Financial chaos threat to world economy: Megawati

Financial chaos threat to world economy: Megawati

SINGAPORE (AP): Financial chaos of developing nations
threatens the world economy with contagion, without international
trade and investment standards, Indonesian politician Megawati
Sukarnoputri said on Monday.

"To prevent a repeat of the Indonesian experience, I feel it
is important that the leaders of the world immediately establish
global standards and regulations to govern international trade
and investment," Megawati said in an address.

She said all international companies and governments should be
required to comply with standards on environmental protection,
democracy, corporate governance and corruption.

"The international economy will be threatened by a contagion,"
Megawati told the Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies.

She said, "A contamination of the world economy by the
developing nations" would cause "the currency exchange system to
undergo constant upheavals." In addition, she said, "extreme
changes, social revolution and radicalism, evolved from the
prolonged economic crisis will threaten regional geo-political
stability."

Megawati, whose father was Indonesia's founding President
Soekarno, is a possible candidate for president if her party wins
enough votes in the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Answering questions after her speech, she committed her party
to transparency in government, a market open to foreign
investors, and non-discrimination in administration of the law.

When an Indonesian student noted that her father had not
succeeded in bringing democracy to Indonesia and asked if she
would, Megawati gave an equivocal answer, as she did with most of
the questions during an hour-long session.

"Democracy is a basic right of any human being," she said.

During the Cold War "every country had a different definition
of democracy," she said, adding that the institution is "a
dynamic state."

Asked about closing failing Indonesian banks, she said,
"Restructuring the banking system is really unavoidable."

She predicted her party would win a majority of votes in the
elections, but said answering questions about possible coalitions
was difficult. She said her party was studying the question and
may have an answer in a month.