Wealth gap threatens national unity: Experts
Wealth gap threatens national unity: Experts
By Wahyudi M. Pratopo
JAKARTA (JP): As officials grow more concerned with the possibility of national disintegration, two leading scholars say Indonesia could prevent such a process from taking place by tackling the problem of the widening gap between the rich and poor.
Juwono Sudarsono of University of Indonesia and Mubyarto of Gadjah Mada University are calling for a revamping of the government's economic development policies, which they feel should give greater attention to the needs of average people and less to powerful conglomerates.
"Now it's the time for the government to stand up for the poor and weak people after supporting the powerful businesses for so long," said Mubyarto, an economist who is also an aide to the Chairman of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas).
"Indonesian leaders will have to make more serious efforts to overcome imbalances between the powerful business groups and the vast majority of people who still live below the poverty line," said Juwono, a lecturer on international politics and a deputy governor of the National Reliance Institute (Lemhannas).
The two men were speaking on Tuesday at a one-day discussion on national resilience at the University of Indonesia. The seminar, which featured the two scholars as speakers, was jointly organized by the state-run university and Lemhannas, a think tank agency of the Ministry of Defense and Security.
Lemhannas Governor Lt. Gen. Moetojib said in keynote address that the threat of national disintegration has been further augmented by the rapid process of globalization.
Moetojib said the weakening sense of nationalism among Indonesians is another factor that could lead to the breaking up of the nation. "As a heterogeneous nation, we have to watch out for even the smallest factors that could lead to disintegration."
University of Indonesia Rector M.K Tadjudin in his opening remarks also pointed out that history has shown that the rise and fall of nations were often related to aspects of welfare as well as security.
As Indonesia is marking its 50th independence anniversary, government and military officials have warned of threats to national integrity.
The breaking up of the former Yugoslavia, the former Soviet Union, and the ethnic wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Chechnya have raised concerns here at home that Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago nation of diverse ethnic and tribal groups and cultures, could follow suit if preventive actions are not taken.
Juwono said the increasing income disparity between the rich and poor could set off conflicts between the rich and the poor and even take on racial, ethnic or religious overtones.
He said that one way of redressing the imbalance is to change bank credit policy by giving small and medium enterprises more access to loans. "A major transformation of the credit structure must be instituted through concerted government political will and action," he said.
Mubyarto, an economist that has long looked at the problems of poverty in Indonesia, said the government has made the right start with the launching of the presidential aid program specifically for the poor.
Known by the Indonesian acronym IDT (Inpres Desa Tertinggal), the program was launched in April last year. Under the program, the government sends out parcels of Rp 20 million to more than 20,000 villages in the country with large populations of poor people. The money is given directly to community groups, who then decide for themselves how the money will be allocated.
Results from the first year of the program have been very encouraging.
Mubyarto said that while one of the chief objectives of the IDT program is to bridge the wealth gap, gaps between regions and between rural and urban areas could also be narrowed.