RI keeps public in the dark over potential Y2K failures

RI keeps public in the dark over potential Y2K failures

By Jocelyn Gecker

JAKARTA (AP): After two years of anti-government riots and economic turmoil, Indonesia's technology gurus thought it best to keep the public in the dark about possible widespread failures from the Y2K computer bug.

"It's a touchy issue," says Widijanto Nugroho, a computer scientist and top government Y2K adviser. "If the government says, for example, the banks are not ready, people will rush the banks. If we don't say anything, it's probably better for the moment."

So Indonesia's leaders have opted to keep the world's fourth most populous nation uninformed.

Newspapers and TV shows barely mention the potential fallout of the computer glitch. Cabinet ministers are on orders not to talk it up.

"Here, less than 20 percent of the people know about Y2K," Djamhari Sirat, head of Indonesia's national Y2K task force, said of this archipelago nation of 210 million. "We don't think anyone needs to know about Y2K except the government, the police and the military."

As most of Southeast Asia girds for turn-of-the-century millennium bug trouble, experts fear the hardest-hit nation will be Indonesia - where they say neither computers nor the public are adequately prepared.

With only a few more weeks until the moment of reckoning, nations in the region appear to be at varying degrees of Y2K readiness. Most say they moved fast to modify their computers after setbacks from two years of financial collapse. And most have sounded a public alarm.

In the Philippines, citizens have been advised to prepare for the rollover to 2000 "like a typhoon is coming" by stockpiling five days worth of canned goods, cash and candles.

In techno-dense Singapore, considered among the world's best- prepared nations, the government has mass-mailed a "Y2K Guide" to all 950,000 homes that explains how to debug personal computers, VCRs and other appliances.

Malaysia, which secured a $100 million World Bank loan earlier this year to help pay for computer fixes, has assured its citizens the military and police will deal with any threats to public safety or national security.

In Indonesia, the strategy is different: No national awareness campaign and no talk of contingency plans. Talking to a random sampling of three dozen people in Jakarta's traditional markets and upscale shopping malls found most couldn't care less about the millennium bug.

"Only rich people use computers; I'll be fine," said Andy Setiawan, 33, owner of a small TV shop who had never heard of the Y2K bug, the legacy of computers being programmed to express years in just two digits - so 2000 could be misinterpreted as 1900, causing crashes and lost data.

A. Syafik, a 23-year-old accountant, said if it was something to be concerned about the government would warn people. "They're not paying attention to it, why should I?"

Indonesian officials insist critical computer systems will be ready and don't expect major disruptions. But they offer no independent verification and analysts think otherwise.

"They are not going to be Y2K compliant, and my concern is that the people are not going to know what to do when problems occur," said K.C. Toh, who advises the government on Y2K matters.

Bruce Gale, a regional manager at Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, also is worried. "Indonesian banks certainly haven't had any money to put into Y2K readiness plans. They're spending their money on pure survival. The other area of concern is airports."

Although large areas of Indonesia are not dependent on computers, experts say that if power and telephones fail, the repercussions could be serious.

Regional Y2K consultants and diplomats voice concerns about Indonesia's financially strapped state-owned power company, Perusahaan Listrik Negara, and Telkom, the main telephone service provider.

Telkom, which was supposed to be Y2K compliant months ago, raised eyebrows after pushing its deadline back to December.

"We have to be prepared for the fact that there will be a deterioration in the telecommunications service," said Ichyar Musa, founder of a independent watchdog group called Indonesian Y2K Watch.

Predicting where Y2K failures will strike, and how severe they will be, is nearly impossible.