LAKSAMANA.Net, May 2, 2004 11:06 PM
Review - What the World Said
Laksamana.Net - Indonesia's Maluku islands were seen as a model of peaceful
Muslim-Christian co-existence until the events of January 19, 1999, plunged them into
three years of bloody chaos. By the time a peace deal was signed in February 2002,
more than 5,000 people had been killed, scores of mosques and churches had been
torched and almost 700,000 people had fled their homes. The violence which flared
Sunday and claimed 22 lives was the worst since the peace pact and was a major
blow to reconciliation efforts under way since 2002.
- Agence France Presse, April 26
It is tempting to shrug off the decision by Golkar, the Indonesian party that did best in
this month's general election, to choose General Wiranto as its candidate for the
presidential poll in July. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, certainly
needs a strong hand at the tiller after drifting under Megawati Sukarnoputri, the current
president. Gen Wiranto, a former defense minister and a moderate in both politics and
religion, seems to fit the job description perfectly. He might even be good at fighting
terrorism. However, there are good reasons why Golkar should never have picked him
and why Indonesian voters should not choose him now. One can leave aside the
argument that Gen Wiranto, like Golkar, represents a return to the past, although he
was a pillar of the discredited Suharto regime in the 1990s. It is possible to forget his
populist economic policies. One can even ignore his reluctance to step down on the
orders of a democratically elected president in
2000. Of far greater significance is that Gen Wiranto has been indicted by United
Nations prosecutors in East Timor for crimes against humanity.
- Financial Times, April 26
An Indonesian court has declared a unit of Prudential Plc bankrupt after a petition
from a former consultant, triggering alarm among investors and an official protest from
the British Embassy. Britain's second biggest insurer said the unit, PT Prudential Life
Assurance, was financially strong and would appeal the ruling. The decision revives
memories of a similar case involving Canada's Manulife Financial Corp, which was a
public relations disaster for Indonesia and further damaged the reputation of the
country's legal system.
- Reuters, April 26
Order has been restored in Ambon but the major outbreak of violence that hit the
eastern city on Sunday could shake up the election chances of two former Cabinet
ministers who are now leading the race for Indonesia's top jobs, analysts said. If the
sense is that the reputations of Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Mr Jusuf Kalla,
the former coordinating ministers for security and social welfare respectively, could
lose luster because of the violence, conversely, that of rival presidential candidate
Wiranto, who has promised a strong hand in dealing with security issues, could
improve.
- The Straits Times, April 27
Once more Indonesia's notoriously corrupt courts have struck a blow to the
government's efforts to woo foreign investors. In a reprise of its 2002 verdict against
Manulife, a Canadian insurer, Jakarta's commercial court has declared bankrupt
Prudential Life Assurance (PLA), the local unit of Prudential, Manulife's British rival,
even though no one denies that the firm is solvent. The judges ignored PLA's rude
health and invoked a bizarre article in the bankruptcy law that allows a company to be
declared bankrupt regardless of its financial condition if it refuses to settle its debts.
The company is alleged to owe Rp365.8 billion ($42.4 million) to a Malaysian agent,
Lee Boon Siong, mainly for claimed loss of future earnings. Mr Lee says that his
contract was ended nine years prematurely without good reason. PLA has suspended
its operations and is hurriedly filing an appeal with the Supreme Court. The company
describes the suit as baseless, but refuses to discuss it in detail.
Whatever the merits of Mr Lee's claim and of allegations of judicial graft, the wider
considerations bode ill both for Prudential and for Indonesia's stuttering economic
recovery.
- The Economist, April 29
Presidential contenders are courting Muslim cleric Hasyim Muzadi in their bid to
capture the 40-million-strong voter base of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). But the Islamic
grouping's chairman must improve his ties with his predecessor, former president
Abdurrahman Wahid, who disapproves of his political ambition, to prevent NU's
support from splitting. Mr Hasyim has the endorsement of NU's leadership to be
running mate for either President Megawati Sukarnoputri or Golkar's candidate
Wiranto in the July 5 presidential election. Senior NU clerics met early this week to
back his political bid, although they had not decided which candidate he should run
with.
- The Straits Times, April 29
Indonesia's democratic political process is maturing faster than seemed possible five
months, let alone five years ago. There are plenty of bumps ahead and there is no
certainty that the political process will lead to more effective, less corrupt governance.
But, credit where it is due. The recent parliamentary election was remarkably
trouble-free for such a diverse and populous country with a poor reputation for
administrative efficiency. It augurs well for the two rounds of the presidential election
in July and September. Participation was a high 80%, a reflection of a popular desire
to participate even if voters have quickly learned to take a cynical view of politicians'
promises. They also proved capable of coping with a complex electoral system that
provides an opportunity to vote for individuals and/or parties. The result suggests
voters are rather more capable of judging performance than they had been given credit
for.
- International Herald Tribune, April 29
The new arrest of radical cleric Abubakar Ba'asyir on Friday was based on what the
government described as solid evidence he was the leader of a terrorist organization
linked to al Qaeda. Police stopped Ba'asyir and told him he was under arrest on
suspicion of terrorism as he headed through the gate in the thick stone walls of
Jakarta's Salemba prison at the end of his 18-month sentence on immigration and
forgery charges. Central to the new case against him is a report, addressed to
Ba'asyir as commander of the Jemaah Islamiyah underground, which details the
military training provided to recruits at a secret jungle camp in the southern
Philippines.
- Washington Post, May 1
Asep, a Jakarta parking-lot attendant, rejoiced in 1998 when Indonesian strongman
Suharto was overthrown after three decades of authoritarian rule. But democracy
hasn't proved to be quite the boon he and so many other Indonesians expected. In
some ways, says Asep, his life is worse now than ever before. Under Suharto, he
says, at least he only had to bribe one person-a stadium security officer-for the right
to manage the lot at Senayan Stadium. But now, Asep complains, he is routinely
approached by people claiming to be policemen, soldiers, sports department officials
and political-party officers, all demanding baksheesh of a few thousand rupiah or a
pack of cigarettes. These kickbacks often eat away almost half of his meager
earnings of $2 a day, but "it's hard not to give," says Asep, "because you don't know
anymore who is really in charge."
- Time Asia Magazine, issue May 3
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