Singapore ready to lend a hand to RI<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Reuters): Following are excerpts of a Reuters
\ninterview with Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong conducted
\non Monday.<\/p>\n
You were going to lead a mission to Indonesia on Thursday.
\nAhead of that visit, how would you characterize relations between
\nyour two countries?<\/p>\n
I would say relations between Indonesia and Singapore are
\ngood, they are friendly. There is an expectation from Indonesia
\nthat Singapore can play a role in helping the economy to recover,
\nso I'm going there to assess for myself what we can do. I'm going
\nthere with some ideas and see whether they are practical ideas
\nfor the Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Looking at the trade mission itself, President (Abdurrahman)
\nWahid visited Singapore in November as well as other ASEAN
\nnations, and said that he'd like to see a greater partnership.
\nYou actually launched the idea of a trade mission. What concrete
\nmeasures do you see this trip producing?<\/p>\n
First, I think the security situation in Indonesia causes
\npotential investors to be rather cautious. I've read reports from
\nrisk analysts as well as political commentators that investors
\nwill hold back unless the security situation improves.<\/p>\n
And of course people are watching the political stability of
\nIndonesia. But nevertheless, I'm there to express confidence in
\nthe present government. I think it's the best government you can
\nget given the circumstance. It's a very difficult job for
\nPresident Abdurrahman, but I think there are prospects of helping
\nthem.<\/p>\n
So I'm thinking first of focusing on the projects that we have
\nin (the islands of) Batam, Bintan...that are close to Singapore,
\nand we have ongoing industrial parks and tourist resorts.<\/p>\n
So I'm going to expand on the investments we have over there.
\nNow secondly, we have about six million tourists visiting
\nSingapore every year. I'm looking for ways to funnel as many of
\nthese tourists to Indonesia as possible. That would involve joint
\nadvertising, by joint I mean we would advertise Indonesia and
\nSingapore at our expense, in other words to try and funnel as
\nmany of these tourists as possible to go to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
And thirdly, unless Indonesia can release the IBRA (Indonesian
\nBank Restructuring Agency) assets -- that is those assets under
\nmanagement by IBRA, it is difficult to get the economy going. So
\nI'm trying to see if we can play a catalytic role, along with
\nothers, to put the assets to work.<\/p>\n
Today's Straits Times editorial noted some of the potential
\nhurdles. It basically urged caution to what Singapore can do
\nright now. If you were able to achieve one thing in particular in
\nterms of confidence, what would that be?<\/p>\n
Well, if we can get some of the foreign investors to go along
\nwith us, then that would signal a return of confidence in
\nIndonesia. The rest is up to Indonesia -- the security situation
\nis beyond any one of us, it's for Indonesians to handle. So if we
\ncan get some projects going, for Batam, Bintan, that's easier,
\nnevertheless it's important if we can get some projects going
\nthere. But in other parts of Indonesia which we are focused on, I
\nthink that's a bit more difficult, but nevertheless I think we
\nshould try.<\/p>\n
Looking at the provinces, particularly Ambon or Aceh, do
\ndevelopments there to some degree endanger economic recovery and
\nultimately put Indonesia itself at risk?<\/p>\n
Oh very much, because investors look at Indonesia from what
\nthey read in the newspapers. If there are conflicts,
\ndisturbances, demonstrations on Ambon and Aceh, investors are
\ngoing to take a watch-and-see attitude. The separatist pressures
\nare worrying enough, but in Jakarta itself we are seeing
\ndemonstrations. So I think the Indonesians have got to understand
\nthat the more they demonstrate against the government, the more
\nthey put pressure on the government, the more difficult it is for
\nthe government to attract investments into Indonesia.<\/p>\n
And of course the risk of Indonesia splintering is aways
\nthere. I myself hold the view that it won't happen in the short
\nterm, but the risks are there for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
How would you assess how the government has responded to
\ndevelopments in Ambon and Aceh?<\/p>\n
Well, I think it's a very complex problem. They've tried as
\nbest as they could and the President has said that it's a matter
\nfor the locals to handle. I mean they could provide the security
\napparatus, but essentially the local leaders themselves must get
\ntogether and resolve the problem. It's just rather complex and
\ncomplicated.<\/p>\n
Sir, talking about other expectations for Singapore, one is
\nthat the population itself will expand perhaps from around four
\nmillion right now to around five million perhaps by the end of
\nthe decade. Assuming that that also includes a greater foreign
\ninflow into this country, how or what policies from the
\ngovernment or the PAP would look to...bring in those new
\npotential voters?<\/p>\n
We have the capacity to accommodate five, maybe in extreme,
\nsix million people in Singapore -- I mean the infrastructure we
\ncan take care of. We can build higher, we can make sure we have
\nenough open space for Singaporeans to have a good life in
\nSingapore. I think the texture of Singapore will change when we
\nhave more foreigners in Singapore.<\/p>\n
And already we are telling Singaporeans that in future to
\nsucceed as an economy, as a nation, we have to be more
\ncosmopolitan. You can't be the same old Singapore with just
\nChinese, Indians and Malays, trying to shore up and sustain a
\nrather modern sophisticated economy. And the economy is big given
\nthe size of the population, so we have to change the nature of
\nour society, we have to be much more international, we have to be
\nmuch more urbane, much more cosmopolitan.<\/p>",
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