Capitalism blamed for undermining Soeharto

Capitalism blamed for undermining Soeharto

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's expanding capitalist society is
undermining the New Order government under President Soeharto,
who vigorously promotes the free market as a tool for
development, a sociologist said yesterday.

"It's wrong to assume that the most subversive force is
communism, religious fundamentalism, student activism or non-
governmental organizations," Ariel Heryanto said during a one-day
seminar organized by the Indonesian Islamic University.

Ariel, a teacher at the Satya Wacana Christian University in
the Central Java town of Salatiga, is the latest to raise
concerns over the concentration of capital in a few groups in
Indonesia.

It is understood that Indonesians of Chinese descent, who
comprise less than five percent of Indonesia's 195 million
people, dominate the country's economy.

Ariel noted that over the past 15 years, more indigenous
people have been emerging as capitalists. The new development, he
argued, has lessened anti-Chinese sentiment.

"Nevertheless, it does not mean that ethnic tension in
Indonesia has come to an end."

He noted that Indonesia has lately witnessed what he called
"racial harmony" among indigenous and non-indigenous business
tycoons.

Unfortunately, while the ethnic tension is easing, he said,
discontented laborers are emerging as a new destabilizing force.
They are gaining strength and will be more powerful than middle
class pressure groups soon, Ariel believes.

"The prime cause of the swelling radical labor movement is the
rigorous capitalism in Indonesia," he said.

Meanwhile, Nazaruddin Syamsudin, a political observer from
Jakarta's University of Indonesia, said Indonesia needs political
stability to develop democracy.

As stability is a prerequisite for the development of
democracy, it is only natural that the state imposes restrictions
on political practices.

According to Nazaruddin, economic development should come
before democracy. "Democracy in Indonesia is dictated by the
success of our economic development," he noted.

"Nor is democracy implanted by international pressure because
nothing can be imposed on a country where the basic values do not
allow it to grow," he said.

"Economic development is a prerequisite for democracy and
political development as a whole," he said. (har/pan)