Indonesia: Beginning to Get it Together

Since I lived in Indonesia a few years ago, the country has experienced impressive signs of growth and potential.  The economy is "lebih sehat" (in better health) as they might say.  But, as most know, they’ve also experienced the devastation of natural disasters, terrorism, and other setbacks.  Unfortunately, disasters like these have always seemed to make for better news than 5% yearly economic growth over the last few years.  Or, the first democratic elections in over 30 years, in which there was a 90% voter turnout rate and proceeded in a peaceful fashion.  These are some respectable achievements only 8 years after the Asian Economic Crisis sent the whole region into a tailspin and ousted a government that held power since the 1960’s.  But when I overheard a conversation the other day about traveling to Bali, and one woman asked "Isn’t that where that horrible earthquake was?", and another woman chimed in, "no, that’s where the terrorists blew up a bar", I realized that Indonesia needs to hire a PR firm in America.  They really have made some laudable advances, but you wouldn’t otherwise know it if you tuned in to the majority of media outlets here.   

They certainly have a ways to go, but the challenges they have had to deal with and the accomplishments they have made in this decade are worth pat on the back.  A politically stable, low-wage country with considerable natural resources stands to offer quite a lot.  If ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is able to move forward with bilateral and regional trade agreements, and the government can effectively deal with the growing workforce and stabilize the country, we will see a resurgence in economic activity and foreign direct investment in the region.  Keep your eyes on Indonesia.  In five to fifteen years, the largest muslim nation in the world could be a major economic force in the region.