Indonesian pavilion but no national traits

Indonesian pavilion but no national traits

HANOVER, Germany (JP): The Indonesian pavilion is located in a
huge area of the Hanover Expo 2000, which is occupied together
with several other countries like Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam,
United Arab Emirates as well as the Palestinians.

The Indonesian gallery is in the form of a square with a boat-
like room in the center, with a big screen to show films on
Indonesia life, namely the life of the Komodo dragon and Anak
Seribu Pulau (Children of the Thousand Islands), a children's
film, telling stories of children from different islands in
Indonesia.

The gallery has four entrances to displays of cultures from
Eastern Indonesia, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java.

The pavilion and the materials exhibited within are so simple
that one cannot identify the country's characteristics.

What can be seen are pictures of Indonesian people, nature and
handicrafts from several of Indonesia's regions.

Apart from two miniatures of N250 and N2130 airplane types
produced by the national aircraft manufacturer, Indonesian
Aerospace (IAe), recently renamed from IPTN, in Bandung, West
Java, no Indonesian technology is displayed.

In another area, a merchandising cart displays daily needs of
Indonesians like a chip container, sachets of local brand
shampoo, candy boxes and spices!

"It seems that Indonesia does not want to spend more money to
sell the country's image, moreover there are also no technology
displayed there," said Volker Wiedersheim, editor of the
Hannoversche Allgemeine local newspaper.

Wiedersheim said that a developing country like Indonesia
could also show technology, "For example they can offer something
which has not yet been done in developed countries, even though
the technology is simple," he added.

Interviewed separately, the pavilion manager Iwan H. Sulaiman
admitted the poor condition. With a budget of only Rp 15 billion
for the temporary exhibition gallery, Iwan said, "I honestly say
that we have no target, we just want to attract sympathy towards
Indonesia which is now 'black and blue'."

However, he said, even though under such bad conditions the
country still has potential, especially its natural heritage.

"That's why we put more stress on our natural beauty, at the
same time we also want to say that we still have a will to
improve ourselves."

According to him, the decision to join the expo was made two
to three years ago when Rahardi Ramelan was minister of industry
and trade.

"The minister was changed several times ... the final decision
was taken only three months before the expo. Consequently, the
preparation was very minimal," he said.

Even with the gallery's poor condition, there were big numbers
of people attracted to know more on Indonesia after visiting the
pavilion, Iwan said proudly.

However, visitor response summaries showed that so far there
were only 57 people who seriously searched for information on
Indonesia.

"Most visitors are attracted to search for more information on
tourism. We have channeled all of the responses to the related
institutions in Jakarta or to the Indonesian embassy here," Iwan
said.(ind)