Economic rescue

Economic rescue

From Kompas

Regarding the Declaration on the Rescue of Indonesia's
Economy, reported in Kompas of Aug. 6, as a fellow economist of
those making the declaration, I am of the opinion that the
declaration is quite proper in that the substance of the
declaration has been expressed in public by the economists making
the declaration and some other economists who miss being invited
to join the drafting and launching of the declaration, such as
Dibyo Prabowo, Kwik Kian Gie, Tulus Tambunan and myself. This
declaration voices a clear conscience. The majority of economists
must agree to the substance of the declaration. I am convinced
that this declaration will prompt the government and the House of
Representatives (DPR) to focus their attention to the present and
the future.

Calls telling people of a sense of crisis have often been
heard, but unfortunately they are still responded to with an
attitude characterized by relaxation, belittlement and a lack of
seriousness. A sense of crisis means an awareness of an imminent
danger of total failure and a realization that one must, firmly
and without delay, take action to prevent our nation from going
bankrupt. ("Crisis" is rendered in Japanese as Ki-Ki, the first
Ki meaning danger and the second an opportunity to take action in
order to resist and dispel the danger.)

As a fellow economist, I take pride in the launching of the
declaration, but at the same time I cannot help feeling worried
and sad. Why should I feel worried and sad while we still have
our moral force. First, one of our ministers that I greatly
respect was defensive about the declaration, instead of
appreciating it, and has even marginalized the value of the
declaration. Second, why hasn't the initiative to launch this
kind of declaration been taken by economists serving as
legislators at the DPR (there are quite a few of them)? Are our
economists serving as legislators too busy for this matter? One
may always take a populist stance but must always bear in mind
that the macroeconomics principles must never be abandoned.

We are all hard pressed for time. Our awareness of the urgency
of things is not just lip service. The government, the DPR and
observers (scholars and observers constitute a moral force) must
have the courage to abandon decadence and be quick enough to
relearn the attitude, behavior and credibility (ABC), something
which will not be just window dressing and marginal.

BOB WIDYAHARTONO

Jakarta