'Give me back my Bali'

'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