Felia Salim leaves room for mistakes

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): She was born in Rome and grew up in four continents: Europe, North and South America and Asia. Her current residency: Jakarta. Her expertise: capital markets.

Felia Salim is a director of PT Bursa Efek Jakarta, the Indonesian name of the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX).

JSX was established in 1991. In the following year the Indonesian Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) transferred the operation of all activities pertaining to the management of the stock exchange to JSX.

Felia was appointed by JSX's board of commissioners to become a director in September 1994. In March 1995, she was elected to hold the post for another three years.

Earlier this week, directors and commissioners were re-elected on Bapepam's orders. The agency said that the re-election was aimed at enforcing the new capital market law, which came into effect in January this year.

Felia was among those re-elected.

At the JSX, Felia is in charge of research and development, corporate communications and finance.

"It's an exiting place to be. JSX is still in the infant stage of development. It is one of the smallest markets in ASEAN but we have great potential. It's fascinating to be involved in the efforts to convince new investors to become capital-market minded," she said.

A diplomat's daughter, Felia spent the early years of her life in Europe, North and South America. Born in Rome on Dec. 16, 1957, she went to a high school in Jakarta. She studied economics at the University of Indonesia. For the following two years, she continued her study at La Fortune Business College in Canada. After getting her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics at Carleton University, also in Canada, in 1983, she returned to Indonesia.

In 1992 she helped set up Yayasan Sejati, a foundation which aims at bridging traditional culture and modern society.

In observance of Kartini Day, which falls today, The Jakarta Post interviewed Felia.

Question: What do you think of Kartini?

Answer: She was a brave woman in the context of her time, and the most incredible thing is that she put all of her thoughts in writing.

I think what she did was the most suitable way to fight for what she believed in her context. She fought for something without offending tradition.

We don't have to be confrontational in fighting for something. It is about how to communicate with people without offending them. That is how you try to create a good environment, good free-flowing dialog. Sometimes it is difficult and a slow process.

I believe in a more intellectual approach. If you want something, you don't have to scream for it everywhere you go. You get your facts, you back them with data and you present your case, without having to offend.

Q: How do you see Indonesian women today?

A: I'm always very careful not to generalize about the role of wanita Indonesia (Indonesian women), because I'm not sure if we have a universal definition for wanita Indonesia. What women do you want to talk about? We have different kinds of women from Maluku, Irian, Minang (West Sumatra) and other places. The role of women in Irian is very clear. They carry their babies and work in the fields. In Minang, in contrast, they follow the matrilineal system.

There have been changes in the traditional role of women in urban areas, possibly because things are getting more expensive. There is a demand that women work. Values are changing. Its not only the mothers, but now also the fathers who take care of the children. Men have started to wash the dishes. But how big their share is in doing the household chores, is another matter.

There are so many complexities, you can't generalize things.

Q: What is your concept of feminism?

A: I'm not competent to speak about feminism. I find it quite a foreign concept even though I spent a lot of time abroad.

I believe that people will have the same opportunities if they pursue an intellectual approach to life based on merit.

We have to think in a context that makes sense in Indonesia. I admire Kartini because she was successful in the context of the culture of her time. She was able to convince people that women had brains.

You can't impose an idea which you can write in a paragraph and then try to install it in people's minds. There will be chaos. This is not just about women's issues, but about development issues as a whole.

Look at the women in Irian. They carry their babies and work in the fields, while the men remain idle. We can't just tell them about equality. The approach is: you don't teach the women, but the men.

You can't just instill the idea of equality in people without thinking about the impact on the children, on the family livelihood.

After learning about the idea of equality, women are likely to demand their rights. If they are unhappy in their marriage because of their husbands' dominance, they might want a divorce. This will surely affect the children.

Feminism as a movement is fine. But this is what I believe: the approach should be in accordance with the local culture. There should be understanding. Don't just tell them (society) what to do. They might get confused. Talk to them in their own context.

Q: How do you deal with the so-called glass ceiling, which can hamper women in pursuing a career?

A: At the beginning, it was difficult for me sitting here. But not now. I strongly believe that if you work hard, if you show people that you are fully committed and fully responsible for what you are doing, the glass ceiling will fade. And if you are clear about things, black and white, without any guessing games, the glass ceiling will become irrelevant. What is important is how to create a dialog.

I'm not always successful but I keep on trying. It's important to give each other an equal chance, including leaving room for mistakes. I believe in giving people room to make mistakes, otherwise we don't ever learn. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. You won't be crucified.

Q: Have you ever had any problems at work because you are a woman?

A: Yes there are prejudices. People do compartmentalize things and people. I think that is natural. That is in the initial stages. You need to come out with a clear position. You say: it is me, this is what I think. But this does not mean that you don't want to listen to other people. You should listen to others and initiate a dialog.

You have to start with yourself. You don't expect it from others. Try to be open. I'm not always successful but this is what I try to do. I keep the door open, try to create a friendly atmosphere, but at times you have to be at an arm's length. This is a very sensitive interaction, between the supervisor and subordinates. There are times for playing but when we work, we have to know our function.

Q: Do you still have time to have fun?

A: It's a little bit difficult to hang out with friends now. It's partly my own fault, I don't try enough to make time. Maybe because we are in the first years of the JSX and still in the building period. I work long hours so by the time I'm done and ready to play, everybody has gone home. Sometimes I have a cup of coffee in Kemang or some dim sum (Chinese snacks).

I like Murphy Brown. I enjoyed her sarcasm. Too bad they don't produce it anymore.

I leave here at 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. so by the time I get home it's about nine. I just pick up a plate, turn on the TV to see the news, take a shower, go to my room and just read.

Q: Do you live alone?

A: I live with my parents. Just the three of us.

Q: Don't you want to have your own family?

A: Of course, when the time comes. I leave it up to the guys out there. I'll just let nature takes its course.

Q: What do you want from life?

A: To work and contribute something to the nation's development. It's not just a job where you go from nine to five and you get paid, and go home.

Q: Do you think you have contributed something?

A: No. Not yet. I haven't done anything yet in life. Maybe I am starting to do it but I think I can do a lot more. I think I still have the energy to do so.

Q: Why are you interested in the capital market?

A: I studied the economics of development. On returning to Indonesia in 1983, I saw many things and talked to many people. I was still very young and had lots of energy at that time. I wanted to learn more. I started with Citibank as a trainee. I really started from scratch... My last position there was an assistant to the deputy manager, dealing with institutional banking.

In the meantime, the capital market started to boom. During my six years with Citibank, I dealt with commercial lending and the debt market, so I wanted to start with equity and I joined Jardine's. It was to get the holistic view of the company. I wanted to see both sides, the liability and equity sides.

I was with Jardine's for two years. And then I did some independent consulting for a couple of years. In 1994 I started to work for the JSX.

Q: How are things going at the JSX?

A: We are moving in the direction of making it the most transparent company in Indonesia. It is very important for the capital market to be transparent and we have to start from the JSX as the institution which facilitates the market.

All public companies have to be transparent. They have to make financial reports, but you know, there are many people who are not satisfied with the reports. We have to improve things, not only in the presentation of the reports, but also in asset appraisal. Indonesian people are becoming critical. They demand transparency. If you are not transparent, people will hesitate to make an investment decision.

Q: There is criticism against the new capital market law.

A: People are always afraid of the unknown. You have to test it. If it is decided that it is not good, I think we should correct it. But I think we should give it a try.

Q: How does the capital market in Indonesia compare with those in neighboring countries?

A: We are among the smallest in ASEAN. Compared to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, we are far behind, but we and the Philippines are more or less the same. We want to outdo them but we still have much to learn. Today we have between 300,000 and 400,000 local investors, which is very small compared to the population of Indonesia. Our target is in the next three years is to get it up to one million.

Q: What makes you optimistic about the future of the capital market in Indonesia?

A: If you look at the size of the economy it goes without saying. But now the problem is human resources.

Q: How can you develop human resources?

A: We have workshops, we provide grants to send people, members of the bourse or our staff at the JSX, to study abroad. We have Memoranda of Understandings with a lot of schools and universities. We have established capital market laboratories in schools. We are writing a basic textbook on the capital market.

We are setting up a library. If you take a look at the gallery on the first floor of this building, you will see a public education center with a popular approach -- edutainment. Everyone is welcome.

Q: Are there any foreign managers at the JSX?

A: No, we have foreign consultants, but only on a short-term basis. We have done things by ourselves since the beginning.