Experts debate Riady's role in U.S. election

JAKARTA (JP): Most call it "pure business", but some say that the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Indonesian billionaire James Riady donated to the U.S.'s Democratic Party should have been spent here on improving life for Indonesians.

Riady's financial contributions, now a major issue in the U.S. election campaign, have also stirred a debate in his home country. Some experts question the patriotism of Riady, whose family owns the widely diversified Lippo Group.

But most experts say that they did not see anything wrong with the donations, Antara reported yesterday.

"It's purely business (interest)," M. Budyatna, dean of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia, told the news agency.

"It's normal that an entrepreneur is concerned about his future profits. The way I see it, James Riady is banking on (incumbent president) Clinton's victory to help his business (in the U.S.)," Budyatna said.

Calling Riady's nationalism into question solely because of these donations is inappropriate because political donations are part of his business strategy.

Budyatna notes that many Asian companies have been successful in their lobbying efforts in the United States, and that Riady is merely pursuing a similar course.

Political analyst Arbi Sanit, also of the University of Indonesia, said the donations should be viewed as an investment cost for Riady's multinational corporation.

"It has to do with business, and it seems that James Riady considers the world is where his business is. And that is perfectly legitimate," Arbi said.

The only catch, he conceded, is that the profit from such investments will not necessarily come back to Indonesia.

Sayidiman Suryohadiprodjo, a retired Army general and a political thinker, said that companies make donations to political groups everywhere, not just in the United States.

"It is normal for a businessman to foster relations with government officials," he said, adding that this need not necessarily mean that they are in collusion.

However, Sayidiman called for Riady to make financial donations, such as giving scholarships to children from poor families, toward the development of Indonesia. He added that he did not know how much James Riady has done on this front.

The strongest criticisms against James Riady came from Suhardiman, a senior statesman and deputy chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, who called the businessman "unpatriotic".

"It's true that there are no regulations preventing any Indonesian citizen from supporting the election campaign abroad, but this goes against political ethics," Suhardiman, "I want the government to watch him."

Suhardiman said the money donated to the Clinton campaign could have been better spent on the Indonesian programs to eradicate poverty or to assist small enterprise development within the country.

Moh. Jumhur Hidayat, executive director of the think-tank group Center for Information and Development Studies, said whatever money is taken out of Indonesia represents "capital flight" and is detrimental to the country.

"Indonesia still needs a lot of funds for its development, and this should get priority," Jumhur said, adding that Riady owes his prosperity to support from people in Indonesia.

"Let's hope this is just a one-off thing. Don't let this set a precedent for other business people to follow," he said.

Tubagus Haryono, the chairman of the Indonesian National Youth Committee, describes the donations as a "collusion between an Indonesian citizen and the American political elite, purely for personal interests."

Tubagus doubts whether the donations will boost Indonesian exports to the United States.

The practice of collusion would also tarnish the image of Indonesia abroad, he added. (emb)