Looking for synergy in Indonesian-Dutch ties

Looking for synergy in Indonesian-Dutch ties

By Kwik Kian Gie

JAKARTA (JP): Queen Beatrix's on-going visit to Indonesia is
of great significance. This is the first visit by the Queen to a
country that rejected Dutch aid and dissolved the Inter-
governmental Group on Indonesia in 1992. IGGI was later replaced
by the Consultative Group for Indonesia without Dutch
participation.

The incident did not cause a crisis, however. On the contrary,
Indonesia emphatically stressed that, because of this, relations
between Indonesia and the Netherlands would become more
autonomous. Prime Minister Lubbers' very mature behavior averted
a crisis. His first move was to address the European Community in
a letter urging them to support Indonesia.

Following the stoppage of Dutch aid, both nations' elite
established a forum. In Holland the organization is known as the
Netherlands-Indonesia Forum, and in Indonesia it is called the
Indonesia-Holland Forum.

These forums bolster long-term relationship between the two
countries. The two forums have been instrumental in selecting
materials and the program of seminars during the Queen's visit.

The forum comprises businesspeople, educators, bureaucrats,
technocrats, diplomats and other professionals. Some of the
programs, however, concentrate too much on Indonesia and the
Netherlands.

The number of Indonesian students in the Netherlands rapidly
declined when Indonesia gained independence. Apart from being
handicapped by the Dutch language, students need a permit of stay
to study in the Netherlands which takes a year to issue. Many
students chose to study in Germany until it imposed visa
requirements. The United States, attractive to many Indonesian
students because English is the universal language, has
practically delegated visa issuance to its universities.
A foreign student needs only to fill in Form I-20 and show it to
the American Consulate to get a visa in about half an hour.

About five years ago the Witteveen Dekker Indonesian
Scholarship Foundation was established. It extended two or three
scholarships a year without obligation, to outstanding Indonesian
students for further studies in economics at Erasmus University
in Rotterdam. The Dutch business community, however, gives the
foundation little attention or support. Students winning this
scholarship had to wait for three to five months for their visas.

The goodwill of an university's alumni can make or break
relations between nations.

The drastic decline in Indonesian students in Holland means
there is no longer a special tie between Indonesia and Holland.
The present generation does not know the Dutch language at all.
They are more familiar with countries like the United States and
Japan than Holland.

The Indonesian language may become a compulsory subject in
Australia. It is therefore misleading to think that the Dutch
know Indonesia best. Rapid change in Indonesia has made their
knowledge obsolete.

A study by Prof. J. Tinbergen and J.B.D. Derksen in 1938 found
that the Netherlands derived from the Dutch-East Indian colony in
dividends and interests, pensions, shipping and exports, a total
of only NF353 million. That would be only 7 percent from the
national income.

Figuring the multiplying factor, the Dutch lost only NF600
million or 12 percent from their national income when they
released the colony. Hence the belief that the "Indies is a cork
piece which keeps Holland afloat" was a gross exaggeration.

Between 1967 and March 1995, Dutch investments in Indonesia
were US$2,8783 billion, placing Indonesia 10th behind Japan, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea,
Singapore, Australia and Germany. Indonesia isn't very important
to the Dutch in terms of investment.

Indonesian exports to Holland in 1993, amounted to $1,084621
billion, while Dutch exports to Indonesia were $626,04 million,
costing the Dutch a deficit of $460,39 million.

The low economic profile of Indonesia to the Dutch is the
reason Indonesia-Netherlands relations were not under the
auspices of the Foreign Ministry in Lubbers cabinet but in the
hands of the Ministry of Cooperation with Developing Countries
under J. Pronk. To the Dutch Foreign Ministry, China and India
are the most important countries in Asia.

There are suggestions that the Dutch regard Indonesia as a
gateway to ASEAN countries. In reality, however, Singapore is far
more attractive because of its sound infrastructure.
Globalization and telecommunications has made direct
communication more efficient, pushing the Netherlands aside as
Indonesia's gate into Europe .

There are now more centers in the U.S. and in Australia which
are more knowledgeable about modern Indonesia than centers in the
Netherlands.

Indonesian speaking diplomats from the United States, Japan,
China and Australia outnumber Dutch diplomats.

Dutch businesspeople do know the corrupt business practices in
Indonesia, but compared to Asian countries, the Dutch lack
flexibility, their conflicting values handicapping them in
Indonesia.

It is important to bring this forth while both the Dutch and
Indonesian elite are gathered to find areas of cooperation. The
elderly on both sides, who have a host of private experiences and
whose views are influenced by outdated personal experiences, tend
to dwell on nostalgia and romantic memories, not reality.

Does this mean that there is no potential at all for a
profitable relationship, to establish synergy?

It is very possible. Indonesia is developing and has a rapidly
growing market potential because of its large population.

The Netherlands, although a small country, does have large
potential since it is the site of many transnational
corporations. Its experience in managing a welfare state is an
invaluable source of knowledge to Indonesia which aspires to
setting up an egalitarian and democratic nation.

The Dutch have actually implemented the gotong royong (mutual
cooperation) and paragraph 33 of the 1945 Constitution regarding
social justice without even defining these concept as Indonesia
does.

The potential to forge synergy between Holland and Indonesia
will only be materialized when it is realized how each nation
benefits the other. The benefits derived from the relationship do
not differ much from benefits offered by other countries.
Identifying all the factors in a realistic way will enable
synergy to form without future disappointments.

Although Indonesia is growing rapidly, has a large population
and is rich in natural resources, there are many other similar
countries in Asia. Unless Indonesia seriously boosts its
competitive edge, all the fanfare accompanying Queen Beatrix
visit will be for nothing.

The writer is a Dutch-trained economist.