Putting our house in order

The world, standing as it is on the threshold of the 21st century, has been gripped by a widening sense of unease. Not all countries feel comfortable with the free market system. Not everybody is happy with the behavior of currency speculators. Eventually, nations will look to take a middle road and the West, particularly the United States, will have to accept that the time is over when it could unyieldingly enforce a system suitable only to capitalism on the world at large.

We in Indonesia are compelled to observe these developments from a most difficult position. According to the economist Paul Krugman, the Indonesian economy is at present comparable to that of a country at the end of a war -- in other words chaotic.

We must therefore start building anew from the ground up, but this time in the face of obstacles much greater than those that existed 32 years ago. Our natural resources, for example, have become greatly depleted. Environmental conditions are worse and appear to be worsening even further, in step with growing poverty and disregard for the law.

This situation gives grave cause for concern. In many respects we agree with Moslem intellectual Nurcholish Madjid's view that Indonesians should support the government until the general election so that it can concentrate on laying the groundwork for further reforms to take place after the voting is over and one with.

At present, the public's attention is fragmented, making it difficult to mobilize a concerted effort to solve our problems. In this era of reform we tend to look at our economic problems from a political, rather than an economic point of view. We have no preference for one over the other. Our only hope is that we can all join forces in putting our house in order.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta