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