Govt told to address domestic problems
Govt told to address domestic problems
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri must
resolve domestic problems such as security and legal uncertainty
in order to bring the country out of its current crisis,
observers said on Friday.
"We should shift our attention from global problems to
domestic issues," political observer Dewi Fortuna Anwar told a
seminar on The Implications of International Terrorism and U.S.
Attacks on Afghanistan against Indonesia's Economy and Politics
in Jakarta.
"The government's failure to boost security and guarantee
legal certainty has hindered the country's economic recovery,"
she added.
Economist Umar Juoro of the Center for Information and
Development Studies (CIDeS) and researcher Rizal Sukma of the
Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) concurred,
saying domestic non-economic factors constituted the main
obstacles to recovery.
"Focusing on domestic problems is an urgent issue to eliminate
uncertainties among investors," Umar said.
He said the nation's unresolved major problems included the
privatization program, banking restructuring, the sales of state
assets under Indonesia's Bank Restructuring Agency and the
rescheduling of private debts.
He cited the West Sumatra administration's much-criticized
takeover of state-owned cement firm PT Semen Padang and unclear
policy on the sale of government shares in publicly-listed
company Bank Central Asia (BCA).
Rizal said many crucial problems, such as continued unrest in
the provinces such as Aceh and the Maluku islands had to be
resolved immediately to restore peace across the country.
"Many deaths have taken place in Aceh and other regions, but
Jakarta is still silent. Why should we give too much attention to
Afghanistan, while we have a similar problem at home?" he asked.
Umar said global economic recession was not an excuse for the
government not to address the nation's complicated problems
exacerbated by erratic policies and the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks in the U.S.
Although Indonesia depended on the U.S. and other
industrialized countries, it should now count on domestic
resources to survive and restore the economy.
"We should create a safe climate at home free from terrorist
threats or radical actions leading to violence that has damaged
the trust of domestic and foreign businessmen," Umar said.
Apart from the terrorism, he added that the government should
take a moderate measure to push for talks with Muslim leaders in
efforts to help secure the national situation.
On Thursday, Muslim scholars urged the government and the
country's two largest Islamic organizations - Nahdlatul Ulama and
Muhammadiyah - to invite extremist leaders for talks to prevent
possible terror attacks.
Both NU and Muhammadiyah have agreed to take the lead in
countering militant groups in effort to restore the Indonesian
image of Islam, which has been tarnished by their recent anti-
U.S. protests.
Researcher Rizal Sukma of the CSIS told Thursday's seminar
that the U.S. tragedy had "revealed the new face of international
terrorism".
However, he said Indonesia should take into account the voices
of Muslims at home and national interests in responding to the
U.S.-led campaign against terrorism.
Rizal and Dewi lauded the government's stance in reaction to
the international campaign against terror. Jakarta has condemned
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and has at the same time asked the
U.S. and its Western allies to stop bombing Afghanistan.
Dewi dismissed worries over a possible withdrawal of U.S.
support for Indonesia should it take a firm stance against U.S
strikes in Afghanistan.
"America will continue backing us because it's also of its own
interest to forge relations with moderate Muslim countries, like
Indonesia," she said.
She added that as the world's largest Muslim nation, Indonesia
should even strengthen its bargaining power in the international
community following the U.S. tragedy blamed on Osama bin Laden
and the Taliban.
Dewi also said it was impossible to heed the demand by a
minority group of Muslims to cut diplomatic ties with the U.S. as
the majority of the people has realized that relations with the
superpower were important.