Susilo must explain his overseas trips<\/p>\n
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post<\/p>\n
Traveling overseas on presidential flights is always very
\npleasant for the accompanying entourage. And this, of course, is
\nnot just because they are all entitled to receive a daily
\nallowance in U.S. dollars from the state coffers, or that they
\ncan order instant Pop Mie noodles from the very helpful Garuda
\nattendants.<\/p>\n
More than anything else, they are on a mission to boost both
\nforeign investment into Indonesia and Indonesian exports. And to
\nhear the reassurances of foreign leaders that they respect highly
\nthe territorial integrity of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Who would not be proud to see our president appearing on CNN,
\nbeing hugged by the U.S. president during a bilateral meeting at
\nthe White House, or during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
\n(APEC) summit? Before attending the APEC summit, our presidents,
\nfrom Soeharto to newly elected President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono, instructed their foreign minister to ensure that they
\ngot a meeting with the U.S. president. But even better if the
\nforeign minister can announce that \"the meeting is on the
\ninitiative of the White House\".<\/p>\n
The Indonesian media, especially TVRI and radio station RRI,
\noften like to emphasize how foreign leaders admire our leaders,
\nas reflected in the very busy schedule of the Indonesian leader
\nreceiving courtesy calls from his or her guests.<\/p>\n
During the APEC summit in Vancouver, Canada, in 1997, just
\nseveral months before his downfall, Soeharto was particularly
\neager to meet with U.S. president Bill Clinton. It was certain
\nthat Clinton would not come to his hotel, and Soeharto also would
\nnot be willing to meet Clinton at his hotel. So a neutral place
\nhad to be found.<\/p>\n
President Susilo left for Santiago, Chile, on Thursday, to
\nattend the APEC summit. Among others, this summit will be
\nattended by nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN), Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand, Mexico and the
\nUnited States. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda has
\nannounced that Susilo will meet with U.S. President George W.
\nBush on the sidelines of the summit.<\/p>\n
As a courtesy Bush will almost certainly say to Susilo,
\n\"Congratulations on your election as president!\" And Susilo will
\nreply, \"Congratulations to you too on your re-election!\" At least
\none official state photographer and one official state cameraman
\nwill take their pictures, though the public will probably never
\nsee them.<\/p>\n
The President and his entourage is scheduled to arrive home on
\nTuesday. Less than a week later, the President will then have to
\nfly to Vientiane, Laos, to attend the annual ASEAN summit.
\nLeaders of China, Japan, South Korea and India are expected to be
\nguests at this regional summit.<\/p>\n
The visit to Chile will be Susilo's first official overseas
\ntour, although the President last week went to Cairo, Egypt, to
\nattend the funeral service of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
\nThe Cairo visit was laudable because as the leader of the world's
\nmost populous nation he demonstrated Indonesia's strong support
\nfor the independence struggle of the Palestinians. However, the
\nCairo visit was criticized by a prominent Muslim scholar because
\nthe President was accompanied only by Muslim leaders, sending an
\nerroneous message that Palestine is just a religious issue.<\/p>\n
There is, of course, nothing wrong with the President going on
\nthese overseas trips. During the multilateral summits in
\nparticular he will have the opportunity to introduce himself to
\nother world leaders.<\/p>\n
It would be hoped, however, that the reason for such travel be
\nexplained properly to the nation before his departure. During the
\npresidential election campaign, Susilo himself repeatedly
\npromised that he would not travel abroad during his first 100
\ndays of his government. The public applauded the promise, because
\nthey were fed up with Megawati Soekarnoputri and Abdurrahman
\nWahid for their all-too-frequent overseas jaunts.<\/p>\n
Many people perceived the visits of the previous two president
\nas nothing more than pleasure trips. What were the tangible
\nresults of these trips? Did the enormous cost justify the
\nresults? Abdurrahman and Megawati in fact received long lists of
\npromises from their hosts and from businesspeople that they would
\ninvest more in Indonesia and that they would not support
\nseparatist movements. Of course they also said that we should not
\nexpect too much in the short term. However, when Indonesia is in
\nsuch difficulty, investment is required now, not later.<\/p>\n
Many people would reasonably conclude that the President has
\nperhaps forgotten his own promise. So can the people still
\nbelieve his other promises, like an improved economy? Broken
\npromises have the potential to erode the President's credibility,
\nwhich at the moment is still high. Foreign minister Hassan should
\ntalk to the public to convince them of the necessity of the
\nPresident's tour.<\/p>\n
In many countries, leaders are often tempted to use foreign
\naffairs as a diversion from intractable and complex domestic
\nissues. Susilo has a high level of legitimacy in the
\ninternational community because he was directly elected by the
\npeople. Just as importantly, Indonesia has given the world an
\nexample that Islam can be compatible with democracy.<\/p>\n
But these good feelings toward Indonesia will not last
\nforever, especially if Indonesia does not move ahead. President
\nBush may well laud Indonesia for its toughness in combating
\nterrorism. But if the current killing of Muslims and Christians
\nin Poso, Central Sulawesi, continues as it is, how can Indonesia
\nhonestly claim to be intolerant of terror? Foreign direct
\ninvestment will come of its own accord when Indonesia succeeds in
\neliminating rampant corruption at all levels of government. As
\nlong as our judges, prosecutors and police remain addicted to
\nbribes, who would dare invest their money here?<\/p>\n
Without a doubt, the visits to Santiago and Vientiane are
\nimportant. It is regrettable, however, that the public has not
\nbeen properly informed on the reason that the President needed to
\n\"break\" his promise not to travel during his government's first
\n100 days. Indonesian diplomats and officials should not just be
\nbusy preparing meeting lists and piles of summit documents; they
\nshould also be facing the public and explaining to them the
\ntangible benefits Indonesia will obtain by its participation in
\nsuch multilateral meetings.<\/p>",
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