Habibie vows not to repeat mistakes of his predecessor

Habibie vows not to repeat mistakes of his predecessor

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie promised yesterday not to
repeat the mistakes of his predecessor Soeharto who prioritized
economic growth at the expense of wealth distribution.

He said such an approach to development had created
monopolies, oligopolies and unhealthy economic competition, where
only a small number of people controlled the country's economy.

"The old economic policy, implemented during the last three
decades, resulted in a wide economic gap. The target to achieve
economic growth, while neglecting distribution (of wealth), has
encouraged conglomeracy," Habibie said when he opened the fifth
congress of Indonesian Indigenous Enterprises Association
(HIPPI) at the Bina Graha presidential office yesterday evening.

The President expressed his belief that his three-month
administration's economic strategies, based on populist economic
concepts emphasizing self-reliance and self-esteem, would be able
to simultaneously stimulate economic growth and ensure good
distribution.

According to Habibie, under the new blueprint repeatedly
trumpeted by Minister of Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Adi
Sasono, the government will restructure the distribution of
national economic resources and will redistribute productive
assets.

The redistribution of productive assets is meant to create a
new social structure.

Habibie said his new policy would create a strong middle
class, while the lower and upper classes would play a smaller
role, in contrast to past practices.

A powerful middle class was key to the country's economic and
political democratization, he noted, as well as the establishment
of social justice as mandated by the Constitution.

The President vowed the country would remain independent
economically, although he admitted that at present the government
had to borrow large sums from foreign countries and donor
agencies.

"As a nation we must be independent. Foreign debts, often made
under conditions which are not easy (to meet), are only a
temporary measure," the President said.

He said a speedy economic recovery would only be possible if
the entire nation worked hand in hand and put aside their
differences.

He hoped that people would remain patient, because prolonged
social and political tension would only worsen the country's
situation.

He cited economic problems as the most critical priority
because political issues would be settled next May through the
general election.

"Therefore I appeal to all of the nation's components, let us
focus our national agenda on economic recovery," the president
remarked.

Yawning social gap and the concentration of many of the
country's assets on the hands of a few had contributed to the
increasing social and political tension over the past years.

The tension erupted into rioting in May, when 1,200 people
were killed and more than 160 Chinese-Indonesian women assaulted
and raped, which forced Soeharto to step down. Expression of
outrage over the violence still continued.

Yesterday, more than 200 Chinese citizens petitioned the
Indonesian embassy in Beijing over atrocities committed against
ethnic Chinese during the rioting.

The petition, containing the signatures of 232 Chinese people,
compared Indonesian violence against ethnic Chinese to Nazi
Germany's crimes against Jews.

"The brutality is an insult to the dignity of the world's 1.3
billion Chinese people," the petition said as reported by
Reuters.

Jiang Qisheng, a pro-democracy activist, Zhao Xin, a
businessman, and Wu Pei, a teacher, submitted the strongly worded
letter to an embassy official. The signatories included several
well known activists and their relatives.

The petition called on international groups such as the United
Nations and the International Monetary Fund to push Jakarta in
its investigation of the racial crimes.

Indonesia's deputy chief of mission in Beijing, Ibrahim Yusuf,
met with the three for about half an hour.

"We accept their concerns and will send them to the
government," Yusuf said afterwards.

"But we explained to them that the government of Indonesia
condemns the May violence and has established a fact-finding
committee. The results of the fact finding will be announced
here," he said.

For their part, the petitioners said they were pleased with
Yusuf's "sincerity". (prb)