IMF and Rizal Ramli

IMF and Rizal Ramli

I read with interest Rizal Ramli's response Editorial on IMF
(July 19, 2001) to The Jakarta Post's editorial IMF's ominous
message (July 17, 2001) and can understand his obvious
indignation. Let's face it, he is the man most responsible for
the economy and is therefore the person right in the firing line
when it comes to any high-level meetings with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) representatives.

None of us enjoy failure, or for that matter the finger of
blame pointed directly at one's feet, but then if you are "the
man" then you must accept the criticism. I doubt if there is an
Indonesian anywhere in this country who does not think that the
IMF left with a feeling of uncertainty as lack of confidence in
the whole political arena is street talk and general knowledge.

The Post article was not at all damning, in fact after reading
it I thought "tell us something new". This news is well-known and
the sad story has been written many times over the past six
months or so. I am not sure why Rizal Ramli categorized the
readers of the Post as "unsuspecting public" as most subscribers
I know draw on their own intelligence to come up with their own
assessment of anything they read. Sure the article was critical
and quite rightly so as we all live in Indonesia under a cloud of
uncertainty, which is a direct product of this administration and
the House of Representatives (DPR) in general. No one here has
any great confidence in anything that is happening, likely to
happen or for that matter already happened, as just around the
corner another major disaster is about to destroy whatever good
that has been achieved.

The fact that many IMF board members are busy packing their
shorts and fishing rods for their August vacation is really
besides the point, as this lack of confidence has been around
since this administration took office.

There are indeed good reasons for the many failures, most of
which never truly reached the surface. When you look at the
corruption and mudslinging associated with the financial scandals
related to Bank Bali, Bulog, state enterprises, the bank
restructuring and everything else that has gone unpunished or
swept under the carpet, then no wonder everyone is laughing at
the developments and the people involved. It has reached a stage
far beyond being pathetical, and Rizal Ramli is but one of the
unfortunate human beings locked in the fiasco of an abysmal
administration.

What does Rizal Ramli really expect when the public witnesses
day after day the disgraces of the so-called elite in this
country, who without thought or care for the masses, go their own
sweet and merry way to ensuring they get the biggest slice of the
cake.

Sensible agreement can never be reached in this country as
somewhere down the line, someone powerful has a vested interest
in something, so progress for the good of the country goes right
out the window. Everybody knows this, and so its no wonder the
IMF came to Indonesia but left their signing pen at home.

Despair, frustration, mistrust and lack of confidence is what
are being generated in Jakarta. And the reality of the situation
today is that the IMF will not part with its much needed cash to
a country that is riddled with inefficiency, corruption and
stagnation.

DAVID WALLIS

Medan, North Sumatra