RI expectations high for BG Lee

RI expectations high for BG Lee

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian government has expressed hopes that the visit of
Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday will
result in an improved understanding on the part of the city state
about the rapid changes that have taken place in various fields
here since the fall of the New Order in 1998.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Sunday the
unofficial visit by Lee, better known as BG Lee, was badly needed
to enable the two neighboring countries to start out on a "heart-
to-heart" dialog on the many issues that concerned both of them.

"No specific agenda has been arranged for Lee's visit tomorrow
(Monday). But I hope we can build up mutual understanding on the
real situation in our country following the fall of the New Order
regime.

"Rapid changes in various fields have taken place here since
1999, with the executive no longer dominating policy making to
the exclusion of all others. There is now also the legislature,
the press and civil society calling us to account. In my opinion,
a number of neighboring countries still fail to understand this,"
Hassan told The Jakarta Post.

Lee, the son of Singapore's senior minister Lee Kuan Yew and a
retired brigadier general, is the heir apparent to incumbent
Prime Minister Goh Tjok Tong.

Hassan called Lee's visit an effort "to restore the bilateral
relationship between the two countries".

"Learning from the bickering of the past, we hope that
Singapore, as a neighbor, can understand our situation. We can
choose our friends, but we cannot choose our neighbors," Hassan
said.

Relations between the two were put to a test when Indonesia's
fourth president, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, berated Singapore,
accusing Goh of currying favor with China at the expense of
Indonesia and other less-developed Southeast Asian countries.

Gus Dur later said Senior Minister Lee had "rudely" suggested
that he leave office as soon as possible.

During the tenure of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Lee
Kuan Yew also sparked tension by accusing Indonesia of harboring
terrorists long before the Bali blasts in October 2002 and JW
Marriot Hotel bombing in August 2003.

Asides from politics, Indonesia and Singapore have also had
their fair share of economic disputes, including one that
centered on the city state's refusal to disclose its data on
trade relations with Indonesia,

Many believe that the accurate data kept by Singapore, which
was reportedly kept secret at the request of the government of
former president Soeharto, would reveal rampant smuggling in both
markets if released.

Singapore has recently revealed its trade balance with
Indonesia for 2003, admitting that its neighbor was among its top
10 trading partners.

"I think the Singaporean decision (to disclose the trade data)
is excellent as we can now start to remedy the discrepancies.
When I joined the ministry in the 1970s, the undisclosed trade
balance had become a problem," Hassan said, while adding that the
issue would not be specifically addressed during BG Lee's visit.