Stiffing the Acehnese<\/p>\n
Acehnese are known for their pride and their historical struggle
\nfor independence. And yet, this pride seems to have been drowned
\nout in the wake of last week's tsunami disaster. We are
\nespecially saddened to learn that the once-proud Acehnese are now
\nmired in tears of despair and helplessness.<\/p>\n
It is now our responsibility to help the Acehnese, not only to
\nsurvive the crisis following the disaster, but most importantly
\nto enable them to restore their dignity.<\/p>\n
We are encouraged by the massive international response to
\nhelp the tsunami victims in the region, particularly our brothers
\nand sisters at ground zero -- Aceh. The international community
\nhas raised more than US$2 billion to help reduce the suffering of
\ntsunami victims in countries bordering the Indian Ocean. We are
\nalso encouraged by the domestic response, especially from the
\npeople who have spared whatever they have to help Aceh.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, we are disturbed by our government's
\nresponse to the calamity. Lack of coordination among government
\nagencies is often cited as the main problem crippling the aid
\ndistribution in Aceh. The government is indeed the easiest target
\nof blame when there is bottleneck in aid delivery. But our
\nconcern goes beyond that. We especially question our government's
\ncommitment to rebuilding Aceh and restoring the dignity of the
\nAcehnese.<\/p>\n
The government has predicted that it will cost around Rp 10
\ntrillion (US$1.1 brillion) to physically rehabilitate Aceh. This
\nfigure is indeed a conservative estimate. Other estimates have
\nput it at more than $2 billion. The problem, however, is not so
\nmuch with the government's estimate -- we do not question that --
\nbut we do question the government's decision to spread the Rp 10
\ntrillion over a five-year period.<\/p>\n
This government has been especially stingy in its planned
\nbudget spending for Aceh. It has allocated only Rp 1.35 trillion
\nas an emergency fund this year for Aceh -- which we consider an
\ninsult to the Acehnese, especially in comparison to our military
\nspending on the Aceh conflict, which has totaled more than Rp 2
\ntrillion in the last 18 months alone, or our fuel subsidies of Rp
\n57.3 trillion (in the first 11 months of 2004).<\/p>\n
We urge the government to commit more than just Rp 1.35
\ntrillion. We believe the House of Representatives will be
\ncooperative and approve any amount proposed by the government to
\nrebuild Aceh. If necessary, all Rp 10 trillion should be allotted
\nand spent during this fiscal year. We do not believe the
\ngovernment will be short of funding, even if it allotted more
\nthan that.<\/p>\n
First of all, there has been a proposal from Germany, which
\nwas welcomed by a number of other donors, to offer a debt
\nmoratorium or rescheduling for Indonesia to give the country more
\nbreathing space to help the Acehnese. However, the government has
\nbeen seemingly reluctant to pursue this offer. If it
\nmaterializes, it will provide ample cash for the government to
\nfinance Aceh's reconstruction. As an illustration, for this
\nyear's budget, the government has allocated Rp 25 trillion just
\nto pay the interest on its foreign debt. If the government
\nmanages to reschedule the interest, the principal or both for
\nthis year alone, it would have enough funding -- actually much
\nmore than enough -- to physically rebuild Aceh.<\/p>\n
But, we need to be prepared for the worst, for instance, if
\nthe government chooses not to pursue the debt rescheduling
\nfacility for whatever reason. This still would not necessarily
\npreclude the allotment of adequate funding for Aceh. There are
\nlots of sources of alternative funding, starting with a reduction
\nof the planned fuel subsidy. The government and the House have
\nagreed to allocate Rp 19 trillion for the fuel subsidy this year.
\nAlthough this amount of subsidy represents a deep cut from last
\nyear's Rp 57.5 trillion, this is still a very large budget outlay
\n-- 14 times larger than the Rp 1.35 trillion allocated for Aceh.
\nMost importantly, as we already discussed in this column earlier,
\nthe extension of the fuel subsidy mostly benefits wealthy owners
\nof gas-guzzling SUVs.<\/p>\n
Again, we implore the government and the House to further cut
\n-- or if necessary eliminate altogether -- the fuel subsidy and
\nuse the money for Aceh. Similarly, we also appeal to all citizens
\nand residents of the nation, especially motorists who have been
\nenjoying artificially low fuel prices, to sacrifice and be
\nwilling to pay more for at the pump for the sake of our sisters
\nand brothers in Aceh.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stiffing-the-acehnese-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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