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.