Singapore to make public trade statistics with Indonesia<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After a month of wrangling, the governments of Singapore and
\nIndonesia are now seeking to find a solution to settle the
\ndispute over discrepancies in the trade statistics between the
\ntwo countries.<\/p>\n
George Yeo, Singapore's minister for industry and trade, said
\nin a letter dated July 9 that his government would make public
\nthe bilateral trade statistics and take firm action against
\ncompanies involved in illegal trade between the two nations.<\/p>\n
\"I note the wish of the present Indonesian government that
\nthese trade statistic should no longer be given confidentially to
\nthe Indonesian side, but instead be published by the Singapore
\ngovernment,\" Yeo said.<\/p>\n
The letter was made available to The Jakarta Post on Friday,
\nin response to Minister of Industry and Trade Rini MS Soewandi
\nletter dated July 7.<\/p>\n
Yeo did not specify when Singapore would start publishing the
\ntrade statistics.<\/p>\n
\"As part of Singapore's accession to the HS Convention of the
\nWorld Customs Organization (WCO), we will be adjusting the
\npresentation of our overall and detailed trade data, including
\ninclusion of data for Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In response to Rini's request that Singapore take action
\nagainst smugglers domiciled in Singapore, Yeo said: \"Where there
\nis evidence that Singapore laws have been breached, we will
\ninvestigate thoroughly and take firm action against the
\noffenders.\"<\/p>\n
The two countries lie across the Straits of Malacca, one of
\nthe world's busiest shipping lane. Indonesian oil and gas, along
\nwith its timber and palm oil, often get exported via Singapore.<\/p>\n
Yeo, however, turned down a demand from Indonesia to boost
\ncooperation through direct custom links via electronic data
\nexchange.<\/p>\n
\"Singapore's laws (the Statistics Act and the Regulation of
\nImports and Exports Act) prohibit the disclosure of information
\nsubmitted by traders without their express consent,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rini has also asked Singapore to set up a joint border patrol
\nto curb smuggling, but Singapore has thus far made no response.<\/p>\n
On June 10, Rini and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan
\nWirayuda voiced complaints to the Indonesian press about
\nSingapore's reluctance to reveal comprehensive data on bilateral
\ntrade between the two countries.<\/p>\n
They complained about the wide discrepancies in the trade data
\nset out in the Singapore Trade Statistics and the figures issued
\nby Indonesia's Central Statistics Agency (BPS).<\/p>\n
In the 2002 trade data, for example, Singapore recorded non-
\noil exports to Indonesia as amounting to US$2.25 billion,
\ncompared to the $2.44 billion reported by the BPS.<\/p>\n
The Singapore government regularly sends trade data to the
\nIndonesian government in confidential letters. The public
\nspeculated that former President Soeharto had deliberately asked
\nSingapore not to publish the data.<\/p>\n
However, Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said
\nin his biography titled From Third World to First, that it was he
\nwho asked Soeharto not to publish the data.<\/p>\n
Lee wrote that on Nov. 29, 1976, he told Soeharto that he was
\nwilling to provide Indonesia with unofficial trade data.<\/p>\n
\"I agreed to provide him, unofficially, with our trade
\nstatistics to help them curtail smuggling, but asked that they
\nshould not be made public. He (Soeharto) wanted these trade
\nfigures to be published. I explained that as our statistics were
\ndifferent from theirs, publication would cause more
\nmisunderstanding. Soeharto was confident he could manage the
\nIndonesian press,\" Lee wrote.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/singapore-to-make-public-trade-statistics-with-indonesia-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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