Yet another promise

Ninety-six Indonesian tycoons met from Aug. 25-27 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Jimbaran, Bali, and have made their resolve public in the "Bali Declaration". The declaration contains seven points expressing their views, commitments, responsibilities and hopes for national development.

While some parties have greeted the declaration with optimism, others remain skeptical. Such skepticism is only natural considering our past experience. To be precise, this is not the first time those big businesspersons have issued some sort of declaration or statement promising to help surmount the social and economic disparities that exist and to help small entrepreneurs grow strong and robust.

In 1984, for example, a number of Indonesian tycoons gathered at the Hilton Hotel in Jakarta, where they stated their resolve to help small businesses. Later, the idea of having "foster fathers" to help small businesses was widely discussed, only to die shortly thereafter.

Then, on a visit to the Tapos farm in Bogor a few years ago, at the request of President Soeharto, they promised to grant shares to cooperatives. How they've made good on this promise deserves to be explained.

Nevertheless, we hope that the present "Bali Declaration" will become reality because the mood in which it was drafted made a certain difference. It was issued after three days of discussions and lectures on making Pancasila a cultural component of our society.

-- Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta