On Chinese Indonesians<\/p>\n
Many Chinese Indonesians can tell stories of how their assets
\nwere destroyed or in some cases their safety targeted by the mobs
\nin the recent riots that hit Jakarta and several other cities in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
So, I found Sumarsono Sastrowardoyo's letter criticizing
\nChinese Indonesians that fled the country during the rioting to
\nbe unfair. After all, nobody knew at the time that the transfer
\nof power was going to take place peacefully.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, I would support the calls by others for
\nChinese Indonesians to put more effort into assimilating with
\nindigenous people. I also call on the authorities to take more
\nconcrete steps to address the issue. Furthermore it is important
\nto improve national security because if people do not feel safe
\nthey will not return to do their business as usual.<\/p>\n
There have been accounts of loss of lives, assets and jobs due
\nto the riots. However, few have mentioned the long-term impact of
\nthe loss of confidence and higher risk perceived by people. This
\nwill result in more capital and even skilled people leaving and
\nfewer coming to Indonesia at a time when the country badly needs
\nthe expertise and capital.<\/p>\n
Even when things stabilize further, investors in general will
\nbe less inclined to put their money into businesses which are
\nlong-term in nature. This will significantly handicap Indonesia
\nin its bid to be a competitive economy in the 21st century. The
\nstakes are just too big for the issue to be ignored.<\/p>\n
SINDRA WIDJAJA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/on-chinese-indonesians-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }