RI keeps public in the dark over potential Y2K failures<\/p>\n
By Jocelyn Gecker<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (AP): After two years of anti-government riots and
\neconomic turmoil, Indonesia's technology gurus thought it best to
\nkeep the public in the dark about possible widespread failures
\nfrom the Y2K computer bug.<\/p>\n
\"It's a touchy issue,\" says Widijanto Nugroho, a computer
\nscientist and top government Y2K adviser. \"If the government
\nsays, for example, the banks are not ready, people will rush the
\nbanks. If we don't say anything, it's probably better for the
\nmoment.\"<\/p>\n
So Indonesia's leaders have opted to keep the world's fourth
\nmost populous nation uninformed.<\/p>\n
Newspapers and TV shows barely mention the potential fallout
\nof the computer glitch. Cabinet ministers are on orders not to
\ntalk it up.<\/p>\n
\"Here, less than 20 percent of the people know about Y2K,\"
\nDjamhari Sirat, head of Indonesia's national Y2K task force, said
\nof this archipelago nation of 210 million. \"We don't think anyone
\nneeds to know about Y2K except the government, the police and the
\nmilitary.\"<\/p>\n
As most of Southeast Asia girds for turn-of-the-century
\nmillennium bug trouble, experts fear the hardest-hit nation will
\nbe Indonesia - where they say neither computers nor the public
\nare adequately prepared.<\/p>\n
With only a few more weeks until the moment of reckoning,
\nnations in the region appear to be at varying degrees of Y2K
\nreadiness. Most say they moved fast to modify their computers
\nafter setbacks from two years of financial collapse. And most
\nhave sounded a public alarm.<\/p>\n
In the Philippines, citizens have been advised to prepare for
\nthe rollover to 2000 \"like a typhoon is coming\" by stockpiling
\nfive days worth of canned goods, cash and candles.<\/p>\n
In techno-dense Singapore, considered among the world's best-
\nprepared nations, the government has mass-mailed a \"Y2K Guide\" to
\nall 950,000 homes that explains how to debug personal computers,
\nVCRs and other appliances.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, which secured a $100 million World Bank loan earlier
\nthis year to help pay for computer fixes, has assured its
\ncitizens the military and police will deal with any threats to
\npublic safety or national security.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the strategy is different: No national awareness
\ncampaign and no talk of contingency plans. Talking to a random
\nsampling of three dozen people in Jakarta's traditional markets
\nand upscale shopping malls found most couldn't care less about
\nthe millennium bug.<\/p>\n
\"Only rich people use computers; I'll be fine,\" said Andy
\nSetiawan, 33, owner of a small TV shop who had never heard of the
\nY2K bug, the legacy of computers being programmed to express
\nyears in just two digits - so 2000 could be misinterpreted as
\n1900, causing crashes and lost data.<\/p>\n
A. Syafik, a 23-year-old accountant, said if it was something
\nto be concerned about the government would warn people. \"They're
\nnot paying attention to it, why should I?\"<\/p>\n
Indonesian officials insist critical computer systems will be
\nready and don't expect major disruptions. But they offer no
\nindependent verification and analysts think otherwise.<\/p>\n
\"They are not going to be Y2K compliant, and my concern is
\nthat the people are not going to know what to do when problems
\noccur,\" said K.C. Toh, who advises the government on Y2K matters.<\/p>\n
Bruce Gale, a regional manager at Political and Economic Risk
\nConsultancy, also is worried. \"Indonesian banks certainly haven't
\nhad any money to put into Y2K readiness plans. They're spending
\ntheir money on pure survival. The other area of concern is
\nairports.\"<\/p>\n
Although large areas of Indonesia are not dependent on
\ncomputers, experts say that if power and telephones fail, the
\nrepercussions could be serious.<\/p>\n
Regional Y2K consultants and diplomats voice concerns about
\nIndonesia's financially strapped state-owned power company,
\nPerusahaan Listrik Negara, and Telkom, the main telephone service
\nprovider.<\/p>\n
Telkom, which was supposed to be Y2K compliant months ago,
\nraised eyebrows after pushing its deadline back to December.<\/p>\n
\"We have to be prepared for the fact that there will be a
\ndeterioration in the telecommunications service,\" said Ichyar
\nMusa, founder of a independent watchdog group called Indonesian
\nY2K Watch.<\/p>\n
Predicting where Y2K failures will strike, and how severe they
\nwill be, is nearly impossible.<\/p>",
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