TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Issues of the day: Diplomatic row will hurt Australia: Kalla
Jusuf Kalla - JP/DONApril 29, OnlineFollowing the executions of several inmates, President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla have asked the Australian government to respect Indonesian law, which recognizes the death penalty, while also warning that any protracted diplomatic rows will mean negative repercussions for the Australian economy
Change Size
Jusuf Kalla - JP/DON
April 29, Online
Following the executions of several inmates, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla have asked the Australian government to respect Indonesian law, which recognizes the death penalty, while also warning that any protracted diplomatic rows will mean negative repercussions for the Australian economy. 'Our law must be respected. We also respect the sovereignty of law in other countries,' President Jokowi stated on Wednesday.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his government would recall the Australian ambassador to Indonesia in response to the executions of two Australian inmates, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, in the maximum-security prison on Nusakambangan Island, Central Java.
Your comments:
Indonesia's stock market took a battering for a third day Wednesday as growing worries over poor company profits compounded concerns about already-stuttering economic growth.
Elsewhere, Australia's currency jumped and equities slid on jitters over interest rates.
Indonesia's slide has wiped out all the benchmark JSX index's gains this year, leaving it as Asia's worst performer of 2014. It fell 2.6 percent Wednesday to close at 5105.56, down 2.3 percent for the year ' the only market in Asia in negative
territory.
One of the country's biggest companies, vehicle manufacturer PT Astra International, fell 3.7 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings. Bank Mandiri was down 3.2 percent and has now lost 11 percent since it undershot expectations in reported earnings after Friday's close.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy recorded its slowest growth in five years in 2014, at 5 percent, and the latest corporate results suggest that the pace may have slipped even further than previously thought.
Abdul Malik
Indonesia's prestige and relevance on the world stage took a huge step backward today and Kalla's comments only served to further hurt its reputation.
It's sad that a nation with such potential is currently being 'led' by a group of incompetents ' surely the Indonesian people deserve better, smarter leadership than this.
Rick M
I have lived and worked in Indonesia and I agree there is corruption. If you meet the people and see how they struggle you might have a different opinion.
If you visited Indonesia you certainly would not waste your money and more than likely you would be greeted with respect.
There are few places that are as welcoming as Indonesia and you do yourself a great disservice by imagining what Indonesians are like without meeting them.
Balau
Kalla, Jokowi and friends really need to lift their game if they expect to effectively deal with the global market. The reality is that it is in the best interests of both Indonesia and Australia to maintain good trading links. However, the volatility of Indonesia places it as an unreliable market.
Kalla just needs to accept that there is substantial anger against the Indonesian government that will linger for some time.
It's really up to him and the rest of the government to create a more positive image in Australia for relations to normalize. If they are not up to the challenge of dealing with anyone other than failed states then so be it. Australia really does not need Indonesia.
Jagera
Australians should demand that Canberra imposes real pain on Jakarta. Trade sanctions, withdrawing funding from aid projects and public condemnation of President Jokowi should all be contemplated. Australians should boycott Bali. Let Indonesia know that when it comes to human life Australia cannot ignore its near neighbor's conduct.
Human life should never come second to currying favor on the international diplomatic stage.
As for respecting Indonesian law, how about respecting human rights? How about putting a stop to corruption and fraud in your own administration?
Mitch
Although feelings are running high, now the diplomatic row will pass in a short time. Diplomatic rows always do. Ambassadors are recalled and then quietly come back fairly soon. Jokowi and Kalla need to remember the old truth: least said soonest mended.
Many Australians, and others, will of course boycott Indonesia and its products; others will not. There will doubtless be some effect on the Bali tourist trade in the short term, but long term I doubt if there will be a really serious drop in the numbers of Australians in Kuta and the other areas.
But can either country be proud of its leaders' performance and behaviour in this sad matter recently?
Terry McAsee
Does Kalla seriously think we need Indonesia more than Indonesia needs us?
What a joke. Personally, I would love to see us break off all connection with Indonesia ' particularly stopping our farmers from exporting our live cattle to Indonesia.
A Travers
Just the time when Indonesia needs to reach out and become an international player, the government seems to be doing its best to piss everyone off and isolate Indonesia from its international markets and its suppliers.
Some may say, 'Well screw them; we don't need you', but actually we do. No country lives in a vacuum. There are international standards for law enforcement that need to be met if Indonesia wants to hold its head up internationally.
Deedee S
I sincerely feel this is all just temporary. Indonesia and Australia need each other. People forgive and forget. Better sooner than later. Meanwhile, keep saying no to the death sentence. Let this be the last.
Regulars
