PM John Howard's visit
PM John Howard's visit
Australia's Prime Minister John Howard is currently in town
for a two-day visit to Indonesia. It is noteworthy that as the
head of government of a neighboring western country he is the
first to make the special effort of coming over and having a
meeting with Indonesia's new President. It happens that last week
President Megawati installed her new Cabinet, which -- to judge
by the various press commentaries, national and international --
has enjoyed high praise.
Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the Washington Post's correspondent in
Jakarta, for instance, reported on the surprise of many observers
that "the taciturn and largely untested Mrs. Megawati" has
stacked her Cabinet with specialists instead of politicians.
Prime Minister Howard, during this visit, will easily find the
right wavelength in establishing a productive dialog with Mrs.
Megawati's stable of technocrats.
He might perhaps detect differing accentuations as he listens
to the Berkeley-trained Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, the Rotterdam
graduate Kwik Kian Gie, or former corporate executives such as
Rini M.S. Soewandi and Laksamana Sukardi, but there should be no
doubt about their common resolve to put this country's economy
back on its feet. Fortunately, he might find in Prof. Boediono,
the new minister of finance, a person who is familiar with the
Australian way of thinking, having enjoyed his education in
Australian universities.
President Megawati's speech last Friday as she officiated the
new Cabinet ministers should make it crystal clear that her
government is seized with a sense of urgency. Surely, any
assistance offered by Indonesia's friends in order to overcome
the multidimensional crisis this country is facing will be most
welcome.
Prime Minister John Howard, in a brief statement to the press
in Canberra, used the interesting phrase "positive realism" in
viewing his country's relations with Indonesia. What he meant,
perhaps, was that although differences exist in views and
interests between the two widely dissimilar countries and
nations, geographical proximity simply dictates that the two
sides should always work out their differences in a civilized
manner.
Actually, we would like to place the Indonesian-Australian
relationship in a much wider geopolitical context. Indonesia's
challenge as a large non-western country with the fourth largest
population in the world is how to cope with its modernization
process in as short a time as possible, without causing serious
upheavals. Australia as a western country that has the basic
ingredients of a modern civilization -- e.g. science and
technology, sophisticated communications networks with database
connections in Europe and North America and advanced management
skills -- is indeed in a position to help Indonesia.
On the other hand it is in Australia's geopolitical interest
that Indonesia develops into a modern, stable country with a
growing economy that would offer promising markets and ample
opportunities for investment. Such an Indonesia should of course
conduct a responsible foreign policy in order to ensure stability
in Southeast Asia and the West Pacific region. That is why a
visit by an Australian prime minister such as Mr. John Howard has
a special significance since this unique bilateral relationship
would push Indonesia further along the treacherous path of its
modernization efforts.
Mr. Howard's firsthand impressions of President Megawati and
her new government will of course be scrutinized in the capitals
of the important countries in the world which are following with
keen interest Indonesia's immediate future. Considering some
upcoming important international events -- such as the
International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting in Washington, the
meeting of Indonesia's creditors in Paris and the APEC meeting in
Shanghai -- Jakarta would surely appreciate Prime Minister John
Howard's sympathetic evaluation of the Indonesian situation.