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.