Government needs 'to reach out more'

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)