'Honestly, I just know what WTO stands for'

Free trade and very low tariffs on trade are deemed the basic tenets of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which recently held its Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, Mexico. However, there remains a large gap between rich and poor countries. As one of the members, Indonesia seem to be powerless, despite worldwide debate on the issue. The Jakarta Post talked to some residents on the issue.

Bambang, 32, works for a multinational company in Bekasi and lives in Bekasi with friends:

I recognize the abbreviation WTO. I know only a little about it, though.

I think we have to keep on fighting for a share of world trade while improving our own economic situation.

Otherwise, our country's economy will remain weak, as it is now. We should learn a precious lesson from China, Taiwan, Vietnam and other neighboring countries' economies.

On the other hand, we realize that as a developing country, we are often treated unfairly in world trade, let alone in the free trade era.

I think the absence of government subsidies for our agricultural commodities has partly been the cause of our lack of competitiveness in the global economy.

Popie, 29, works for a private company in South Jakarta. She lives in Tangerang with her family:

To be honest, I only know what WTO stands for and have no idea of its deeper meaning.

It would be far better to improve economic conditions first before entering the global market.

The best thing would be a commitment from our government to curb illegal logging, rampant corruption, and, most importantly, security.

How can we expect other countries to treat us fairly if we cannot cope with our own internal problems?

Victor, 23, is a store manager at Ambasador shopping mall in South Jakarta. He lives in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, with his family:

Frankly, I have no idea what the WTO is. What's it all about?

If it's all about trading, well, we can see that our economic situation is far from satisfactory.It seems that our economy is stagnant, as it never gets any better from one year to the next.

Under such circumstances I just wonder how we can dare to assure the world that our economy is worthy of consideration.

I think it would be better for us to develop trading opportunities through neighboring countries as our target market.

Leo Wahyudi S