunity for Indonesia's new leadership.<\/p>\n
\"To Singaporean businessmen, President Abdurrahman Wahid and
\nVice President Megawati Soekarnoputri make an ideal duo. They
\nbelieve that this pair is God's gift to Indonesia,\" said the
\nAcehnese-born Djohansah.<\/p>\n
Djohansah, who is president of PT Sasana Kwarta Putra, said
\nChinese-Indonesian businesspeople who took their money out of the
\ncountry during the last two years of economic and political
\ncrises were ready to repatriate their funds.<\/p>\n
\"There are about 100,000 ethnic Chinese businessmen and each
\nis ready to transfer US$1 million to Indonesia. With that kind of
\nmoney, Indonesia would no longer have to rely on the IMF to
\nrebuild its economy,\" Djohansah said in an interview with The
\nJakarta Post here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"Besides, Indonesia does not have to pay interest,\" Djohansah
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Djohansah is among thousands of ethic Chinese businesspeople
\nwho fled the country following the May 1998 riots that devastated
\nthe ethnic Chinese community. Most of the businesspeople have
\nparked their money in Singapore and elsewhere, and reportedly are
\nnow ready to resume doing business in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Bank Indonesia has estimated $30 billion in funds fled the
\ncountry over the past two years, but noted Chinese-Indonesian
\ntycoon Sofyan Wanandi estimated capital outflows at only $10
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
\"What we need is a security guarantee from the new government.
\nOnce we are convinced of security and stability, we will resume
\nbusiness in Indonesia. After all, we are Indonesians, albeit of
\nChinese descent, and who else but us Indonesians are better at
\nrebuilding the country's economy given our experience,\" Djohansah
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Pandjaitan added that an integrated set of regulations will
\nhelp cut down the redtape in licensing and other trade and
\nfinance activities.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman's address to the luncheon therefore is crucial to
\nhelp build confidence, Djohansah said.<\/p>\n
\"It now depends on Gus Dur to convince us and Singaporean
\nbusinessmen there is a conducive climate to resume business and
\ninvest our money in Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Many businesspeople in Singapore, both Chinese-Indonesians and
\nSingaporeans, are eying the companies currently being sold by the
\nIndonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, he said. (lem\/prb\/jsk)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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