Indonesia by 2000<\/p>\n
Perhaps this letter will be seen as just another \"naive\"
\nscribble, as at least one Jakarta Post reader feels we letter
\nwriters are accustomed to sending. Well, he is free to make his
\nown conclusions, I suppose.<\/p>\n
I wish to comment on predictions made about the future of
\nIndonesia by an Australian-born writer 20 years ago. I refer to
\nthe book The Indonesian Tragedy by journalist Brian May. It was
\npublished in 1978, but seven years later (when I had just started
\nreading serious English-language books), I remember a newly
\narrived expatriate who was trying to \"understand\" Indonesia by
\nbringing this book from overseas.<\/p>\n
Due to limited space it is impossible to cite at length from
\nthe book's contents, so I will simply quote passages from its
\ndust jacket:<\/p>\n
\"After four years as a correspondent in Indonesia, Brian May
\nbecame convinced that the nation's social\/economic progress was
\nblocked, perhaps permanently, by a strong cultural barrier.<\/p>\n
\"(The main tragedy) lies in the rulers' blind attempt to force
\na Western economic model on a backward and superstitious people,
\nwhose culture and psychology are unsuited to it.<\/p>\n
\"The concept of 'developing' countries is dismissed as a
\ncruelly misleading euphemism. The much talked of economic
\n'takeoff' cannot take place in countries like Indonesia, where a
\nbazaar mentality dominates commerce.<\/p>\n
\"(Indonesia's) population is likely to rise by the year 2000
\nto 280 million, by which time it will be unable to feed itself.<\/p>\n
\"The author demonstrates The Indonesian Tragedy by depicting
\nthe country as he experienced it from day to day. In developing
\nhis conclusion, Brian May draws on history...\"<\/p>\n
And so it goes. Blah, blah, blah by a self-styled expert on
\nIndonesia. What is the reality? Nearing the 21st century, most
\neconomists would say that Indonesia is indeed ready for
\n\"takeoff\", even if we do still have problems (just like any
\nnation). Economic growth is around a healthy 7.5 percent every
\nyear. Our fairly successful family planning program has slowed
\npopulation increase, and experts foresee a total of 219.2 million
\nIndonesians by the year 2000, not 280 million.<\/p>\n
The appearance of successful medium-sized businesses, and even
\na number of conglomerates, led by an increasingly skilled pool of
\nexecutives, shows that whatever \"bazaar mentality\" there was is
\nwithering away.<\/p>\n
Does anybody still use The Indonesian Tragedy as a serious
\nreference book anymore? More within this present time, should we
\nbelieve everything gloomy written about this country, or other
\ndeveloping countries for that matter?<\/p>\n
FARID BASKORO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-by-2000-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }