SE Asia's sister presidents<\/p>\n
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Indonesian
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri have much in common. Both are
\ndaughters of 1960s-era presidents of their countries, both became
\nvice president with more votes than the winning president, both
\ncame into the executive chair last year after presidents were
\ntossed out in mid-term. And both inherited economies in shambles.<\/p>\n
First the good news. President Megawati introduced her
\nproposals for the 2003 budget on Friday, and the package has
\nconsiderable merit.<\/p>\n
Overall, the blue print crafted by policymakers in Indonesia
\nshows that the government is taking serious steps to confront
\ntheir budgetary ills.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, cautious optimism is not a term that applies to
\nthe state of the Philippine economy these days. Total investment
\nin the Philippines fell 49 percent in the first half of this year
\nfrom the like period last year.Sixty percent of what was left was
\nforeign investment, which had already dropped by 47 percent in
\n2001 from the year before.<\/p>\n
If restructuring plans in Jakarta have some analysts waxing
\noptimistic, the absence of political will to reform in Manila
\nbodes poorly for Ms. Arroyo.<\/p>\n
Since becoming president of their respective countries, Ms.
\nMegawati and Ms. Arroyo frequently have been measured against one
\nanother. Until recently, the comparisons always favored the
\ntechnocratic Filipina over the seemingly out-of-touch Indonesian.
\nSo it comes as a surprise that the future looks brighter in
\nJakarta than Manila. The question now is whether this striking
\nreversal will pressure Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to refocus her
\nenergies on reforming the Philippine government.<\/p>\n
-- The Asian Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/se-asias-sister-presidents-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }