Infrastructure summit and RI's future

Patrick Guntensperger, Jakarta

There probably has never been a more apt time for a summit conference on Indonesia's infrastructure.

A major concerted effort to address the shop-worn and inadequate infrastructure that characterizes Indonesia will have benefits that reach far beyond the people's needs for better surface transportation and delivery of public utilities and services. There is no question that the shabby state of Indonesian roads and the generally poor condition of public facilities needs to be addressed.

The overall state of disrepair is bad for the country. It is bad because it perpetuates a reputation for acceptance poor standards, for Indonesia being content with second and third-rate conditions.

It is also bad because people become accustomed to living with shoddy, deteriorated infrastructure and a sense of pessimism about life in this country becomes commonplace. An improvement in the infrastructure will bring optimism and hope for the country's future; something that is badly needed in Indonesia at this time.

On an economic level, the expenditure of trillions of rupiah (as has been proposed) will be an enormous shot in the arm that will have far-reaching effects throughout the archipelago. Countries like the United States are comfortably aware that nothing boosts a country's economy like being on a war footing. That's because the public purse is opened and no expenses are spared to accomplish the country's immediate goals.

The effect of the unrestrained spending is a rapid circulation of wealth, the creation of new businesses and massive increases in employment. But actual war isn't needed to bring about that economic renewal. What is needed is any shared goal that requires a similar commitment of funds and energy on the part of the government and the people of a country.

If that national will can be focussed on infrastructure refurbishing, modernization and expansion, the effect can be similar to the economic growth that the US saw as a result of World War II, and has tried to repeat with her various adventures ever since.

With that amount of money spread around the country, millions of unemployed will be able to find jobs directly related to the infrastructure work and millions more will find employment in the industries and businesses that spring up to help them spend their newly earned money.

Once those enormous sums of money are in circulation, businesses and therefore employment become self-perpetuating. The effect of such an influx of capital is similar to kick-starting a motorcycle; it takes that sharp input, it may need more than a single attempt, but once it catches, the engine takes over.

Infrastructure work is particularly well suited to being a national economic kick-start. Because of its very nature, the work that is done and therefore the economic benefits will be distributed throughout the country; although the contract will largely be executed and therefore paid in Jakarta, the wages themselves will be paid to the workers wherever the work is being done. And that means money will be spent not only in the nation's capital but in villages from one end of the archipelago to the other.

In the wake of the devastation caused by the Christmas Tsunami, infrastructure reclamation will have a special urgency in some parts of the country.

We have a chance here to turn this calamity into an opportunity. President Susilo has already ordered a review and reorganization of the National Coordinating Agency for Relief and Refugees (Bakornas PBP); he has seen problems and has moved to address them.

That sends a signal to the world that the old complacency and refusal to acknowledge internal problems are things of the past. If we can send similar signals with our transparent, ethical and efficient expenditure of aid money and our own funds allocated to infrastructure rebuilding, we might well be taking a big step towards turning Indonesia around.

If anything comes out Monday and Tuesday's summit on the infrastructure, let us hope that it is a commitment to spending those vast sums of money in ways that will show the world that Indonesia has a right to be considered among the mature democratic nations of the world and is on her way to economic self-sufficiency. If Indonesia can come out of the devastation with a renewed sense of purpose and a commitment to the future development of this country, the heartbreaking losses we have suffered as a result of the tsunami will be somewhat mitigated.

The writer, social and political commentator, can be reached at ttpguntensperger@hotmail.com