On Chinese Indonesians

Many Chinese Indonesians can tell stories of how their assets were destroyed or in some cases their safety targeted by the mobs in the recent riots that hit Jakarta and several other cities in Indonesia.

So, I found Sumarsono Sastrowardoyo's letter criticizing Chinese Indonesians that fled the country during the rioting to be unfair. After all, nobody knew at the time that the transfer of power was going to take place peacefully.

On the other hand, I would support the calls by others for Chinese Indonesians to put more effort into assimilating with indigenous people. I also call on the authorities to take more concrete steps to address the issue. Furthermore it is important to improve national security because if people do not feel safe they will not return to do their business as usual.

There have been accounts of loss of lives, assets and jobs due to the riots. However, few have mentioned the long-term impact of the loss of confidence and higher risk perceived by people. This will result in more capital and even skilled people leaving and fewer coming to Indonesia at a time when the country badly needs the expertise and capital.

Even when things stabilize further, investors in general will be less inclined to put their money into businesses which are long-term in nature. This will significantly handicap Indonesia in its bid to be a competitive economy in the 21st century. The stakes are just too big for the issue to be ignored.

SINDRA WIDJAJA

Jakarta