More transparency needed

It is understandable that we should feel annoyed at the slanted information circulated abroad regarding Indonesia's foreign debts. As former coordinating minister for economy and industry Radius Prawiro has said, inaccurate information could easily affect the government's current normalization program.

How can we best counter such misleading information and rumors? Transparency, or openness, is a most effective tool for eliminating any negative impacts of such misinformation. Transparency ensures that the public will have a solid base in evaluating information.

We hope the government will better enforce the requirement for debtors to report their offshore loans. By doing so, Bank Indonesia will have a better overall picture regarding the foreign loans acquired by private businesses. It will also have a better idea of how the funds are used.

Many people object to this stricter enforcement of the obligation. Nevertheless, for the sake of national interest, it is a necessary measure.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta