Real dialog thwarted by all the President's men

Real dialog thwarted by all the President's men

Ong Hock Chuan, Jakarta

Are Kadin and the International Business Chambers of Commerce
to be congratulated for their organization of last week's meeting
between 700 representatives of Indonesia's foreign investment
committee and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono? Or should they
be chastised instead?

It all depends on whom you talk to.

The supporters say congratulations are in order because it
gave the President a forum to show how aware he is of the
frustrations of foreign investors in this country and an
opportunity to reiterate how serious he is about reforming
Indonesia to make it a haven for domestic and foreign investors
alike.

They point to how the President had, even in the middle of a
crisis with a falling rupiah and rising oil prices, taken time to
speak to foreign investors.

Detractors, however, say there was nothing new in the meeting.
"Just the same old platitudes and nothing else," said an old-
timer who attended the meeting. "We've heard it all before," he
said, referring from the President's pledge to do all he can to
make Indonesia a viable investment destination.

His vehemence, however, was reserved for the question time
that followed the President's speech. "It was all stage managed.
The President's men wanted to control the entire question time
and they got their way. It was all a sham."

Unless we have sources in the President's inner circle we'll
never know whether or not this allegation is accurate. But
judging from what transpired, the observers allegation is
probably correct.

The session that followed the speech was not quite question
time. It was billed instead as responses to the President's
speech. The people responding had been pre-selected and comprised
representatives from Taiwanese, Japanese, European and other
investors. Predictably they all praised the President and hoped
he would continue to do more to encourage investment.

The President then responded to the responses. It was all very
amicable. Everyone agreed that there were problems, there was
much to be done to make things better and that they would support
each other to achieve those ends. Thus ended the President's
"dialog" with the foreign investment community here.

But was it genuine dialog, or was it just another sandiwara, a
set piece enacted by the President's image caretakers who, in the
past, have shown an appalling tendency to rely on spin rather
than credible, decisive actions to boost the President's
popularity?

The forum would have been a dialog if the participants were
allowed to direct questions at the President, and received
straight answers, to several questions that were foremost in
every businessman's mind: "What concrete steps was the government
taking to shore up the rupiah?", "When exactly would the
government lift the oil subsidy?" "Will the President keep his
word and reshuffle his Cabinet (against the wishes of the Vice-
President)?"

But there was no opportunity, so one wonders why anyone would
stage an event of this nature that leaves investors even more
dissatisfied than if there had been no event at all. A likely
explanation is that the organizers were strong-armed by the
President's advisers not to put the President in an uncomfortable
position.

If that was what actually transpired then we should all
shudder for we would be witnessing the undoing of a man who could
go down in history as one of Indonesia's greatest presidents.

Let us not forget that Susilo was elected to office with an
overwhelming mandate. The goodwill toward Susilo that propelled
him to the top still persists. Even today, in spite of a
lackluster record of achievements against promises and
expectations, many Indonesians and foreign investors still think
the best of the President: "He's a good man", "He wants to
improve Indonesia but his ministers aren't with the program" and
"At least he's genuine and clean" are very common responses in
conversations about Susilo.

With goodwill like this the President is in a position to do
great things for Indonesia. He can force ministers and virtually
anyone to bend to his will, and if they are recalcitrant he could
call their bluff and take the case to the people. His integrity
will prevail against the forces of corruption and ineptitude.

He can do all this and more, but only if he knows the truth
and is not shielded behind a cocoon of manufactured perceptions.
One cannot help wondering whether Susilo really knows how
skeptical foreign investors, especially those who have been here
for some time and seen and heard it all, are, or whether he is
being told by his minders that all the businessmen are supportive
and of him and the government positively.

So should Kadin and the International Business Chambers of
Commerce be praised or criticized for organizing the event?
Praised certainly for their effort to do something, the
positivism and optimism that things will change and for having
their hearts in the right place. But perhaps mildly criticized
for not being strong or prescient enough to make the event a real
dialog where the investors could say what they really feel and
the President could find out what is really going on.

The writer is a partner at Maverick, a public relations
consultancy specializing in crisis and issues management. He can
be contacted at ong@maverick.co.id.