RI can learn from other countries

Jakarta will soon host the two-day Asian-African Summit 2005, with at least 56 heads of state expected to attend. The Jakarta Post interviewed two residents to find out what they thought about the event.

Maudy Lini, 42, is general secretary for the Indonesian Businesswomen's Association. She lives in Cibubur, East Jakarta.

From a global perspective, the summit is a good idea because it enables us to learn from more developed Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia.

I hope our government can learn more about law enforcement and other legislative measures, including intellectual property rights.

I am disappointed because Malaysia patented our batik and the government does little to help local products. It is also hard for women to borrow money from a bank as people in our culture tend to ask them where their husbands or fathers are. Meanwhile, in countries such as Singapore, such things hardly ever happen.

The government can also learn from Singapore and Malaysia on having one-stop shops for business procedures. So far, we need to go through many doors and this hinders Indonesia's growth, which is a shame as our country has huge potential, especially regarding its natural resources.

Dian Ferdinan, 25, is a marketing executive for an IT and Mobile Solution Company in Tomang, West Jakarta. He lives in Cipinang, East Jakarta.

I believe that the summit will bring a better future to our country. Overall, there have been significant changes in the country's business prospects as the government starts to recognize previously forgotten industries, such as the entertainment industry.

Indonesia can learn a lot from the summit. However, changes might not be felt instantly and we need to wait to see how things unfold because changes are never easy.

I guess it is a good opportunity to show the world that we are a country that is looking toward change.