Reducing capital flight

Reducing capital flight

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro- Jakti has requested that the local business community make efforts in 2002 to return their capital deposited abroad.

It's not a new appeal, but who knows, it might be effective this time.

Indeed, the capital flight has also occurred in crisis-hit countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Malaysia. However, the biggest capital flight has occured from Indonesia. Anwar Nasution, senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, mentioned that as much as US$40 billion has been moved out of the country and the amount is growing unabated.

And this doesn't include all those businesspeople who do not bring home their US dollar income, which is deposited in foreign banks abroad, for example, in Singapore.

The flight of capital has paralyzed Indonesia's economy. There is no money left to manage the country's economy and to revitalize domestic industries. The circulation of money in society has become smaller, causing widespread poverty.

The state with its deficit budget has to finance its operational costs. The economy will not recover as long as there is no more incoming capital, both the return of capital flight and new foreign investment.

Now, we are only able to strike the conscience of capital owners. They have to realize that what they have done has tormented millions of people. The huge amounts of capital that have been obtained from state banks over the years and then transferred abroad, contributed not only to the collapse of many of these banks, but also imposed enormous burdens on workers and taxpayers alike who have had to pick up the pieces.

Let us show ourselves as responsible citizens and work toward retaining as much capital as is possible within Indonesia.

-- Republika, Jakarta