~Message from the Editor

~Message from the Editor

For a newspaper in Indonesia, to pass the 20-year mark is not
unlike passing a historic milestone. The last 100 years have seen
the launch and closure -- by government decree or otherwise -- of
hundreds of newspapers across the country.

And although no statistics exist by which to measure the rate
of survival or life expectancy of a newspaper in Indonesia, the
fact is that only a handful have ever reached the age of 50, and
not one has reached the 100-year mark.

To celebrate this special anniversary, The Jakarta Post is
publishing an extra 24-page special supplement, which focuses on
the economy of this country in the near future.

There are many options available when one tries to envision
the future. One can start, for example, with scrutinizing the
past and current liabilities, and then move on to project the
probabilities of assets within the constraints of those
liabilities.

Indonesia is not short of liabilities or constraints. Almost
anybody in this country can draw a rather long list of weaknesses
and threats in terms of the economy, macro as well as micro.

The underlying multidimensional crisis, which was prompted by
the financial crisis in mid-1997, has not been resolved
adequately.

The fact the country has had to survive under three
consecutive presidents in a span of less than five years, does
not alleviate the immense problem.

On top of that, Indonesia has been forced to muddle through
consecutive misfortunes: the September 11 terrorists' attacks in
the US, the ensuing Afghan war, the Bali bombings of last
October, the current Iraq war and the latest SARS outbreak.

Dark and thick clouds, however, usually have some silver
lining. Behind every obstacle, one can usually find some answer
or solution. If one seriously looks for it, one will eventually
find the answer, the opportunity, the solution.

This special supplement was prepared and produced with that
approach in mind. For this purpose, we solicited many
contributors and experts from different fields and backgrounds.
We sincerely hope our readers will find the silver lining behind
the dark clouds.

Raymond Toruan
Chief Editor