Good planning for East Timor

Good planning for East Timor

This refers to the letter from Mr. D. Chandramouli, which
appeared in The Jakarta Post on Feb. 24, 2001. I entirely agree
with him that the people of East Timor have to get their
priorities right. The first step of "having a long-term vision"
that he suggested includes having economic vision, and my article
was an attempt to suggest some possible alternatives. It is not
that East Timor must be a "gambling den" or a "tax haven", but
wherever East Timor looks for an economic niche, consistent with
its economic philosophy (as yet undetermined), they can evaluate
some of the available niches listed in my article.

By calling Macau or Genting Heights a "gambling den", one
cannot erase the economic prosperity or jobs enjoyed by the
population, which arise out of the related activities. Learning
merely a lesson or two from Singapore or producing a couple of
Nobel laureates does not automatically ensure prosperity.

On the other hand, well-thought-out economic planning coupled
with organizing everything it takes to make the plans into
reality (which is really the key to Singapore's economic
success), is what will be beneficial to the people of East Timor.

Such planning, which necessarily has to be a long-term
exercise, is also essential for the nascent nation if it is to
have a reasonably good standard of living for its people, and not
to continue to look for the next handout from donors or from the
oil companies presently active in the Timor Strait.

C. G. MOGHE

Jakarta