Observers split on success of Megawati's trip

Observers split on success of Megawati's trip

Kurniawan Hari and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite all the fanfare, international affairs observers have
reservations about the effectiveness of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's ongoing visit to four Asian countries, namely
China, North Korea, South Korea and India.

International affairs observer Juwono Sudarsono has hailed the
visit, saying it would improve the image of Indonesia
internationally.

Juwono from the University of Indonesia said on Sunday that
Indonesia's initiative to encourage peace talks between South
Korea and North Korea was positive.

"That is good, but its response fully depends on the internal
condition of the two Koreas," Juwono told The Jakarta Post.

Juwono, a former defense minister, said that despite the
number of agreements reached, the success of the trip could only
be measured in the future.

"There are several agreements. But, I think the achievement
will depend on our own internal capacity," he said, implying that
the number of agreements did not necessarily equate to
significant achievements.

However, fellow scholar Bantarto said that nothing much could
be expected from the visits to the four nations because "the
visits lack focus."

"The visits are merely aimed at expanding bilateral ties
between Indonesia and each of the four countries as Indonesia
needs diplomatic recognition from the respective countries,"
Bantarto, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), told the Post.

Bantarto said the visits did not show a clear platform as to
what benefits Megawati wanted to achieve.

For example, "Megawati should have carefully chosen countries
that could help Indonesia boost its economic performance," he
said.

Her visit to China would not bring much impact since
Indonesia, under Abdurrahman Wahid, had laid the foundations for
bilateral investment.

"Her visit to North Korea does not end up in any benefits
since it is merely a nostalgic visit," he said.

Separately, social observer Alexander Irwan said that
Megawati's visit would not help boost investment in Indonesia,
except if the Indonesian government scrapped discriminatory
rulings on Chinese communities back home.

"No significant investments would flow to Indonesia, except if
Indonesia improves its social and economic infrastructures," he
said, after addressing a discussion entitled "Doing trade with
China" at the Hotel Peninsula in Jakarta.

Irwan expressed confidence the abolition of discrimination
enshrined in Indonesian law would increase the confidence of
Chinese overseas to invest more in Indonesia.

The rulings, that needed revoking, included Law No. 62/1958 on
Citizenship obliging Indonesians of Chinese descent to have
documents normally not required for "indigenous" Indonesians, he
said.

"Indonesian Chinese have formed networks with Chinese from
Hong Kong, Singapore and others, who control the majority of
investments in Indonesia."

Wilson Nababan, a marketing researcher at CIC-Corinthian, said
that Megawati's visit to China would certainly bring positive
results for Indonesians.

"The visit opens up investment opportunities for Indonesians,"
he told reporters after the discussion.

Currently, for example, China's motorcycle manufacturing
industry was growing steadily, he said.

"Indonesia could produce and provide components, such as
tires, brakes and other components for this growing industry."