Latest on Fri, 06:13 am
Does Indonesia escape the Plunder Bankers?
The US, Europe, Japan, Russia, Brazil – all of them are facing an economic depression as the follow up of the financial crises. And all of us will suffer. Severely.
Maybe not really all of us though. Maybe Indonesia will escape the economical catastrophe ahead. “President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia would not see a repeat of the financial crisis of 1997, as all the fundamentals looked solid and there was clear potential for domestic market expansion” (Jakarta Post, 06.10.08).
‘Our woman in Jakarta‘ more or less agrees with him. She reports that the Indonesian banks are not poisoned by bad derivatives, there is no serious threat for a credit crunch, Indonesia is not largely dependent on export to the US or Europe and the losses on the stock market don’t matter that much in a country where the overwhelming majority has other problems than shares, bank accounts and pensions.
But on the same day in the same paper this news could also be read: “the benchmark JSX index shed 183.77 points, or 10.03 percent, to close at 1,648.7 points.” Which, I agree, are moderate losses in comparison to the New York, European and Russian stock markets but it indicates the archipelago does not consist of islands in the financial and economical world. Which, I have to grant him, governor Boediono of BI confirmed: “The shortage of global liquidity will be felt as a result of this crisis.” And he added: “We must be prepared to face this over the next six months to one year“.
Wallstreet or Rhineland?
The text added to this picture reads:“Federal Hall, 26 Wall Street, New York: It was on this site that the US Congress first met and where George Washington took the oath of office as the first president. Today, the “free enterprise” business titans of the Street are reeling from the mess of their own making”. There is no mistake about it. Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz called it the fruit of hypocrisy. Who am I to disagree with him. Indeed dishonesty, Ideological superstition in laissez-faire, irresponsibility, incompetence, greed and sheer criminality (Enron!), that’s what the crisis is made of. In a broader sense it’s the so called “Anglo Saxon” model which should stand trial: the unrestricted free market economy, cut throat competition and the shareholders in charge – hedge funds and private equity funds going for the quick buck included. “The creative destruction” of neo liberalism proves to be ruinous indeed.
This is a summary of the most recent catastrophes::
“Over the weekend, Wall Street’s Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and Merrill Lynch agreed to be sold to a competitor. Yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 4.4%, its worst day since September 17 2001, when the New York stock exchange reopened following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has risen and home values continue to sink.” Today I already can add the € 65.- billion rescue money for AIG. And what will be next tomorrow?
Maybe we should try something new. Which actually is something old: the Rhineland model. First and most important goal is the continuity of a company ( which is in the interest of all people who are stake holders so that not exclusively shareholders and shameless board members will benefit), consultation of all parties involved in order to reach some sort of consensus (which takes time, but will at least not leave clients and employees in the cold and have them and the tax payers pay the price) and government involvement whenever national interests or public services are threatened (which is a better guarantee for a future public infrastructure than leaving it to the forces of greed).
“I read the news today oh boy”
For John Lennon ( “A Day in the Life” ) the news was about a lucky man who made the grade, a guy who blew his mind out in a car and four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire. But guess what was in the papers today? What were the headlines shouting? What do they think is the most urgent problem the world should know?
Yes indeed, you’re right:
The Guardian:”Republican convention thrown into chaos by hurricane Gustav”
The New York Times:”Republicans drop most Monday Convention action”
The Los Angelos Times: “Hurricane Gustav bears down on empty New Orleans”
Frankfurter Algemeine: “McCain: Wir müssen wie Amerikaner handeln’ (Mc Cain’s comment on Gustav: ‘We must act like Americans’)
Le Monde: “John McCain: investiture par temps d’ouragan” (John McCain: In Office by Hurricane)
You see? Everything is political. Even a tropical storm. In as long it is an American storm.
But to me it seems to be plain injustice if because of Gustav THIS political news of today would go relatively unnoticed by the world: “Indonesia seizes funds from Suharto family firm“. And on top of that: “Indonesia to examine more of Suharto’s son assets“
Because this is food for optimism.
A court in Guernsey did rule in favor of the Indonesian state to freeze some € 35 million on an account of the notorious Tommy Suharto. The government filed a new request on further disclosure of the assets of “Garnet Investment” , in it’s ongoing attempt to reclaim more embezzlement money from the Suharto family. This action came after last Friday the Bank Mandiri had been ordered to transfer approximately € 90 million from Timor Putra Nasional ( the not so very solid car company which has been sold to Vista Bella Pratama by Tommy Suharto) to a government account, minister Sri Mulyani Imdrawati said.
Scepsis always comes in handy, but the fact remains that corruption obviously is high on the Indonesian political agenda. Even if it turns out there is an opportunistic connection with next year’s elections – according to the polls SBY has to do his utmost to gain more popular support to have a chance to beat Megawati- I think this news is important ánd good news. A rare combination.
Update: Another successful example of anti graft policies: “The Corruption Court sentenced disgraced prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan to 20 years in jail Thursday for taking a US$660,000 bribe to drop a major embezzlement case against fugitive tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim” (quoted from the Jakarta Post, 09/05/2008)
Puisi, Poëzie, Poetry – from dark to light
This morning I did hit upon the facsimile above which shows a poem by the Dutch poet Lucebert. And then it was clear to me: the world is waiting for some good old solid poetry. Because originally this blog was meant by Bonnie and Pelopor to be trilingual in the sense of posts in turn in Bahassa Indonesia, Nederlands and English, I choose/robbed/copy pasted poems in each of these three languages.
Mixed Signals from Jakarta
Like everywhere else in the world Jakarta also has several realities. One is caused by the ever widening gap between the poor and the rich. And the way the common man has to cope. By this account (in Dutch) the growing new middleclass gladly pays € 2.10 for the popular iced latte. Or rather 30.000 rupiah. By comparison: in New York the price is slightly under $ 4.- (= € 2.50). A saleswoman in a bookshop earns about € 85.- a month, so she can spend it on approximately one ice latte a day- after that she’s got rid of all her money but a little cash which she can use for one or two nassi meals a week. The nassi vendor makes less than half of that income, € 35.- a month. So as for now he and his wife are no plausible Starbucks’ clients at all. Maybe this is the Indonesian Dream: the shining bright future when there is one iced latte a day for everyone. Unfortunately the liberal democracy is still in its toddler’s stage.
That’s the reality of daily life. But way up, practically out of sight of the common man, is this other reality. Or should I use plural: other realities. Realities for which he/she is too busy trying to survive to pay much attention too. Or even to bother at all.