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Indonesian Leadership Responsible For Chaos
by Kazi Mahmood
KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 (IslamOnline) - Indonesia's leadership is responsible for the chaos that could lead to the possible break-up of the vast Muslim nation, analysts and businessmen said Monday.
In briefing with IslamOnline, African businessmen traveling from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur said they were disappointed with the political squabble in Indonesia.
They said President Abdurrahman Wahid's indecision on several matters and the Indonesian government was much to blame for the fall in business transactions in the country.
Indonesia exports a variety of products to Africa, but with the ongoing crisis between the leadership of the country and the legislators, it is becoming difficult to get supplies from Jakarta.
A Mauritian businessman who regularly visits Jakarta told IslamOnline that the leaders of the country were spoiling the resources of the vastly populated and resource-full nation, saying that the country was sinking deeply into chaos and that soon there would be no peaceful solution to its problems.
He said Jakarta was empty and that there was no point on doing business in the metropolitan city of 12 million people. "There are no products. The markets are dead. Empty, nothing to buy.
The rupiah [official Indonesian currency] has fallen low [$1.00 = Rp11, 500] but there is nothing to buy," he complained.
He added that it was a pity to see a rich Muslim nation being "dilapidated and ruined by politicians who does not have any love for its people."
K. Husain, another businessman who knows Jakarta well and has been in touch with the local politics for years, said the Indonesian people did not deserve the leadership they have in Indonesia.
"They are disappointing. They are holding power only for their own sake," he said, referring to Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
"Gone are the glorious days of Pak Sukarno. Before the coming of General Suharto, Indonesia was a revered country. It was respected in the region and people looked at the Indonesians with great respect," he said.
"Today, it is such a messy place. May Allah protect the Muslims there," he said, adding that he blamed Suharto for the problems he left behind in Indonesia after 32 years of economic exploitation of other regions of the archipelago, namely Aceh, Riau and Borneo.
Indonesia's economy has been battered since the economic crash of 1997. It was getting better under the brief rule of former president B. J. Habibie who managed to steer the rupiah back to a certain level of respectability.
Under Habibie, the businessmen recalls, the rupiah regained some strength and business was still a good affair. They argued that even though the rupiah fell to one of its lowest under Wahid, it did not help Indonesia's exports.
"A low rupiah should have helped the exports, but with the ongoing insecurity concerns and the political tug of war, the country is missing a lot of opportunities," another African businessman told IslamOnline.
Indonesia's economy was hit once again last month with the crisis in Aceh. ExxonMobil has closed down operations making it difficult for the country to generate income from much-needed gas exports.
The country says that millions of U.S. dollars in exports have been jeopardized with the conflict in Aceh. The recent burning of gas pipes and exploration operations cannot help the country, analysts said.
Wahid is also blamed for not handling the Aceh situation with care. The Indonesian regime is attempting to crack down on the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) with force. Declaring it a separatist movement, the government has ordered light military intervention against the GAM.
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