Susilo denies anti-Chinese economic policy<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Leading presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denied
\naccusations that he and his running mate Jusuf Kalla were
\ndiscriminatory against Chinese-Indonesian businesspeople, saying
\nhis future government would foster unity for the good of the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not in power, so how could they accuse me of not being
\ncooperative with the ethnic Chinese?\" Susilo questioned during a
\npress conference at his private residence in Bogor.<\/p>\n
\"I do not discriminate against anyone ... all elements of this
\ncountry should join hands and work together for a better future
\nin Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
Susilo was responding to criticism aired by a number of
\nChinese-Indonesian businesspeople against statements made by his
\nrunning mate, who on several occasions said he would fully
\nsupport the policies of past governments, which put a great
\nemphasis on assisting indigenous businesspeople and putting
\ncertain limits on the ethnic Chinese community.<\/p>\n
On Kalla's official website, www.jusufkalla.com, he says:
\n\"Favoritism for pribumi (indigenous) businessmen should be
\nreaffirmed and maintained.\"<\/p>\n
Born in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Kalla was raised in a family
\nwho successfully expanded to many lucrative sectors, including
\nengineering, infrastructure, automotive and transportation.<\/p>\n
The Kalla family has focused on doing business in the eastern
\nregions of the country and they have become one of few major
\nindigenous business conglomerates that are able to compete with
\nChinese-Indonesian businesspeople.<\/p>\n
Critics said Kalla wanted to emulate the discriminatory
\npolicies under founding president Sukarno, known as Sistem
\nBenteng (fortress system) that provided privileges for indigenous
\nbusinesspeople in the form of loans for small- and medium-sized
\nenterprises and gave them control over the distribution of staple
\ncommodities.<\/p>\n
Under the system, which took effect in 1959, Chinese-
\nIndonesians were barred from expanding their businesses beyond
\nthe regency level, which prompted some 130,000 Chinese-
\nIndonesians to leave the country.<\/p>\n
Only a few of them survived and were then able to develop a
\ngood relationship with Soeharto, an Army general who seized power
\nfrom Sukarno in 1966.<\/p>\n
During his tenure, Soeharto became allies with a small clique
\nof ethnic-Chinese businesspeople who enjoyed certain privileges,
\nparticularly loans, to expand their businesses, which ranged from
\nthe timber industry and banks to automobiles and basic
\ncommodities.<\/p>\n
A select group of Chinese-Indonesian businesspeople also built
\nrelationships and later business partnerships with the military.<\/p>\n
At the peak of the economic crisis in early 1998, Soeharto's
\nadministration provided more than Rp 138 trillion in emergency
\nbail-out loans for a number of banks, many of which were owned by
\nChinese-Indonesians.<\/p>\n
The worsened economic situation led to massive and violent
\nstreet demonstrations and eventually forced Soeharto to step down
\nin disgrace. Hundreds of Chinese-Indonesians and their shops
\nwere targeted and fell victim in mass riots that preceded the
\nfall of Soeharto.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susilo-denies-anti-chinese-economic-policy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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