Why was Kunio barred?<\/p>\n
Once again a foreign scholar has been barred from entering
\nIndonesia. Yoshihara Kunio, a historian who teaches at Kyoto
\nUniversity's Southeast Asian Studies Center but who is better
\nknown as the author of The Rise of Ersatz Capitalism in Southeast
\nAsia, was denied entry at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International
\nAirport on Sunday for reasons that have thus far remained
\nunclarified.<\/p>\n
An executive of the Jakarta office of Kyoto University told
\nthis newspaper on Tuesday that the Japanese scholar, while on a
\ntour of the region, intended to meet friends in Indonesia and was
\nscheduled to arrive on Sunday. Apparently, Kunio did arrive here
\nas scheduled, but was told by airport immigration officials he
\ncould not enter the country. No specific reasons were given.<\/p>\n
Had it been a year earlier, though, one could have easily
\nunderstood the government's aversion to allowing Kunio into the
\ncountry. His aforementioned book on ersatz (false) capitalism
\nangered president Soeharto's New Order government almost as soon
\nas it came out in 1988. A translated version of the book was
\nbanned and Kunio was barred from entering Indonesia.<\/p>\n
All of which was understandable enough at the time. After all,
\nErsatz Capitalism dealt with the phenomenal rise of big
\nbusinesses in Southeast Asia (and many other developing
\ncountries) -- not on the strength of their inherent skills or
\nresources, but through collaboration with the ruling elites.
\nSince this was one of the most sensitive of issues at that time,
\nthe Attorney General's Office ruled that the book undermined
\npresident Soeharto's credibility and had to be banned.<\/p>\n
Of course, since then, and especially after the fall of
\nSoeharto in May last year, there are no longer any secrets about
\nhow "cronies" of the old regime acquired their business
\nprivileges and their wealth. The issue is freely reported in
\nnewspapers and discussed in public on an almost daily basis. The
\ncurrent government under President B.J. Habibie has publicly
\npromised to earnestly look into the alleged wrongdoings committed
\nby his fallen predecessor, particularly where corrupt, collusive
\nor nepotistic practices are suspected.<\/p>\n
These facts alone would make it hard to understand the
\ngovernment's reasoning in denying Kunio entry. It must, however,
\nbe added that Kunio's book on ersatz capitalism was an academic
\nwork and should be acknowledged as such. The Soeharto regime's
\nangry reaction to the work in fact constituted an indirect
\nacknowledgement of the soundness of Kunio's arguments.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the government's refusal to grant Kunio entry is
\nodd, to say the least, considering that scholars and observers
\nwho have long been known to be critical of Soeharto's New Order
\ngovernment, such as American political observers Daniel Lev and
\nBenedict Anderson, have not only been allowed into the country,
\nbut to attend public seminars, give lectures and deliver
\nscientific papers.<\/p>\n
All this considered, one is left to wonder what exactly the
\nreason was behind the government's denying Prof. Kunio entry into
\nthe country. It could of course be a simple instance of
\nbureaucratic deficiency. In that case, the government, and the
\nimmigration department in particular, would be well advised to
\nimprove its management and update its files. It is believed that,
\nat present, immigration files still contain some 500 names of
\npeople who are barred from entering Indonesia. But while denying
\nentry to people whose presence would pose a real danger to either
\nthe country or to the public is certainly legitimate, barring the
\nwrong people could not only harm Indonesia's image as an emerging
\ndemocracy, but actually harm the public's interest by denying
\npeople their right to be informed and educated.<\/p>\n
The other possibility -- that the government still regards
\nanyone who is (or was) critical as dangerous to the country -- is
\neven less palatable since it only helps to show that all the
\nofficial assurances about reform are just so much poppycock.
\nFortunately, this is likely to be the lesser possibility. Still,
\nthe authorities would do well to educate the entire bureaucracy
\nunder their control to make real and immediate adjustments to the
\ndemands of this new era of reform.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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