Cooperation with China, India

Indonesians might recall when this country, during the 1960s and 1970s, was a place for Malaysians to study particularly in the field of education. Many Malaysian students were studying in various universities in Indonesia aside from the many Indonesian teachers who were sent to Malaysia to teach there.

Even Malaysia's oil and gas company Petroleum Nasional Berhad or Petronas, was once a "foster child" of Indonesia's oil and gas company PT Pertamina which, over the past few months, has been grappling with huge problems of soaring oil prices and coping with fuel scarcity in the country.

Catching up with Malaysia at the moment is out of the question as this country is now two or three steps ahead of us. So why not turn to China and India, the two most populous countries on earth, but more "developed" than us. There are at least two areas in which we can cooperate with these countries, notably in economic development and education.

With China, the new economic powerhouse with a foreign exchange reserve 20 times that of Indonesia's, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has struck a strategic partnership deal in order to multiply trade activities of up to US$20 billion between the two countries.

There is, however, still room for Indonesia to set up cooperation with India in the field of education as the latter is more "advanced" in human resources development, particularly in information technology.

In times of need, as in Malaysia's case when it invited Indonesian teachers decades ago, Indonesia doesn't have to be reluctant to learn and tap experiences from others deemed more advanced in particular areas. A lot of exclusive or international and yet expensive educational institutions have been mushrooming here lately, but they cater only for the "haves" and intellectually superior students. But how about the average level students and students of poor families?

Therefore, it is the government's task, in particular the Ministry of National Education and its educational institutions -- secondary or tertiary educations-- to pioneer the setting up of cooperation with the Indian ministry of education in all aspects including curricula and utilization of textbooks. This way, there would be no reason for Indonesian "rich" youngsters to pursue education overseas, as has been the case over the years, and this will help secure foreign exchange.

M. RUSDI, Jakarta