Keep euphoria in check

Keep euphoria in check

The Indonesian business community, represented by the chairman
of the Indonesian Chamber of Trade and Commerce (Kadin),
Aburizal Bakrie, is complaining. In the past year, it sustained
losses amounting to a total of Rp 5 trillion.

Commercial estates are said to have suffered the most -- about
Rp 3 trillion, not counting the losses incurred because foreign
buyers do not trust Indonesia's agricultural export products.

Material losses are relatively easy to offset by means long
known to businesses. More difficult to overcome is the perception
that exists among foreign businesses that Indonesia is still a
risky place for capital investments. What is discouraging
prospective investors even more is the perception that some
people in this country are taking advantage of the current
situation.

The government must use its energy to control any negative
expressions of the reformist euphoria. If excesses are allowed to
continue to run unchecked, economic recovery will be difficult to
achieve.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta