Try denounces use of ethnic divisions
JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno has called on people to stop raising the Chinese-versus-indigenous Indonesian issue as it could weaken the country's economic strength in the world market.
Speaking at a meeting with executives of the Association of the Indonesian Economists (ISEI) Wednesday, Try said that challenges currently facing Indonesia were not the differences between Chinese, Javanese, or other ethnic groups, but involved Indonesia in competition with foreign countries.
He said that making an issue of ethnic differences would only weaken the Indonesian economy and cause unnecessary suffering.
"We need a strong partnership, and not divisions, to compete with other countries," the Vice President was quoted by ISEI chairman Marzuki Usman as saying after the meeting.
Indonesia is committed to regional free trade under the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2003 and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in 2020.
Marzuki quoted Try as saying the indigenous Indonesians should not feel the most privileged people in the country. A strong partnership with and understanding of other ethnic groups was the most important thing, he said.
"So, the question now is how to Indonesianize the Chinese businessmen," he said.
A 1995 report by the Indonesian Business Data Center revealed that 204 of the 300 largest conglomerates in Indonesia are owned and controlled by nonindigenous people.
They controlled combined turnovers of Rp 91.27 trillion (US$11.4 billion) and combined assets of Rp 212.83 trillion in 1994.
Many indigenous entrepreneurs charge Chinese businesspeople are less nationalistic than they should be.
The chairman of the Association of Indigenous Entrepreneurs' Supervisory Board, Probosutedjo, has said that bosses of foreign origin had no interest in supporting the business activities of indigenous people, unlike in Malaysia.
He said the businesspeople of Chinese origin were trusted by the government and were given the greatest slice of the economic pie.
"However, despite the privileges, they still tend to upset the government with their unrealistic demands," he said, adding that when those businesspeople faced a problem, they often asked the government to deregulate the system.
On the other hand, he said, indigenous businesspeople, due to the small size of their business activities, were often ignored.
But economist Christianto Wibisono, the data center director, underlined the important role Chinese businesspeople played in national economic development.
He said that overseas Chinese were becoming the backbone of economic growth in East and Southeast Asia.
Sharing the views of leading global trend analysts, he said that in the 21st century the economic locomotive of countries in the region would not be the Japanese but overseas Chinese.
He said the combined foreign exchange reserves of the overseas Chinese -- notably those from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore -- currently stood at US$237 billion.
"Why don't we try to attract the overseas Chinese and match them with indigenous entrepreneurs so that indigenous people will not be left further behind by local Chinese businesses," he said recently.
Marzuki, who was accompanied by other ISEI executives -- including secretary general Noor Fuad, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Farid Harianto and Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, respectively as chairman also reported the results of the 13th ISEI congress in Medan last November to the Vice President. (bnt)