🚀 go-pugleaf

Jakarta's  powers-that-be appear to have decided to deflect
popular feelings into anti Chinese mass hysteria. See what
is happening to Sofyan Wanandi.  Have a look at this week's
(Feb 12 issue) of FEER page 16: "Muslim Activists say it's
time to seize economic power". <http://www.feer.com/>

I hope not, as it is the failure of Indonesia's Chinese to
participate in the economy, which is causing the country's
current  wave  of  commodity  shortages and high prices.

This week's increase in strength of the rupiah is wonderful
news, which could form the basis of economic recovery. But
Indonesia's Chinese community will want to see signs of
stability before they bring their capital back.

I think the foreign correspondents in Jakarta (as usual)
are overlooking the wheels-within-wheels that goes on in
this country..

If the Indonesia government really wants to  ruin it's
economy, it only has to follow the  advise of Mr Bakrie (see
below). Mr  Bakrie is a well known Suharto crony.

Seventy percent of Indoensia's private sector employees work
for Chinese controlled companies.The  Chinese are the
engines of Indonesia's economy. Without their  energy,
knowhow and capital, Indonesia starves.

This anti-Chinese sentiment is orchestrated by Suharto to
deflect mass opinion from his own unpopularity. 

This tactic served him extremely effectively  in 1965.

But at what cost?

I hope that world attention can zero in on this shoddy
tactic and pressure Mr Suharto to stop  playing the
anti-Chinese  card, before his political maeuoverings  bring
total ruin and chaos to our beautiful country.

Please write to your congressman, member of parliment and/or
local press and help  draw attention to these  lamentable
tactics of Suharto's government.

In hope for Indonesia's future, 



Setia Nusantara

PS Mr Bakrie is a tool of the Suharto Golkar faction
				*	*	*
Business Times Singapore
 11 Feb 1998 
 
 �JAKARTA
 
 
 
 Wrest commerce from Chinese: Indon businessman
 
 
 Economic crisis an opportunity to redistribute wealth 
 
 A LEADING Indonesian businessman, in remarks published
yesterday, urged  the government to wrest control over
commerce from the country's ethnic Chinese minority. 
 
 The economic crisis presented an opportunity to hand
greater control of  private enterprise to indigenous
Indonesians, national Chamber of Commerce and Industry
chairman Aburizal Bakrie told legislators on  Monday. 
 
 "This is the perfect time to distribute the ownership of
Indonesian companies to pribumi (indigenous Indonesians)
fairly," he added. 
 
 Ethnic Chinese number some five million in the
Muslim-dominated country  of 200 million but control most
wealth and commerce. 
 
 Mr Bakrie said the idea had received a warm reception from
members of  the ruling Golkar party and urged that policies
be put in place which "favour us". 
 
 The ethnic Chinese are frequent victims of violence during
times of unrest and have seen their shops and other
businesses attacked, burned and looted in more than a dozen
towns and cities in recent weeks. 
 
 Mr Bakrie suggested the government could start with the
finance sector  by acquiring the assets of solvent banks and
putting them under the control of indigenous Indonesians,
the Jakarta Post said. -- AFP