S'pore must take steps to clear ties with RI<\/p>\n
Ardimas Sasdi, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post,
\nBerkeley, California, ajambak@calmail.berkeley.edu<\/p>\n
Of all the nagging issues hurting ties between Singapore and
\nits giant but frail neighbor Indonesia, nothing is more
\ncontentious than allegations the city-state took advantage of its
\nneighbor's corrupt legal system and rampant abuse of power.<\/p>\n
Indonesian officials have time and again accused Singapore of
\neverything from giving protection to "black tycoons" who fled
\nIndonesia to avoid trial for misusing Rp 270 trillion (about
\nUS$35 billion) in Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance, to
\nbenefiting from illegal sand quarrying and exports at the expense
\nof its neighbor.<\/p>\n
The problem, long kept hidden under a blanket of diplomacy,
\nresurfaced last week when Singapore Deputy Prime Minister BG Lee
\ntold visiting Indonesian journalists at his office that it was
\nuntrue his country provided a safe haven for unscrupulous tycoons
\nfrom Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The number two man in Singapore's Cabinet said that it was
\n"impossible for Singapore to adopt such a policy because it would
\ntarnish its reputation as a center of the world monetary system,
\nalong with London, Tokyo and New York". (Kompas, Feb. 19)<\/p>\n
This statement by BG Lee was, however, in stark contrast to
\nthe complaints of Indonesian Minister of Justice and Human Rights
\nYusril Ihza Mahendra in January 2003, who said that Singapore
\n"not only provided a safe haven for black tycoons from Indonesia,
\nbut also gave them Singaporean citizenship".<\/p>\n
Some bankers from Indonesia who siphoned off a large chunk of
\ncentral bank liquidity assistance have reportedly fled to
\nSingapore to avoid paying their debts, and have opened businesses
\nin that country. The funds were channeled by the government of
\nformer president Soeharto to salvage cash-strapped banks after a
\nrun by customers following a crisis of confidence in financial
\ninstitutions in 1997.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has asked Singapore to sign an extradition agreement
\nto make it easier for Jakarta to investigate and produce in court
\nthose bankers now living in Singapore, but the requests have been
\nspurned by authorities in Singapore, who argue that the two
\ncountries have different legal systems.<\/p>\n
Yusril said Singapore's refusal to sign the treaty was
\nsenseless because Indonesia had signed similar accords with Hong
\nKong and Australia, which also have Anglo-Saxon legal systems.
\n(Kompas, Jan. 23, 2003)<\/p>\n
Many Indonesians questioned Singapore's failure to cooperate
\non the extradition treaty. They accused the city-state of a
\ndouble standard, because on the one hand it was concerned by the
\nthreat of terrorism from Indonesia, but on the other hand it was
\ngiving sanctuary to economic criminals who plundered Indonesia,
\nwhich can be categorized as a type of terrorism.<\/p>\n
The other nagging problem that has lately irritated ties
\nbetween Indonesia and Singapore is the devastating impact of sand
\nquarrying and sand smuggling from the Riau islands to Singapore.<\/p>\n
Singapore, which occupies 635 square kilometers of land,
\nreportedly needs 1.5 billion cubic meters of land and sand for a
\nmassive reclamation project as part of the country's ambitious
\n10-year program to widen its territorial area to 760 square
\nkilometers. Most of the sand has been imported by Singapore from
\nthe Riau islands for about S$1.30 (approximately 70 US cents) per
\ncubic meter.<\/p>\n
Former Riau governor Saleh Djasit said last year the province
\nreceived only Rp 40 billion (US$5 million) in revenue from sand
\nexports in 2003.<\/p>\n
The relatively small amount of revenue received by the Riau
\ngovernment from the lucrative business of quarrying and exporting
\nsand to Singapore was the result of a lack of transparency in the
\nbusiness, which resembled mafia activities. This business
\ninvolved more than 40 mining firms, many of which received
\nbacking from corrupt Indonesian officials who took advantage of
\nloopholes in the legal system here.<\/p>\n
The intensive sand mining has, however, caused serious
\nenvironmental damage to some islands, especially Nipah island, a
\n63 square kilometer islet 10 minutes from Singapore. President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri laid a new border marker during a short
\nvisit to Nipah on Thursday. And, at a cost of Rp 80 billion
\n(US$10 million), Indonesia plans to reclaim the island, which
\nserves as a frontline border with Singapore.<\/p>\n
Singapore has so far closed its eyes to the environmental
\ndestruction and sand smuggling, as if this was business as usual.<\/p>\n
But the Nipah case suggests how expensive this irresponsible
\nsand business will be for Indonesia, and Singapore, as the
\nexporter of this commodity, must play a role to put an end to the
\ncatastrophe.<\/p>\n
Singapore also needs to go further by signing an extradition
\ntreaty with Indonesia so that Jakarta can prosecute crooked
\ntycoons now hiding out in the city-state, if it does not want to
\nbe viewed as an exploiter.<\/p>\n
The writer is a visiting scholar at the Graduate School of
\nJournalism at the University of California, Berkeley.<\/p>",
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