Hera Diani, Jakarta – There is much to enjoy from overseas trips, but Vice President Jusuf Kalla says the praise he hears heaped on Indonesia's democratic transition has begun to grate.
"I'm congratulated everywhere... but I told them to cut the small talk. They don't care about democracy, they want stability. They congratulate us but then flood China for business investment instead of here. So (the demand for democracy) is a double standard," Kalla said Wednesday in a seminar for the launching of the book Understanding Indonesia.
Although he did not state that economic stability should be the priority to effect development, the businessman and chairman of the Golkar Party said democracy should promote economic stability through a constructive and efficient implementation.
"Our objective is to achieve (better) public welfare, with one of the elements being democracy. But it's not easy to achieve democracy with such low income," he said at the talk held by the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate, a research group which published the book.
Disputes marked democratic practices here, he added, with the attitude that the government could do no right and should face constant criticism. "That's not democracy, that only causes political fatigue. Let's just make politics and democracy more efficient. Support what we agree upon, and give constructive criticism."
His comments were criticized by other speakers, who warned that they could be construed as support for those who claim the authoritarian Soeharto regime provided greater stability and security.
Political scientist J. Kristiadi warned the pursuit of stability should not be an excuse for the government to obstruct democracy. "It's a complete misunderstanding that democracy should be efficient. Disputes and criticism are part of democracy... What's worse is if people recommend the need for a strong state."
Economist Faisal Basri said the state needed to be more involved in regulating the market instead of leaving it to market forces. "The state cannot wash its hands of electricity and leave it to the market because (state owned electricity company) PLN is a monopoly," he said, referring to the government's suggestion for businesses to negotiate on a one-on-one basis with PLN about a planned rate hike.
Faisal listed many of the problems stacked against the country's development. "Tuberculosis, malaria and the maternal death rate in this country rank among the highest in Asia, causing us to lack competitiveness. Public spending is less than 1 percent... Revenues in the regions are lower than when regional autonomy was imposed."
The country needed an economy providing autonomy for individuals and communities, Faisal said, although the government appeared reluctant to give up centralized control despite four years of regional autonomy.
"For instance, instead of having state-owned Pertamina monopolize the fuel distribution and production, why don't the regions produce their own alternative fuel so that their regions can be empowered?" he said of the oil company.
"That's the principle of market creation, where people have choices and at competitive prices." State-owned companies monopolize the market but fail to meet public demand, he noted.
"PLN can only provide electricity for 53 percent of total demand, the state telecommunications firm (Telkom) can only install 4 percent of fixed lines across the country, while the regionally owned water firms (PDAM) can only provide tap water to 16 percent of the population."
Pending the implementation of a market system with adequate regulation, Faisal called for "a moratorium for liberalization, deregulation and privatization." "There has to be mechanism to stabilize the price as well, and an economic system that meets the sense of justice and equity," he said.