Sociologist blames govt and elite for crisis

YOGYAKARTA (JP): An observer blamed the worsening economic crisis in Indonesia on a lack of sense of crisis within the government and elite in the country.

"The government and the country's elite do not feel there is a crisis going on, which is why they are still using the old economic paradigm that is no longer applicable," Loekman Soetrisno from Gadjah Mada University said in a seminar on the challenges facing women in a global society held in Yogyakarta yesterday.

The seminar, which also featured Adullah Cholil, an assistant to the minister for women's affairs, was held to commemorate Kartini Day (Indonesian women's day) and the 25th anniversary of the university's Center for Geographic Research.

Loekman, a professor of sociology, pointed out that while the people demanded economic and political reform, the elite group was still debating the definition of reforms. "This is very saddening," he added.

Had the government begun to comply with the economic reform package introduced in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund earlier, "the country's economy would not have deteriorated so badly and mothers would not now have difficulties buying milk for their children."

He added that the government should introduce a new model for development.

Loekman conceded that women were among the worst hit by the crisis and that female workers should therefore be allowed to establish their own unions to strengthen their bargaining position.

He said the government could cooperate with non-government organizations (NGOs) to set up training centers for female workers in an effort to boost their competitive position in local and foreign markets.

"Female workers should be trained in skills required by the market," he said.

Training centers should be developed on the basis of gender equality so that women have the same opportunity as men to improve their skills, he said.

With current skills and education levels among Indonesian women, the 21st century and globalization might prove to be more of a threat than an opportunity.

Cholil expressed concern over the hardship women faced because of the economic crisis. Many families had been forced to withdraw their daughters from school and send them out to seek employment, marry them off, use them as "collateral" for bad loans, or even force them into prostitution, he said.

However, women have fared better than in past generations, he said. As an example, he cited the increasing number of servicewomen in the Armed Forces (ABRI), which has risen from 6,511 in 1988 to 10,437 in 1996, including two who have reached the rank of general.

The two to achieve this distinction were the late Roekmini Koesoemoastoeti and J. Mandagie. (23/44/rms)