Government needs 'to reach out more'

Former U.S. ambassador to Jakarta, Paul D. Wolfowitz, warns that unless Indonesia selects a vice president who enjoys broad support and establishes a cabinet which accommodates all elements of society, the country could become the "basket case of Asia". The dean of John Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies spoke to The Jakarta Post after he addressed the Senate Banking Committee in Washington D.C. on the crisis facing Indonesia.

Question: Have the steps taken by the Indonesian government been enough to deal with the current crisis?

Answer: The steps taken are very important, but there's still a very long way to go, and I think, in particular, that financial and economic measures alone are not going to restore the confidence necessary to get the economy going again.

I've talked to American investors, for example, who are interested in Indonesia and their reaction has been that there must be (development) on the political side to deal with the issue of succession and the enormous political difficulties the country will face as its economic problems worsen.

Until they see that happening, they aren't going to put a nickel into Indonesia.

Q: Can you be more specific on what investors think, or what you believe, should be done?

A: I think they view the coming People's Consultative Assembly session, and the subsequent selection of a new cabinet, as very important decisions. I think that they would say it's very important to have a vice president who is a credible successor and who enjoys broad support in the country.

I also hear a lot about the need to develop what I would call 'a government of national unity' that reaches out to all segments of society.

So it's not just a matter of the choice of a vice president, it's also how the vice president is chosen, how the cabinet is chosen and who is in the cabinet.

Q: Will this 'new government of national unity' be the key to regaining confidence and successfully overcoming the crisis?

A: Look at Korea. It is doing well now because there's a lot of confidence in the new president, and the new president has reached out to groups that didn't vote for him, to unify the country.

This means Korea is facing the difficult times ahead with a broad consensual opinion that the right steps are being taken. I don't think Indonesia has established that yet.

Q: Are you saying that there's no confidence in the government?

A: Words like 'no confidence' are a bit strong, but I think the government has not established a climate of confidence for the future. Uncertainty over the future is inevitable when you have a president in his 70s, and when you know that the current economic problems are likely to get worse.

The need to reach out to people, even people who have been critical of the government, I think is an essential requirement.

Q: A government which brings in both strong critics and supporters is something we've probably never seen before...

A: Well, I think you're facing a crisis which you've never seen before, at least for the last 30 years. So I think solutions are likely to require some things which you've never seen before.

But one of the things I hope the Indonesian government will take advantage of is an amazing amount of goodwill and patriotism in Indonesian society. Even the people who are critical of the government are not in favor of violence and would prefer a consensus for stability.

Q: Do you believe that it is possible?

A: If people have a feeling of inclusion, they will be prepared to cooperate in a national effort. One of the great strengths of Indonesian society is their willingness to compromise, to tolerate differences.

I worry that the strain of the current crisis may diminish that and if an effort isn't made soon to reach out to different elements then there could be a sharpening of differences and more polarization.

Q: So blaming people rather than accommodating differences and concentrating on unity could worsen the situation?

A: I feel very strongly that this business of looking for scapegoats is very dangerous.

As this crisis has worsened, there has been a tendency to blame people, particularly people with different ethnic or religious affiliations to the majority of the population. That is very destructive both politically and economically.

Q: What happens if the government fails to recognize and take the steps needed to restore confidence through political measures?

A: I hesitate to (make) prediction because I don't like what I see.

I see Korea already looks like it's beginning to move out of its crisis.

If Indonesia fails to initiate political reforms to compliment economic reforms, then I see Indonesia remaining one of the basket cases of Asia, and that would be a terrible shame because it has a lot to offer to Asia and the rest of the world.

It (Indonesia) is a great success story in many ways, and should be remembered in times like now, when people are very nervous. But a lot of that success will be jeopardized if the crisis isn't successfully addressed. (mds)