'Give me back my Bali'

In the aftermath of the bomb blast in Bali on Oct. 12, 2002, it is apt to reflect upon a song composed by Guruh Soekarnoputra, entitled "Give me back my Bali."

It is true that Bali must be restored to normalcy: the security, the peace and the original charm, untainted by the side effects of tourism.

A careful observation shows that the international community is much more concerned over the Bali tragedy than Indonesians themselves. Perhaps, we have grown weary of the reform drive and its related effects. We have been talking and talking, and exposing the evil of the old system and praising the virtues of the new.

In fact, we are still looking for the right format of our nationhood. We are still in transition. We are still looking for the best way to behave as a nation.

During the previous regime, we believed in social cooperation, but only in theory, because in practice we allowed profit-based capitalism to permeate into all aspects of life.

Even today, materialism is heightened. Our Constitution has been amended to improve it, but in reality, its significance is still unfelt. So, we have become indifferent. We have become empty. We look for the significance of our lives, individually or in groups.

So to speak, we need not only the return of our Bali, but also the return of our Indonesia. Give me back my Indonesia.

-- Kompas, Jakarta

Questioning privatization now

The Bali blast has weakened the financial markets in Indonesia although in the last few days there has been a modest rebound.

This situation has led to a question about the government's economic program such as privatization of state-owned enterprises and bank divestment. When the financial market is weak, the result of this program will certainly be far from satisfactory.

However, the government is faced with a dilemma. To go on with the program would mean a low yield (unfavorable price for privatized assets) while to postpone the program would lead to doubts about its commitment to reform.

In such a situation, in which the investors' trust in our government is low, the government must do something to enhance its credibility. Most important of all is that it seriously investigates and solves the Bali bomb case and shows its strong commitment to eradicate terrorism by, for example, issuing a regulation in lieu of a law against terrorism.

If the restoration of security takes longer than expected, the government may postpone its economic program. The government must not sacrifice the long-term purpose of privatization for its short-term demand, such as covering the budget gap.

It must be remembered that, given the fairly weak market, even strategic sales will benefit only the investors.

-- Bisnis Indonesia