On June 21, the United States-Indonesia Society and the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce hosted an event presenting the findings of the latest 2007 Indonesian Outlook Survey conducted jointly by Charney Research of New York and CastleAsia of Jakarta. The objective of the survey was to track the attitudes and opinions of Indonesians on a host of economic, political, and international topics a decade after the Asian financial crisis toppled Suharto’s authoritarian government and plunged the country into socio-economic turmoil, bringing it to the verge of total collapse.
Although a string of devastating natural disasters that have since plagued the country (notably the catastrophic 2004 tsunami and an earthquake in Java last year) slowed down the recovery, Indonesia’s overall transition to democratic governance accompanied by economic reconstruction have made an impressive progress. To be sure, serious problems remain: GDP, which shrunk after the crisis by over 13% in 1998, is only gradually recovering, and investment lags behind the pre-crisis levels. The survey also uncovered deep-seated concerns about corruption, jobs, and poor condition of the economy. At the same, time fears about the return of wide-spread political instability have substantially abated, and the population on the margin expresses optimism about the direction in which the country is going (47% optimists over 41% pessimists). This shift, in the words of the survey’s co-author Craig Charney, reflects
“the increasing normalization of Indonesian politics, as questions of the survival of the political order have given way to the sorts of issues about state effectiveness typical in a developing country like Indonesia.”
Despite numerous challenges, then, newly-established democratic institutions are taking root in this diverse country of over 230 mln people. It is encouraging to see that Indonesia managed to re-establish a measure of political stability on democratic basis, staving off the fears of radical Islamic takeover or even regional breakup. It is equally encouraging, that – as the survey shows – in the popular opinion those democratic institutions are perceived to be proper (albeit far from perfect) channels for various segments of the society to express their views and concerns on the ongoing economic reforms.
Published Date: June 25, 2007