RI remains anti-foreigner

This is a reply to your article Investors or retired people? published in The Jakarta Post on June 9.

After reading the indignant reaction to a suggestion that Indonesia let elderly foreigners retire in Indonesia, I think there may be some short-sightedness when looking at issues concerning immigration, investment, etc. Clearly both threats and benefits exist and those may be different for different layers of society.

A few decades ago in Europe, Spain used to be among the poorest backwaters. Then Spain opened up and many well-off Europeans went to retire there, bringing lots of capital, buying houses and creating work in the local services and Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMB) industries. As a result, more investments were made, both by locals and foreigners in larger industries like banking, building, transportation, retail etc.

At the same time, many studies have shown that an SMB base is vital for economic growth and as a foundation for other industries. Now the question becomes: Is that a type of scenario that Indonesians would want? The answer is no. They want "big" investors because the elite classes want to become managers and directors -- if possible in several companies at the same time.

Perhaps the answer would be different when asked to the underprivileged and poor Indonesians? Please wake up to reality. Real "big" investors aren't charitable organizations. The type of big business Indonesia is targeting would rather go to China or Vietnam where wages are lower and the cost of doing business is also lower because there is less profiteering. These investors care about know-how, experience and efficiency when it comes to managerial functions, but most of all about profit. At best, they provide many low-paying jobs and very few other jobs.

Then what about the large high-tech multinationals? IT companies for instance? I read that there was some interest in Microsoft opening a large site in Indonesia. Forgive me for my skepticism, and I hope that I am mistaken, but I fear this is mainly a PR stunt because the government wants to look good and Microsoft wants to get some money out of the countless pirated copies of their software.

My experience with those type of "Centers Of Excellence" in IT is that they are usually bustling dynamic places populated by people of different nationalities, of different ethnic groups and religions, with the most diverse backgrounds that strive to reach open-mindedness, creativity and healthy competition.

Indonesia is inward-looking, anti-foreigner and anti- immigration. That is in a way understandable when looking at its history. But even after so many decades since independence, Indonesia does everything to make foreigners unwelcome -- even those with Indonesian families or of Indonesian descent.

Of course, the Indonesians with a voice don't like elderly bules (or expatriates) sitting on their buttocks in their paradise with several servants and drivers to take care of them. That probably reminds them of colonial times. And isn't that the privilege of the Indonesian elites after all? LESLIE GOODMAN Zaventem, Belgium