Indonesia a friend not foe to Australia

This article is based on a farewell speech by Indonesian Ambassador to Australia S Wiryono at the 1999 Merdeka Luncheon, organized jointly by the Australia Indonesia Business Council (AIBC), New South Wales branch, and the Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Sydney on Aug. 20, 1999. This is the second of two articles.

SYDNEY (JP): Indonesia now faces the twin challenge of economic recovery and democratization but, in addition, Indonesia must also be able to satisfy the demands for justice and a more equitable sharing of the resources and wealth of the regions, such as in Aceh and Irian Jaya, and resolve ethnic-based disturbances that have surfaced in places such as Maluku and West Kalimantan.

We, of course, realize that developments in Indonesia are interesting subjects of scrutiny, and while we know that basically the Indonesian problem needs to be resolved by Indonesians themselves, it is also important to recognize that the recovery of Indonesia and its return into the family of healthy nations would be in the interests of its neighbors, in the region and the world. So our neighbors, such as Australia, also have a stake in the success of Indonesia.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas has stated: "What we had hoped was that public opinion would not forget Indonesia's constructive role in world affairs. We are not a pariah country that is looking inward or that deserves to be hit on one issue only. Yes, we have an issue, we have East Timor, but that's a complex issue with a long history that we are trying to resolve. We are a huge society and it is not an easy country to govern. We have come very far."

Indonesia, it might be added, is a friend of Australia's, not an enemy. It is important that it does not become an opponent. Because an Indonesia that is feeling unjustifiably pushed around, an Indonesia that feels that Indonesia-bashing is going on, reaches a point where it may well say, "Well, OK, we've done what we can. If that's not understood then we'll just shrug our shoulders and continue on."

Richard Woolcott, former Australian ambassador to Indonesia, revisited Indonesia last month and one of his observations bears sharing with you. "One change since my last visit was the growing view among leading political figures in all parties that Australia was becoming rather boastful about its role in assisting Indonesia and too intrusive in seeking to shape Indonesian policies, especially in relation to East Timor". He goes on, "A feeling was also evident that, unlike Indonesia's ASEAN colleagues, Australia may be inadvertently distancing itself from Indonesia because of our preoccupation with East Timor, a preoccupation not fully understood in Indonesia and not shared by other countries in the region".

As in all human relationships, that between Australia and Indonesia has not been without its difficulties which, as I noted earlier, was due primarily to the differences in our cultural ways and political styles. But being such close neighbors at a time when the world has radically globalized through a revolution in communications technology and other developments, it is only natural that the frequent and the intensive exposure in the two countries of one another may lead to critical scrutiny, which could sometimes occasion irritation and lead to misperceptions and misunderstandings that are magnified by unbalanced and unfair media reporting. However, we should not be discouraged by this as it is all part of the cross-cultural dialog and, in the end, both countries have no choice but to try and understand each other, appreciate each other better and help each other more effectively.

There continues to be many difficult problems confronting our relations, but it is reasonable to be optimistic about the future of Australia-Indonesia relations. These are excellent government- to-government and over time, together, we have developed friendly and dynamic contacts at all levels. This has been proven in both the good and the bad times, such that the relationship now assumes the character of irreversibility.

The fact that only a relatively small number of Australian companies did not opt to stay on in Indonesia during the crisis period lends weight to this contention as does, for example, the exciting new initiative of the listing of the first fully fledged Indonesian company, PT Aneka Tambang, on the Australian Stock Exchange.

In the education field, from 1998, and for the first time, there were more Indonesians studying in Australia than from any other Asian country. Ninety five percent of these were private students. There may well come the day when a majority of Indonesia's new band of leaders in government, in the bureaucracy and in business have received at least a part of their formal education in Australia. Coordinating Minister for Development Supervision and State Administrative Reforms Hartarto Sastrosoenarto, presidential assistant Dewi Fortuna Anwar and prominent businessman James Riady are three well-known current examples, but I sense it will soon emerge as a fairly commonplace occurrence. In the area of tourism, according to the latest ABS statistics, there are now more Australians traveling to Indonesia than to any other destination apart from New Zealand, surpassing the traditional tourist havens for Australians of the United Kingdom and the United States.

Looking at the current Indonesian situation, we see that there are many opportunities there for mutually beneficial cooperation in the business as well as the services sectors. But naturally, one has first to think positively about Indonesia, and also be forward looking. The recent highly profitable and innovative experiences of the ANZ Bank in Indonesia in my view stands out as a splendid example of what can be achieved.

As I ready myself for my return to Indonesia, there still remain some very important areas of unfinished business. I am referring in particular to the popular consultation in East Timor on Aug. 30, the make up of the governing coalition and opposition parties and the coming session of the People's Consultative Assembly in November, when it meets to elect a president to take Indonesia into the next millennium. Doubtless, we are all eagerly awaiting the final outcome of these events. On the East Timor question, we are basically relaxed about the outcome. If independence is what the people decide, then we will not stand in the way, but should the people choose independence, the obvious corollary of this is that neither can we be expected to stay there for long after the vote has been declared. But even with the popular consultation resolved it is still not be the end of the story. There are serious concerns over the longer-term sustainability and stability of this half an island with few resources.

On the election of the fourth president of the Republic of Indonesia, the views could conceivably be divided between the supporters of those who seek continuity and experience, those that want a fresh team, unencumbered with the burdens of the past, and those who support an outsider for the position, especially if there is a deadlock.

What the outcome will be, only time will tell, and that choice will be made by the 700 members of the People's Consultative Assembly. Indonesia can no longer afford to have it played out on the streets. What more could we ask for than the election of a legitimate president leading a stable government and in a politically stable environment. If we can achieve this, there's no reason why we can't soon once again become a major player and contributor to the prosperity and stability of the region.