What we really need is justice<\/p>\n
By T. Mulya Lubis<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): How will we solve our economic crisis? Sometimes
\na sense of helplessness overwhelms me, but only for a moment. I
\nam an optimist at heart, tending to lean toward the side of hope
\nfor humanity in general and the Indonesian people in particular.<\/p>\n
We know that corruption, collusion and nepotism are words of
\nvarying shades of gray, running across the entire spectrum of our
\nsociety in one way or another.<\/p>\n
What do we expect? What can we achieve? Who is really to
\nblame?<\/p>\n
All of us are, in one way or another.<\/p>\n
As a nation, we must bear and resolve this shame. We have
\ncreated a system designed to foster abuse. I see this system
\ninfecting many of the very same proposals offered as solutions.<\/p>\n
Solutions and the problems themselves lie in the same place of
\norigin: our pocketbooks.<\/p>\n
Problems arose due to a need for economic development. The
\nsolutions came with development projects, generally relating to
\ninfrastructure and other basic needs. The problems arose due to
\nan inability to adequately manage huge capital inflow and
\ndistribution. This led to abuse.<\/p>\n
Now, we need to end it while permitting the continuation of
\nthe underlying economic activities.<\/p>\n
Like it or not, as always we need our foreign investors, our
\nage-old historical partners in development. The question of
\nresources has always been an issue in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
While there was huge abuse in the distribution of rights in
\nimportant infrastructure franchises, the projects generally
\nraised standards of living through development of transportation
\nnetworks of roads and bridges, railways and bus services.<\/p>\n
They included investing in agriculture, the food we eat and
\nthe water we drink, the medicine we take, and the electric power
\nwhich runs our homes and offices. We invested in accommodation,
\nin channels of product distribution and in our minds through
\neducation.<\/p>\n
All are the basic needs of a modern society, and they have
\ntaken huge capital mobilization to accomplish.<\/p>\n
And while we have not paid for them all yet, we should be
\ngrateful for the financing, technology transfer and the
\nencouragement and general support from our trading partners and
\ncitizens of friendly countries, whose tax dollars have
\ncontributed generously to our general welfare.<\/p>\n
Now, all of these things constitute the treasures of our
\nnation. There is still the uneven road work and
\ntelecommunications (and we still do not have clean water to
\ndrink), but in most ways we are far better off than ever before.<\/p>\n
No one can deny we still need projects for employment, to put
\nmoney in our pockets and rice on the table.<\/p>\n
While seeking to root out abuses in discretionary powers and
\nconflicts of interest, we must decide which projects we want to
\ndestroy and which should continue.<\/p>\n
It is a complicated choice in which we must ask ourselves
\nimportant questions.<\/p>\n
What do we value? I value resources, the preservation of our
\nforests, seas, mountains, rivers, lakes, wildlife and the
\nbeautiful regions of our culture, our language, ourselves.<\/p>\n
I value the health of my children, my wife, my family, friends
\nand citizens of the world and worlds beyond. While that may be a
\nbit too lofty for relevance to this crisis, the principles lend
\nme guidance.<\/p>\n
Maybe we need to choose to do things that are for the greater
\ngood. Maybe we should concentrate on our supplies of water and
\nmedical care, education, decent housing and skills development.
\nThat would surely raise our standards of living and provide
\ninsurance toward the future.<\/p>\n
Maybe we should concentrate on our systems of transportation
\nand communications, our tourist industry, agriculture and
\neducation (oil and precious mining seem to take care of
\nthemselves)<\/p>\n
The problem is that the former first family and their cronies
\nseem to have their grasp, directly or indirectly, in so many, if
\nnot all, important and valuable projects.<\/p>\n
We also find foreign investors in almost every one of these
\nprojects. To me, that means that we Indonesians created a system
\nwhich required the involvement of foreign investment on the one
\nhand, and on the other required that foreign investors deal with
\ncronyism as a prerequisite to participate in the Indonesian
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
Today, we are scrutinizing most of these projects. There are
\nbasically three potential losers; the Soeharto clan and the web
\nof intimates, foreign investors and Indonesian society at large.<\/p>\n
The community is attempting to seek retribution by relieving
\nthe Soehartos of their equity interests, assuming that enough
\nplunder has been stashed away forever to justify taking for the
\npeople whatever is illuminated by the light of our
\ninvestigations.<\/p>\n
Yet the people stand to lose much through the delay
\nin projects, including benefits of infrastructure in fostering
\nnational development, but more directly through the loss of jobs
\nwhich puts rice on the table.<\/p>\n
The people gain from the cessation of some projects; the two
\nnational cars, triple-tier intercity transportation network, a
\nbridge to Malaysia and nuclear power plants were projects and
\nsectors too grandiose for our station in development.<\/p>\n
Some of these bore the sickening weight of inflated budgets
\ndesigned to steam shovel money into the pockets of the crony
\nmandate interest holders, whom we must conclude have reaped a
\nsufficient harvest to last them through their lifetimes and
\nseveral generations of heirs.<\/p>\n
No tears should be shed for those foreign investors with
\ninterests in unnecessary projects who were no better than their
\ndomestic counterparts.<\/p>\n
But what of those foreign investors who have, within reason,
\nfollowed the letter of our often ambiguous laws, who are not
\nproven to have engaged in corrupt practices, who are engaged in
\nprojects of national priority, who have already invested
\nsubstantial resources, who are able to provide financing and who
\nare technologically and logistically capable of performance?<\/p>\n
Once society strips the Soehartos of any ill-gotten interests
\nin these projects, what remains?<\/p>\n
I see projects worthy of continuation, and foreign investors
\ncapable and competent to carry them out. And I am not so quick to
\ntake up the banner of justice in favor of punishing foreign
\ninvestors operating in an environment largely of our own
\ncreation.<\/p>\n
I see in today's blaze of lawsuits against project
\nparticipants some parties seeking to take advantage of the
\nmassive confusion created by the current situation. The economy
\nand all of its rights and interests are tossed around in flux at
\nhigh frequency.<\/p>\n
In this environment, special interests, especially those who
\nharness the powers of government and money, find misfortune in
\nothers' misery. Foreign and domestic concerns alike can be seen
\nengaging in these predatory and litigious pursuits.<\/p>\n
It all looks confusing when taken as a whole. But when viewed
\none by one, on basic principles, we should be able to judge the
\njust from the inequitable.<\/p>\n
All we have to do is ask who stands to gain and who stands to
\nlose from the litigation and economic holdups.<\/p>\n
We should not be fooled by parties raising claims against
\nviable economic activities, when those parties may be motivated
\nby a desire to personally gain from a shifting of contracts to
\ntheir hands. It is unscrupulous conduct amounting to using a
\ncorrupt system for the perpetuation of corruption.<\/p>\n
We need to be realistic and look to the vast number of people
\nwho have lost their jobs, been forced to drop out of school and
\nare unable to provide for their families. The economic paralysis
\nis a time bomb nearing explosion. It is our task to maintain our
\nwisdom, and to be fair and just.<\/p>\n
The early days of our independence were not much different
\nfrom today. Today, like then, we need a lot from the outside
\nworld. We need technology, principles of democratic government,
\neducation, assistance in the alleviation of poverty, agricultural
\ndevelopment and more.<\/p>\n
As always, obtaining all this comes at a price. We have always
\nneeded banks and foreign capital investment to solve the
\nequation. The task is now to apply proportionality and wisdom to
\nthe equation of social and economic justice. In this light, we
\nwill find our solutions.<\/p>\n
The writer is a senior partner of Jakarta-based law firm Lubis
\nSantosa & Maulana.<\/p>",
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