Yet another promise

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