Indonesia: A tiger cub learning to roar<\/p>\n
Like other developing countries, Indonesia's economic growth
\nhas brought with it unprecedented problems. Businessman Tan Bien
\nKiat takes a look at this issue.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is an emerging tiger -- some call it a
\ntiger cub. With its steady growth and well-managed economy --
\nIndonesia is hot on the heels of the other tigers. Consequently,
\na consumer boom is occurring. Coupled with globalization and the
\ntechnology revolution, a new class of consumers is emerging, one
\nwhich is more demanding of quality consumer products, more eager
\nto learn and access better information.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon has led to two paradoxes in Indonesia. The
\nfirst paradox: The same consumers who are increasingly demanding
\nworld class products and services are the same employees in
\ncompanies (state-owned and private alike) who need to be more
\nefficient and productive.<\/p>\n
Indonesian consumers have been lured by trappings of luxury
\nconsumer products and electronics such as designer clothing and
\naccessories, handphones, microwave ovens, laser disc players, and
\nautomotive. These items have become common sight in the middle
\nincome home. They are manufactured by fiercely competitive
\ncompanies from the United States, Japan, Germany, and Korea, who
\nare racing to innovate the next generation of products with
\nbetter features, more reliability and better performance. To top
\nit all, they are priced similar to or even lower than its
\nprevious generation.<\/p>\n
As consumers in Indonesia, we have come to take all this for
\ngranted. Yet how did this actually occur? These competitively-
\npriced and attractive consumer products have been made possible
\nthrough the process of global competition -- companies having to
\nstrive for world class performance and to compete for survival.
\nEmployees of these multinational world class companies have to
\ncontinually develop new ideas, work against tough deadlines,
\nraise their skills and productivity levels. For many of these
\nemployees -- these are their daily challenges, just to retain
\ntheir jobs.<\/p>\n
Yet many of the same Indonesian consumers are employees. The
\ngovernment has recently called for state-owned companies to
\nimprove their performance and competitiveness by declaring that
\n"state enterprises will be deregulated and privatized to compete
\nwith private companies". Employees need to raise their
\nproductivity and efficiency to achieve tangible results for their
\ncompanies. Private companies are not excluded, they are being
\nbenchmarked against their public-listed competitors and have to
\nincreasingly compete with multinational firms.<\/p>\n
As we come to expect and enjoy these "world class products" do
\nwe understand what it takes to produce them? Can the Indonesian
\nconsumer reconcile his lifestyle expectations with his
\nperformance as an employee of a company that competes with world
\nclass companies?<\/p>\n
The second paradox concerns the quest for information and
\nlearning. With the advent of personal computers and the Internet,
\ninformation around the globe can now be accessed instantaneously
\nwhile it might have taken weeks or even months in the past.
\nCompanies, educational and research institutions, knowledge
\nworkers, researchers, and students alike find this "information
\nrevolution" a joy. Barriers to learning are broken down,
\ncognitive processes are compressed, gaps between developed and
\ndeveloping nations narrowed. Properly utilized and harnessed, the
\nIndonesian researcher and businessman can gain much ground on his
\ncounterpart in the developed world by easily accessing knowledge,
\ninformation, know-how and contacts.<\/p>\n
For example, a corn farmer in Lampung can now network with his
\ncounterparts in the mid-west of America via the Internet to
\nexchange ideas on advanced techniques to improve corn yields,
\nfarm productivity and disease prevention. He can also check with
\ncommodity trading houses in Hamburg and Singapore to find out the
\nspot price trends and future contracts for corn.<\/p>\n
In this way, as long as the farmer can link into the Internet
\nserver line in Jakarta, he can gain access to information around
\nthe globe to enhance his farm operations and improve his returns.
\nIn the past, finding the right people to contact, language
\nbarriers and prohibitive costs of international telephone charges
\nwould have been the main obstacles.<\/p>\n
Yet this powerful tool has to be controlled. ASEAN Ministers
\nof Information recently met in Singapore to deliberate on how to
\ndeal with the proliferation of Internet. They are concerned about
\nthe "dark side" of this information technology revolution, such
\nas pornography, offensive writings and graphics, attacks on
\ngovernments and individuals which can now be easily perpetuated
\nand proliferated. The ASEAN ministers are grappling with the kind
\nof policies that should be established to police the underworld
\nof cyberspace.<\/p>\n
Governments, institutions and parents, all face this dilemma
\nof how to accelerate learning and networking without being
\nexposed to the risks of uninhibited flow of information. This is
\nthe second paradox.<\/p>\n
Like the other tigers, Indonesia has to deal with the two
\nparadoxes. They are natural and healthy signs of development. The
\nonly difference is -- when the Indonesian tiger cub grows up, it
\nis going to be larger than other tigers and the paradoxes will
\nbecome more evident.<\/p>\n
The writer is the chief operating officer of Ometraco
\nCorporation, Jakarta.<\/p>",
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