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Issue of the day: What will Indonesia look like?
July 29, p8I have lived in Jakarta for quite a while now
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strong>July 29, p8
I have lived in Jakarta for quite a while now. I guess I was always naive and thought that Indonesia would be like Singapore; blossoming into a Western liberal democracy. But the pixels are starting to come together and form a totally different picture.
It really looks like they have no intention of becoming one, and what's more; they never had any intention in the first place. The real plan is to be a nation like Japan or Korea: slightly xenophobic, closed and nationalistic. This war on alcohol is just another piece in the puzzle.
However, the only problem is that Indonesians are not Japanese. They are not ready to explode off their islands and take over the world. They are very good people, but not the world-shakers that the Japanese are. (By Chris, Jakarta)
Your comments:
It's all a process, I think. And I don't agree with the opinion regarding 'slow slide downwards'.
What does the writer base that opinion on? Just by citing the 'war on alcohol', the 'dynamics' in policies on investment that he/she perhaps doesn't personally agree with, and suddenly Indonesia is on the path to being 'xenophobic' nation?
Harrier
I am not sure. The last financial half was really bad. The purchasing power of people was comparatively low. Too many spare tables and chairs at Ayam Penyet or Wong Solo restaurants or other outlets. Most people wore the same pair of shoes. Vendors, shop assistants, restaurant owners felt this downturn.
However, the investment index will improve. This is only a hope, of course, one that is shared by us all. Anyway, it is very sad to know that judges were allegedly bribed, and that the governor and his wife were involved in the incident.
I think if the law is upheld, the condition of the nation will improve. We hope for no more conflict among the elites, especially in Jakarta and we also hope that one of the Golkar Party's top leaders gives up. If this happens, our Indonesia Raya would be a better place.
Syarwan
Politically, there will be a patchwork of democratic elements in the elections at all levels of government, but no actual engagement between the electorate and the elected.
The country will lack a long-term development plan that carries on from one administration to the next, hurling investors and the business community into limbo each time the president changes.
Legally, the author is spot on in pointing out that the country does not seem to have a real desire to reform the legal system to make enforcement of legislation simpler. Each year, dozens of pieces of primary legislation is passed and hundreds of subsidiary legislation too.
But these only add complexity to an already bureaucratic system, rather than addressing the crux of the legal problem: the near impossibility of enforcing these changes.
If recent trends continue, law will not have key substantive provisions but will only distribute power among the political elites.
Economically, the government will wrest more and more control of the economy, narrowly interpreting the mandate of Art. 33 of our Constitution, even if it does not have the finance, nor the technical capacity to develop economic resources better than the private sector.
The nationalistic trend will continue to the detriment of the private sector. The government's regulatory approach creates a 'government, may I?' culture, under which everything must be preapproved, opening the door to executive discretion in approving business arrangements.
Ngukzila
President Jokowi is the best that Indonesia has! The US itself is very nationalistic. One thing Western countries fear more than China is the emergence of a Muslim superpower.
I Rising
Let us not forget the side-stepping of legislatures and the presidential office that allowed ministers to make decrees that negatively affect Indonesia's welfare. The lack of checks and balances is never good for a nation's growth.
X Simaging
Indonesians cling to hope that their leaders have their best interests at heart. How sad to know that their leaders are only thinking about their own pockets. Take back your country people before it's too late.
Joko Ono
Average Indonesians are interested in a better quality of life ' education, nutritious food, decent housing and healthcare.
C Tower
