The passing of an icon
----------------------- WARNING ---> LENGTHY POST AHEAD!!! <-------------------
Haven't felt the urge to blog till today. I'm back at Indonesia for 2 days because my Hong Kong customer was planning to visit this morning, but he cancelled the plan instead as he needed to stay at Singapore to meet his other supplier there and had arranged to come to Indonesia another time. Well, it's not really that important anyway as I've already discussed the details with him in Singapore, & he only wanted to see our facilities just to reassure himself that we're a proper legitimate business.
I guess many of the people overseas will have the same perception on Indonesian businesses, that they are shams/scams designed to rip off/squeeze out the last cents of unknowing/innocent companies that are trying to get hold of all the commodities the once rich, resourceful Indonesia has to offer. Sadly, it is true that there are many rogue traders like this at Indonesia, ie. they either don't send the goods after they receive the money from buyers, or that they send inferior stock to cut cost. It scares off many prospective buyers, but for those who really knows the local culture/working, they're in for a rich ride as many of the commodities/goods are seriously DIRT CHEAP over here!
Getting back to the original point of this post. Mr Suharto, who was the 2nd president of Indonesia and one that served in the post for the longest time (32 years), had passed away yesterday at 1 PM local time. He has been in/out of the critical condition for the past week and finally collapsed after suffering a multiple organ failure in the hospital. From then on, it has been non-stop reporting with live feeds on all the Indonesian TV channels, and also some of the regional ones as well such as Channel Newsasia (Singapore). He was buried today at 12 pm local time at his family's mausoleum at the city of Solo.
This post serves as a tribute to him, the man who single-handedly rescued/built up Indonesia from the brink of a communist rule in 1965 with a military coup (some historians have debated this fact, saying that the communist party's killing of the top generals was a fake ploy in an attempt to mask Suharto's own purge of those 1st president's (sukarno's) loyalists). Of course, this point is not important anymore as he has proven to be an adept politician during his rule, although some critics have pointed out that he held the military power tightly and 'silenced' anyone who disobeyed. Also, his rule was tainted by many allegations of corruption that was pervasive in the central government, with many of his family members granted favours of astronomical size (eg. toll roads at Jakarta were built by his children and banks had to grant them loans at no interest rate). I guess this is always bound to happen when someone holds extreme power in a country, especially in one as large/un(der)developed as indonesia, and these are the trade-off for having a largely peaceful country.
I think what ex-singapore PM (and now serving as minister mentor) Lee Kuan Yew has said pretty much illustrated this point. He was visiting his ‘old friend’ Suharto when he was hospitalized when he gave the following statement: ‘I think Indonesians owe a lot to Suharto. Sure, he might have done something wrong (corruption), but look at the growth rate during his reign and compare it with Myanmar/Laos, where military coup happened as well at about the same time’. This is exactly how I feel about him as well, & I think most of the Indonesian Chinese community will agree with me on this. In all honesty, the 32 years that Suharto was in power was probably the golden age for the Indonesian business community as he was pro-active in encouraging the expansion of those businesses. He gave favours to a select few, but what needs to be remembered was that he didn’t make it difficult for the majority of all the others as well. The business field boomed and there was prosperity, setting the rise of the many wealthy Chinese Indonesians that are now the largest owners of the many private residential properties in neighbouring Singapore.
One reason that happened was because he didn’t see the Chinese Indonesians as a threat, but rather as assets that Indonesia should fully utilize. With links to the other Chinese immigrants in the region, as well as China itself, these are the people that have access to world’s largest ethnic population, & the potential is unlimited. With the wealth funneling into the select few, then the other business people in general, the mass population also benefited as they are employed in a booming economy. Basically everyone that wanted a job had one. In fact, he even went as far as befriending wealthy Chinese, giving them preferential treatment for many government projects such as the owner of Indofood, which is probably most well-known as the producer of Indomie , the largest (tastiest too!) instant noodle producer in the world.
In the years after he left Indonesia’s political scene, there were rumours that he was still the one controlling the government from behind the scene as his political party still held power at that time. Successive presidential candidates promised a lot during their respective campaigns, but in a scenario that is too familiar worldwide, those promises meant for little when they’re thrusted into power. Businesses for the middle class kept on dwindling, with corruption rampant at every level instead of just in the central government, despite the promises on clamping down on those officials when presidents/lawmakers were elected.
For the country to return to an iron fist rule during Suharto’s era, it would be a step back in democracy, but one that prospers. Strangely it is eerily similar to the policy of another wealthy Southeast Asia country, with the government having a tight hold of the political situation/not allowing much resistance. To conclude this, an iron fist rule is not all that bad if the government is wise, just, and cares for its citizens.
Despite all the wrongs that Suharto has committed, he has done a lot for Indonesia and should be commended. With his passing, tears are shed, flower wraths are made, flags are raised, a nation mourns, and all sins are forgiven. As one news presenter aptly pointed out, Suharto is almost like the anointed king of the modern republic of Indonesia, a larger than life icon and the greatest presence that Indonesians have ever felt, & quite possibly there won’t be another one like him.
Haven't felt the urge to blog till today. I'm back at Indonesia for 2 days because my Hong Kong customer was planning to visit this morning, but he cancelled the plan instead as he needed to stay at Singapore to meet his other supplier there and had arranged to come to Indonesia another time. Well, it's not really that important anyway as I've already discussed the details with him in Singapore, & he only wanted to see our facilities just to reassure himself that we're a proper legitimate business.
I guess many of the people overseas will have the same perception on Indonesian businesses, that they are shams/scams designed to rip off/squeeze out the last cents of unknowing/innocent companies that are trying to get hold of all the commodities the once rich, resourceful Indonesia has to offer. Sadly, it is true that there are many rogue traders like this at Indonesia, ie. they either don't send the goods after they receive the money from buyers, or that they send inferior stock to cut cost. It scares off many prospective buyers, but for those who really knows the local culture/working, they're in for a rich ride as many of the commodities/goods are seriously DIRT CHEAP over here!
Getting back to the original point of this post. Mr Suharto, who was the 2nd president of Indonesia and one that served in the post for the longest time (32 years), had passed away yesterday at 1 PM local time. He has been in/out of the critical condition for the past week and finally collapsed after suffering a multiple organ failure in the hospital. From then on, it has been non-stop reporting with live feeds on all the Indonesian TV channels, and also some of the regional ones as well such as Channel Newsasia (Singapore). He was buried today at 12 pm local time at his family's mausoleum at the city of Solo.
This post serves as a tribute to him, the man who single-handedly rescued/built up Indonesia from the brink of a communist rule in 1965 with a military coup (some historians have debated this fact, saying that the communist party's killing of the top generals was a fake ploy in an attempt to mask Suharto's own purge of those 1st president's (sukarno's) loyalists). Of course, this point is not important anymore as he has proven to be an adept politician during his rule, although some critics have pointed out that he held the military power tightly and 'silenced' anyone who disobeyed. Also, his rule was tainted by many allegations of corruption that was pervasive in the central government, with many of his family members granted favours of astronomical size (eg. toll roads at Jakarta were built by his children and banks had to grant them loans at no interest rate). I guess this is always bound to happen when someone holds extreme power in a country, especially in one as large/un(der)developed as indonesia, and these are the trade-off for having a largely peaceful country.
I think what ex-singapore PM (and now serving as minister mentor) Lee Kuan Yew has said pretty much illustrated this point. He was visiting his ‘old friend’ Suharto when he was hospitalized when he gave the following statement: ‘I think Indonesians owe a lot to Suharto. Sure, he might have done something wrong (corruption), but look at the growth rate during his reign and compare it with Myanmar/Laos, where military coup happened as well at about the same time’. This is exactly how I feel about him as well, & I think most of the Indonesian Chinese community will agree with me on this. In all honesty, the 32 years that Suharto was in power was probably the golden age for the Indonesian business community as he was pro-active in encouraging the expansion of those businesses. He gave favours to a select few, but what needs to be remembered was that he didn’t make it difficult for the majority of all the others as well. The business field boomed and there was prosperity, setting the rise of the many wealthy Chinese Indonesians that are now the largest owners of the many private residential properties in neighbouring Singapore.
One reason that happened was because he didn’t see the Chinese Indonesians as a threat, but rather as assets that Indonesia should fully utilize. With links to the other Chinese immigrants in the region, as well as China itself, these are the people that have access to world’s largest ethnic population, & the potential is unlimited. With the wealth funneling into the select few, then the other business people in general, the mass population also benefited as they are employed in a booming economy. Basically everyone that wanted a job had one. In fact, he even went as far as befriending wealthy Chinese, giving them preferential treatment for many government projects such as the owner of Indofood, which is probably most well-known as the producer of Indomie , the largest (tastiest too!) instant noodle producer in the world.
In the years after he left Indonesia’s political scene, there were rumours that he was still the one controlling the government from behind the scene as his political party still held power at that time. Successive presidential candidates promised a lot during their respective campaigns, but in a scenario that is too familiar worldwide, those promises meant for little when they’re thrusted into power. Businesses for the middle class kept on dwindling, with corruption rampant at every level instead of just in the central government, despite the promises on clamping down on those officials when presidents/lawmakers were elected.
For the country to return to an iron fist rule during Suharto’s era, it would be a step back in democracy, but one that prospers. Strangely it is eerily similar to the policy of another wealthy Southeast Asia country, with the government having a tight hold of the political situation/not allowing much resistance. To conclude this, an iron fist rule is not all that bad if the government is wise, just, and cares for its citizens.
Despite all the wrongs that Suharto has committed, he has done a lot for Indonesia and should be commended. With his passing, tears are shed, flower wraths are made, flags are raised, a nation mourns, and all sins are forgiven. As one news presenter aptly pointed out, Suharto is almost like the anointed king of the modern republic of Indonesia, a larger than life icon and the greatest presence that Indonesians have ever felt, & quite possibly there won’t be another one like him.
posted by leonhart @ 4:57 PM
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