Democracy

Economy

Education

Development

Global Issues

Research

I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it.  Thomas Jefferson.

As I woke up this morning, turned on the TV, I heard of another suicide bombing in the Middle East, killing 19 innocent people. A mourning nation.

Then I turned on the computer and hooked up to the Internet only to find that, through an incredibly wonderful game, Korea upsets Italy. A joyous nation.

Just as we are all experiencing it, life often occurs from one extreme to another.

While still on the Internet, I was trying to browse news from Indonesia and found there was nothing much interesting except

Sjahrir: Pernyataan Kwik Soal IMF Seperti Gol Bunuh Diri

http://www.detik.com/bisnis/ekonomi/2002/06/18/20020618-121749.shtml

Dan anehnya Kwik tidak dipecat,” kata Sjahrir ketika mengikuti RDP antara para pengamat dengan komisi IX DPR RI seputar kontroversi IMF di Gedung DPR/MPR, Senayan, Jakarta, Selasa (18/6/2002).

….Dengan masih adanya perbedaan pendapat antar anggota kabinet tersebut, Sjahrir menilai bahwa perlu atau tidaknya kerjasama dengan IMF diperpanjang sudah tidak ada bedanya.

Few will likely deny that detik.com is an unreliable source. However, the fact that the statement was made during a formal meeting with members of the House of Representatives is sufficient to believe that Syahrir did indeed say that.

For many this only adds another confusion to an already puzzled situation. If there is no difference of continuing or halting the cooperation with the IMF, as what Syahrir said, then why it becomes a big deal? I wonder why a person as caliber as Syahrir still likes to utter a meaningless and provocative statement which only favors politicians.  In addition, is the meeting really intended to contribute to a real understanding of the problem?

Kwik has indeed made a strong and bold statement of terminating the cooperation with IMF. But this is not something new as the IMF has been widely criticized around the globe for their incapability to really understand the dynamics of local economies and for their false prescriptions in the past.  If the concern is the external debts, as incapable Dorojatun, the Coordinating Ministry of Economy and Trade, has repeatedly said, then why the cooperation with the IMF becomes a key step? Does the IMF determine the successfulness of our negotiation on external debts? This is nothing but a conundrum.

An average person like me will ask, if the prerequisite to the external debt negotiation is a continuous cooperation with the IMF, then the IMF has its own agenda on Indonesia. It is certainly not for the prosperity of the nation but for the benefit of the Fund. It’s just as simple as that.

Since the Cabinet was inaugurated more than ten months ago, it hasn’t been really able yet to deliver one far-reaching agenda of the nation. Its main goal so far is to deal with an issue after another. There is no direction. There is no understanding. There is no communication. Only through this perspective can we understand the extension of the cooperation with the IMF that is: we don’t have a direction.

When the rupiah was appreciated against the US dollar a few days ago, top government officials, including some of the Ministries, started to panic of the prospect of the country’s exports.  On the other hand, we have seen prices continue to increase, as the rupiah remains weak against foreign currency.  How do we understand all of these things? What is the optimal level of rupiah against the US dollar? Does an appreciation of rupiah really hurt our exports? How much? What goods that will be really affected? Economics 101 provides a simple solution: just try to figure out the demand and the supply.  

Until to this day, we don’t have any clue what are the optimal levels of the rupiah against the US dollar and the Japanese Yen.  The Economic team in the Cabinet is playing the game in the darkness.  One of the main reasons is because the team leader and the members are not capable of playing.

Even for a casual chess game, you need to outline your tactics, strategies, short-term and long-term goals.

Trying to read a more reliable source, I then clicked Kompas’s website only to find full of trashy headline news. Just read this

- RPK Untuk Perempuan Korban Kekerasan Perlu Disosialisasikan

- Selama Konflik Aceh, Sebanyak 53 Anggota TNI Desersi

- Amien Rais: Gagasan Reshuffle Sebaiknya Dikaji Ulang

- Penasihat Hukum Rahardi Ramelan Meminta Kehadiran Bendahara Partai Golkar

- Belum Ada Kesimpulan Pemeriksaan Kesehatan Soeharto

- Mendagri Hari Sabarno Diadukan ke Polda Metro Jaya

An educated person most likely will never read such these headlines. Kompas, at least from the quality of the news in its website, has turned itself from an average newspaper into a low class one.

Thomas Jefferson might be right when he said, “I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it.”

We might be just better off not reading newspapers and not watching TV at all. The media, particularly in Indonesia, seems become an agent of destruction.

A poor media and an incapable government are a great combination for a disaster!

Is there still any way out for Indonesia?  

There is! South Korea has successfully showed that. There is nothing more powerful than a combination of a will power, skills, strategies and the right leadership. Few will disagree that Guus Hiddink, the Korean coach, plays important role in the achievement of the Korean team in the 2002 World Cup. When a team possesses those qualities, the crowd will automatically provide tremendous supports.

Unfortunately, we don’t see those qualities in our government. The national media is also far from possessing such attributes.

The only way out is if the government can revitalize itself. If all good plans and good measures they want to implement, to improve the economy, are rejected by some members of the House, due to the members’ lack of competency, the government can mobilize public opinion to win people's support. 

On the other side of the game, it’s time for the media to stop quoting provocative and meaningless statements. The national media, especially as caliber as Kompas should instead focus on building public opinion on how to improve this nation, how to unite people and how to advance democracy.

Without major improvements in the national media and the government, it’s practically baseless to expect any improvement in the nation.

 Your comment

Back to top