A short afternoon trip that Dandhy Dwi Laksono took recently turned out to be the key to opening a kind of Pandora's box.

It helped him to understand issues in Indonesia in a simpler and easier way, leading to the conclusion that the time has come for us to sell Indonesia. Yes, Indonesia for Sale!

For most people, chatting with a taxi driver that takes them from one place to another is a common thing and usually nothing special. But this was not the case for Dandhy. The former TV journalist noticed a lot of things as he briefly chatted with one taxi driver on one occasion.

The conversation that took place amid traffic congestion led them to various issues in the country.

"Bang *brother*, how can the price of gasoline go down? It's very unusual. Is it because the gasoline is not marketable?" asked the driver, according to the opening of Dandhy's new book Indonesia for Sale.

The book began with the disussion of the fuel price. In Indonesia or even in other countries in the world, fuel is like a button to "turn on" and "turn off" different things. When it is pushed, it has various impacts.

One thing is for sure. The fuel price has become a commodity. A commodity?

How do we explain the fuel price hike as a commodity to a taxi driver?

Here lies the flair of the writer. At the same time, it shows the difference his book makes.

Dandhy, born in Lumajang, East Java, on June 26, 1976, starts his book by unveiling the global economic complexity. Dandhy also observes how crude oil is sold at international market price.

So, within the trade, there are speculations and politics. Given these conditions, the fuel price at home will always be fluctuating depending on oil prices in international market.

Through the same topic, Dandhy also explains the works of speculators engaged in futures trading, steering clear of complex description in favor of a succinct summary.

The use of fictitious figure Mr. Smith in this book simplifies all the explanations. It boils down to the point why Indonesia as an oil producer is just dictated by other countries that have no oil wells. This situation has worsened the fate of the nation. The same is true of food products.

"This situation is a clear picture of the structural entrapment that creates unending poverty *to our nation*," Dandhy notes.

Inspired by a discussion between Dandhy and editor Hadi Rahman, the book is easy to read. The book is not only for those who have the same interest to rescue the nation but also for those who wish to understand complex issues of political economics in a simple language.

Take a look at Dandhy's view of the neoliberal or neolib ideology. The word was popular during the campaign of the presidential candidates in July, particularly when Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono chose Boediono as his running mate.

As Dandhy puts it bluntly, "It *neoliberalism* is worse than the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party *PKI*." Why? What he means is with the neolib principle, even the dead will find it hard to get proper burial.

Relatives of the dead have to pay for their graves, as everything has its price in the eyes of neolib advocates. In Cikarang, West Java, some graveyards cost billions of rupiah. This commercialization, says Indonesia for Sale, holds public interests hostage.

Commercialization grows everywhere. For example, Dandhy refers to beautiful beaches that are purchased by businesspeople and developed into tourism industry. How come the beaches - which are created by God - can be divided into plots like those in Anyer, Banten and in Ancol, North Jakarta?

There should be regulations allowing only the commercialization of man-made objects instead of nature.

In the case of water, for instance, anybody can sell bottled water but nobody should be permitted to divide water springs into plots. So should be the case with radio frequencies, which should not be commercially controlled.

Sadly, Dandhy falls short of making his clear stance toward Boediono, who is now the vice president and is often associated to the neolib camp.

In the next chapter, he focused in seeking the roots of neo-lib policies by delving into economic liberalization written by Adam Smith in 1776.

Dandhy smartly describes how Adam Smith's work was so favored by his generation and even still appeals many today. Religious institutions also induced the emergence of millions of followers of Adam Smith.

"So if I said the earth is round rather than flat and was whipped by religious people because I was considered a heretic, I would surely be a supporter of Adam Smith," he writes.

But Dandhy points to the reality that this capital based economy can later be invalid, with the appearance of new forms of capital.

The use of quotes from Prophet Muhammad's teachings adds further color to his book. It is like giving a slap on the face of the capitalist (neolib), which is often seen as "normal". The capital trade as an access of capitalist growth had long been opposed by Muhammad, hundreds of years before the doctrine of Adam Smith was formulated.

"The Prophet curses people who live on interest," Dandhy quotes.

Furthermore, when prices of materials are controlled by the international market, Dandhy also finds opposition in Muhammad's words.

Given all these facts, Dandhy was surprised to find that some Islamic groups have often launched raids against books on socialism and communism instead of books on capitalism.

"I also wonder why some ulemas have revealed this communist-phobia while they are bewildered by capitalism or liberalism," Dandhy says.

In fact Karl Marx, the socialist guru, said religion is like opium only in the context of ethos of work, having nothing to do with theology.

Indonesia for Sale wishes to remind the public of the fact that history has recorded the New Order's welfare as an illusion. The well being became a kind of opium that numbed public awareness.

While we had enough food and were asleep, our land was pawned. While we were lulled into a false sense of bliss, our native soil once fought for by our ancestors through bloodshed, was suddenly overgrown with weeds in the form of dollars. A large billboard was put up: Indonesia for Sale.

Indonesia for Sale
Dandhy Dwi Laksono
Pedati, October, 2009
Pages : XV + 311

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