Indonesia has lost its attraction

Indonesia has lost its attraction

In this era of globalization, everything that is happening in
this country -- every tragedy, the never-ending violence, the
shameful behavior of our politicians and all the instances of
corruption -- easily reaches the eyes and ears of the world.
Every day, people throughout the world are presented negative
reports about Indonesia.

Of late, the Bank Bali scandal, the East Timor crisis and the
occasional violent demonstrations have put new pressure on our
economy. Our political agenda until the end of the year is a busy
one and it is quite possible that an overheating of the political
situation will make friction among the various interest groups in
our society.

We don't as yet know what mark we will be scoring for
investment this year. However, it can be expected that it won't
be much different from last year's when we had a net
disinvestment figure of minus US$356 million. Given such a
record, we should all be able to see that the extended economic
crisis that we are in at present is one of our own making.

We have been unable so far to mend Indonesia's image abroad.
Case upon injurious case has been left unresolved while our
political elites continue to play dangerous games that threaten
the interests of the public at large. How long is this going to
last?

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta