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Diaspora DispatchBy: Marshal Manengkei

Preface

Indonesia's (a member of the G20) President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched a plan to become one of the world's top 10 economies by 2025, though he listed more obstacles and doubts than new investments in much-needed infrastructure. The government of Southeast Asia's largest economy aims to overhaul its dilapidated transport network, but is relying on the private sector for $100 billion and hopes it will soon win an investment grade sovereign rating to reduce borrowing costs.

The details of the "master plan" were laid out in a glossy 210-page brochure. The government said it aimed to improve human resources (at the moment only half of the workforce went to primary school and 8 percent to university) to become innovation-driven and make higher value products such as steel and chocolate rather than being a top exporter of commodities such as coal and cocoa. It laid out goals of annual growth of 7.5-9 percent, up from about 6 percent now, and a $ 4 trillion - $ 4.5 trillion economy by 2025. It aimed for annual per capita income to rise from about $ 3,000 now to about $ 15,000, and for inflation to 0,5 to 3 percent.

The total value of investments in the Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development (MP3EI) between 2011 - when the Masterplan was first introduced - and July 2013 amounted to IDR 647.46 trillion (USD $58.86 billion). Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said this to state-owned news agency Antara. State-owned enterprises invested a total of IDR 173.63 trillion, followed by the private sector with IDR 231.88 trillion, the government with IDR 99 trillion and public-private partnerships with IDR 143.12 trillion.

The MP3EI is the government master plan through which it targets an economic growth rate of seven to eight percent per year after 2013 and aims to turn Indonesia into one of the world's largest economies by 2025. It includes USD $470 billion in investments that, to a large extent, is envisaged to be supplied by the private sector through public-private partnerships. The master plan places high priority on the development of infrastructure because the lack of adequate infrastructure causes Indonesia's logistics costs to rise steeply, thus reducing the country's competitiveness and attractiveness of the investment climate. According to data published by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia) around 17 percent of a company's total expenditure in Indonesia is absorbed by logistics costs. In peer regional economies this number is below the ten percent mark. In particular transport costs are high; for land as well as sea.

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However, up to date investments under the MP3EI scheme have not yet showed satisfying results. To provide more assurance for private investors, the government has established the Indonesia Infrastructure Guarantee Fund (IIGF). This institution gives certain guarantees to safeguard private investors against the risks in this sector.

Investors are already eyeing strong economic growth, driven by domestic demand, in a country with the world's fourth largest population, and resource exports, and they have poured into the country's stocks and bonds in the past two years.

The government said work on a huge Sunda Strait bridge to link Java and Sumatra islands, worth an estimated 150 trillion rupiah ($ 17.5 billion), would start this year, but the project has been stuck at the feasibility stage for years already. The government said in the master plan it would be finished in 2025.

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbvWq1hVp9Q

The other big projects in the document, many already announced, were plans for a new city in Tangerang, west of Jakarta, and for new highways across the province of Papua and the island of Sumatra. Toll road building has been very slow.

Infrastructure developers such as Jasa Marga and Wijaya Karya are relying on a planned land acquisition bill to speed up projects, but it is stuck in parliament. "I remind you there are five diseases that can make us fail ... If the government, mainly bureaucracy, is slow," Yudhoyono said, adding the others were regional government interests, broken investor promises, obstructing regulations and "unhealthy" political interests.

The government is aiming for public-private partnerships but has yet to launch a major one, and is struggling to spend its 2011 budget as officials worry about being accused of corruption. Most investment comes from the private sector. Foreign direct investor interest has picked up this year, particularly from Asia, despite risks from red tape to Islamic militancy. Barely a day goes by without the domestic media reporting a new possible foreign investment.

Opportunities & Threads

We could make a pretty sharp analysis of the opportunities and threads if The Netherlands should enhance their bilateral relations in the social-economic fields:

Indonesia Netherlands

1. Republic since 17 August 1945 Kingdom since 16 March 18152. Many natural resources: Only earth gas

crude oil, natural gas, tin, copper, gold etc.3. 240 million people (world’s 4th) 17 million people (world’s 63rd)4. 0,01 % Dutch-Indonesian 2,4 % Indonesian inhabitants

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5. GDP : US$ 1 trillion GDP : US$ 700 billion6. GDP per capita : US$ 3.797,- GDP per capita : US$ 46.142,-

Industry : 46,4% of GDP Main income: Services : 38,6% of GDP earth gas, transport, agriculture, banking, Agriculture : 14,4% of GDP tourism

7. Exporting marketsUnited States : 10,81% Europe, UK, rest of the worldJapan : 17,28%China : 7,62%Singapore : 11,29%

8. Importing marketsSingapore : 24,96% Europe, rest of the worldChina : 12,52%Japan : 8,92%

50% of Indonesia’s working class has the Secondary School education or lower while only 8% has finished University. To realize the infrastructure according to the Master Plan the land needs 70% of the estimated investment. Indonesia has only 30% funding possibilities from the domestic investment capability. So the government expects the 70% from the private sector/foreign capital. Here lies the bottleneck for foreign investors that are not eager to invest in Indonesia. There are two risks factors for these foreign investors: bureaucracy and corruption. It’s widely known that every infrastructure project will lost 30 to 50% of the needed investment before even the contractors start to build. The other option is to mark-up the needed investment to meet the unwanted bureaucracy and corruption. But these risks only happens when the national or regional administration is involved. Best proofs of these kind of daily practice are the building skeletons and unfinished toll roads in the big cities.

Public-Private Participation (PPP)

The Indonesian economy has proven remarkably resilient since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. In 2009, for example, Indonesia posted GDP growth of 4.5 percent, while much of the rest of the world faced economic contraction.

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Indonesia’s consistent economic growth has led to increasing infrastructure needs. The Government estimates that over the five-year period from 2010 through 2014, some IDR 1,430 trillion (approximately USD 150 billion) worth of infrastructure investment is required at the national level. The Government has recognized the vital role of the private sector in fulfilling these needs and has been laying the foundation for private sector participation in infrastructure development through private-public partnerships (PPP). Specifically, the Government istargeting IDR 980 trillion (approximately USD 94 billion) in private sector investment under this PPP framework over the 2010-2014 period. The Government’s PPP program encompasses a wide range of infrastructure, including:

1. Airports 2. Sea and river ports3. Roads and bridges4. Railways5. Untreated water supply & irrigation systems6. Drinking water7. Waste water8. Solid waste9. Information & communications technology10. Electricity11. Oil & Gas

There are a number of parties that may participate in a PPP infrastructure project in Indonesia. The exhibit below shows the key parties and the relationship between them. These parties include:

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PPP-structure in Indonesia

The Project Company is the Indonesian legal entity owned by the Project Sponsors, which enters into a Cooperation Agreement (CA) with a Government Contracting Agency, or receives a license from the Government, to provide a particular service or infrastructure on a PPP basis. It is also referred to in this Guide and in relevant government regulations as the “Business Entity”.

Multilateral Development Banks include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and affiliates such as the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Association (MIGA). Under certain circumstances, these agencies can provide credit enhancements such as partial risk guarantees (PRGs) to project companies and lenders.

Foreign & Domestic Commercial Banks provide debt financing to the project. It may be possible to secure all debt financing domestically for smaller projects, but larger projects are likely to require foreign financing. Because Indonesia’s credit ratingis currently below investment grade (Moody’s rating of Ba2, and Standard & Poor’s rating of BB), foreign lending will likely require credit enhancements. Note, however, that the Government aims to achieve an investment grade rating by 2011.

Project Sponsors are the shareholders of the Project Company. They may be domestic or foreign investors, and are typically responsible for project development in addition to equity investment. They are also referred to in the Guide as “developers”.

State Infrastructure Guarantee Company, PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia (PII), has been recently established by the Government of Indonesia to provide guarantees for government obligations under PPP contracts.

State Infrastructure Fund, formally known as the Indonesia Infrastructure Fund (IIF), has been funded by the Government of Indonesia (through PT Sarana Multi

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Infrastruktur), multilateral development banks, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Government of Germany to lend for infrastructure in Indonesia. It can provide financing for a portion of the borrower’s debt needs.

Third Party Service Providers are likely to be engaged by the Project Company for various aspects of pro ject development and implementation, including engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), operations and maintenance (O&M) etc. Theseservices will be provided under separate contracts between the Project Company and the particular service provider.

Users may include a single off-taker like the State Electricity Company (PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara –Persero-, PLN) or may be members of the general public in the case of toll roads or rail projects. There may a contract with an off-taker, such as a power purchase agreement in the case of electricity generation.

Licensing & Permitting Agencies include Government agencies responsible for environmental management, foreign investment and company establishment (e.g. the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board -Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal- BKPM), manpower & immigration, etc. from whom the Project Company will need to obtain various permits and approvals for setting up operations.

Advisors to P3CU and MOF. The efforts of P3CU and MOF, both to develop a robust PPP framework and to help Government Contracting Agencies prepare sound projects, have been supported by legal, financial, and engineering advisors funded by various multi- and bilateral agencies.

Government Contracting Agency (GCA) will be the ministry, government institution, or provincial, regency or city government, as stipulated by government regulation, that tenders the project and serves as the investor’s government counterparty for the project. The GCA will contract with the Project Company for delivery of the project through a Cooperation Agreement (CA), or will issue a license to the Project Company to carryout the PPP project.

Policy Committee for Accelerating the Provision of Infrastructure (Komite Kebijakan Percepatan Pembangunan Infrastruktur, KKPPI) is an inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs that is responsible for policy coordination related to private provision of infrastructure. Under prevailing regulation, KKPPI must endorse requests for contingent government support (guarantees) as a basis for Ministry of Finance consideration and approval.

Public-Private Partnership Central Unit (P3CU) is a unit headed by the Director for Public-Private Partnership Development within the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Board (Bappenas). P3CU has a number of functions including: support to KKPPI for policy formulation and assessment of requests for contingent government support, preparation of the Government’s PPP book listing project opportunities for private investors support to Government Contracting Agencies

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for the preparation of projects, and developing capacity within government agencies for PPP implementation.

Ministry of Finance (MOF) / Risk Management Unit (RMU).The Ministry of Finance approves tax incentives that may be offered by the Government for a PPP project as well as any government guarantees. The RMU is the unit of the Ministry that is responsible for reviewing guarantee requests. Any approved guarantee would subsequently be ad ministered by PT PII.

Netherland’s Struggling Economy

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More than a decade ago, the Dutch central bank recognized the dangers of the housing euphoria, but its warnings went unheeded. Only last year did the new government, under conservative-liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte, amend the generous tax loopholes, which gradually began to expire in January. But now it's almost too late. No nation in the euro zone is as deeply in debt as the Netherlands, where banks have a total of about € 650 billion in mortgage loans on their books.

Consumer debt amounts to about 250 percent of available income. By comparison, in 2011 even the Spaniards only reached a debt ratio of 125 percent.

The Netherlands is still one of the most competitive countries in the European Union, but now that the real estate bubble has burst, it threatens to take down the entire economy with it. Unemployment is on the rise, consumption is down and growth has come to a standstill.

Even €46 billion in austerity measures are apparently not enough to remain within the EU debt limit. Although Dutch Finance Minister and Euro Group Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem has announced another € 4.3 billion in cuts in public service and healthcare, they will only take effect in 2014.

"Sticking the knife in even more deeply" would be "very, very unreasonable," Social Democrat Dijsselbloem told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in an attempt to justify the delay.

Unemployment Surges as Home Prices Collapse

The Australia Macro Business blog picks up the story in Dutch unemployment surges as house prices fall. Earlier this month, I posted on how the Netherlands was facing a potential economic crisis on the back a severe housing correction, whereby house prices fell by -8% in the year to December 2012 to be down -18% since prices peaked in 2008, pulling many Dutch households into negative equity (see next chart).

The release of labour force data overnight suggested the Netherlands’ economy has deteriorated further, with Dutch unemployment increasing to 8.1%, a level not seen since the 1980s, with job losses most acute in the building industry (see next chart).

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The jump in unemployment follows the contraction in the Dutch economy, whereby GDP has contracted by -1.2% over the past year (see next chart).

The sharp deterioration in the Dutch economy is placing pressure on the central government to abandon austerity measures, which it has pursued for the best part of two years and is partly responsible for the contraction in demand.

Best is Yet to Come

As noted, the hypocrites want austerity for everyone but themselves. Regardless, the Netherlands economy is headed for a much sharper contraction as is France.

Simply put, the entire Eurozone is in deep trouble even as the nanny-crats insist the worst is behind. Ironically, the best is indeed ahead, and the best is a breakup of the Eurozone.

Mike "Mish" Shedlockhttp://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

The Dutch-Indonesian and Indonesian Diaspora

“With the granting of dual citizenship to Indonesian diaspora, the government could get some advantages, especially in the economic sector such as increasing foreign investment, Chief of Diaspora Desk in the Foreign Affairs Ministry Wahid Supriyadi said”

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DIASPORA INDONESIA “SEREMPAK UNTUK BERAKSI”(IDN TOGETHER FOR ACTIONS)

Salam Diaspora!

Kami, segenap Diaspora Indonesia yang berasal dari 56 chapters Indonesia Diaspora Network(IDN) dari 26 negara, telah melaksanakan Kongres Diaspora Indonesia ke-2 pada tanggal 18-20 Agustus 2013 di Jakarta.

Selama tiga hari terakhir kami berkongres di Jakarta Convention Center ini, penuh denganenergi positif, akan “Serempak Untuk Beraksi”. Komitmen bersama kami adalah untukbersumbangsih konkrit kepada Bangsa dan Negara, berkontribusi kepada tanah yang kamicintai ini. Menuju masa keemasan Indonesia!

Setelah mengikuti Kongres yang melibatkan berbagai pemangku kepentingan di Indonesia,baik dari pemerintah, anggota parlemen, swasta, LSM dan Masyarakat umum,sepakat untuk:

1. Membentuk Indonesian Diaspora Global Network yang mewakili seluruh nationalchapters;

2. Mendirikan kantor kepentingan diaspora yang berbadan hukum Indonesia di Jakarta;3. Melaksanakan Kongres Diaspora Indonesia setiap 2 (dua) tahun sekali serta mendorong

chapters diaspora di kawasan untuk melakukan pertemuan di antaranya.4. Selanjutnya, kami juga akan melaksanakan aksi di berbagai bidang antara lain:

Di Bidang Energi

Membentuk Indonesian Diaspora Energy Professional Network sebagai platformkolaborasi bersama seluruh stakeholder untuk saling berbagi informasi, solusi

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dan best practice bagi para diaspora yang memiliki kepakaran di bidang energi: minyak, gas, batubara, panas bumi serta energi baru dan terbarukan.

Membantu mendorong peningkatan investasi dalam sektor energi di Indonesia. Mendorong pengembangan bisnis, pendidikan dan ketrampilan dalam hal energi rendah

karbon seperti melalui Clean Development Mechanism.

Di Bidang Ketenagakerjaan

Membentuk Indonesian Migrant Workers Network untuk membantu perlindungan TKI diluar negeri dan memberikan masukan kepada pembuat kebijakan ketenagakerjaan diIndonesia

Di Bidang Imigrasi dan Kewarganegaraan

Mendorong pembentukan Focus Group, yang terdiri dari pemerintah, parlemen, Diaspora, dan akademisi, untuk membahas mengenai beberapa aspek dari dwi-kewarganegaraan.

Menyusun naskah akademik mengenai dwi-kewarganegaraan yang hasilnya akandisampaikan kepada pemangku kebijakan.

Di Bidang Pendidikan

Membentuk portal bagi pemangku kepentingan pendidikan di Indonesia. Mendorong program Diaspora Mengajar baik secara langsung maupun melalui media lain

bekerjasama dengan lembaga pendidikan di Indonesia. Mendorong kebijakan yang lebih memudahkan kolaborasi di bidang pendidikan terutama

riset. Membangun data base dan memperkuat jejaring terkait bidang profesi pendidikan.

Di Bidang Inovasi Iptek

Mengembangkan kerjasama antara Diaspora dengan Sektor Swasta dan Pemerintah dibidang-bidang yang memiliki potensi tinggi bagi pembangunan nasional seperti PusatIndustri Kimia, Biokimia dan Bio-Teknologi, serta Tenaga Listrik Relatif Murah dariKonverter Energi Penahan Gelombang Laut (Breakwater Energy).

Di Bidang Liveable Cities

Mendorong kerjasama para diaspora dengan arsitek, urban planners, ahli tata air, pakarteknik lingkungan dan landscape architecture Indonesia bagi terciptanya sebuah konsepkota layak huni berkelanjutan yang dapat diterapkan di Indonesia.

Membantu terselenggaranya program nasional yang melindungi dan melestarikan warisanbudaya bangsa, khususnya bangunan dan arsitektur tradisional di daerah dan wilayahpedalaman.

Meningkatkan kerjasama dengan pemerintah daerah dalam membangun kota – kota kecilatau desa-desa yang juga menghadapi tantangan dampak pembangunan melalui berbagai

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pilot projects, mulai dari pemberdayaan masyarakat terpencil melalui perikanan danperbaikan desa untuk meningkatkan kualitas hidup.

Di Bidang Green Economy

Meningkatkan gerakan penghijauan di Jakarta dan berbagai kota di Indonesia, sertainvestasi Diaspora Indonesia di sektor Panas Bumi (Geo-thermal).

Meningkatkan investasi di berbagai bidang terkait ekonomi hijau di Indonesia.

Di Bidang Kesehatan

Memperluas kerja sama antar kelompok Diaspora untuk mencari solusi komprehensifdalam upaya peningkatan perawatan kanker, pelayanan pasien lanjut usia, dan pertukaranpengetahuan bagi dokter muda Indonesia dan petugas kesehatan lainnya.

Mendorong terbentuknya suatu Knowledge Center for Health bagi penanganan kesehatanyang komprehensif.

Memanfaatkan kapasitas diaspora bagi pengembangan teknologi pelayanan kesehatanjarak jauh di Indonesia.

Di Bidang Bisnis dan Investasi

Bekerjasama dengan Perbankan Nasional dan Internasional untuk menurunkan BiayaRemitansi terutama di negara yang padat Diaspora Indonesia.

Mengembangkan kerja sama dengan Pemerintah dan Perbankan nasional gunameningkatkan bisnis dan investasi Diaspora Indonesia, baik di dalam maupun di luarnegeri.

Mendorong Pemerintah untuk mempertimbangkan adanya obligasi bagi diaspora dalamsatuan harga yang menarik.

Terus meningkatkan minat diaspora untuk berinvestasi di sektor pertanian

Di Bidang Kuliner

Membantu memperkenalkan dan mengembangkan kuliner khas Indonesia di negarakediaman masing-masing, khususnya 30 ikon kuliner Indonesia, melalui berbagai cara,baik penyebarluasan informasi standar makanan dan minuman khas Indonesia maupunkegiatan bersama diaspora lainnya.

Mendorong pembentukan Konsorsium Kuliner Indonesia bersama-sama Pemerintah danSwasta guna mewujudkan potensi keberadaan Rumah Makan Indonesia di berbagaibelahan dunia.

Di Bidang Kedirgantaraan

Melalui Task Force Dirgantara, kami bertekad untuk memberikan pikiran, pengetahuan,dana, dan berbagi jaringan bisnis untuk membantu industri Dirgantara Indonesia dansecara khusus mendukung pembiayaan preliminary design program Regional TurbopropR80 dan menjadi interlocutor kepada investor potensial pada fase berikutnya.

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Mendorong DPR dan Pemerintah untuk antara lain: membuat Undang-Undang khususuntuk industri dirgantara yang menjadi payung hukum bagi kemudahan dan insentif semua pihak secara maksimal ; menggerakkan perbankan nasional untuk membantu Kredit Penjualan bagi produk industri pesawat nasional dan memberi insentif bagi maskapai penerbangan nasional yang menggunakan produk industri pesawat nasional; serta meningkatan edukasi industri dirgantara di semua strata pendidikan.

Di Bidang Kepemudaan

Mendorong terciptanya sinergi antara pendidikan dan kebutuhan industri, untukmenunjang Indonesia maju.

Pembentukan Jaringan Bisnis Pemuda Indonesia di bidang Teknologi Informasi, Bisnisdan Edukasi.

Mendorong pembentukan badan khusus untuk mengembangkan sistem pengajaran danpromosi pencak silat secara internasional yang lebih komprehensif.

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Many of the Indonesian Diaspora are Dutch- Indonesians.

The Dutch Indonesians who opted for Indonesian nationality between 1949 and 1951 often received a rude awakening. In many cases, it proved to be the wrong decision. Researchers Boudie Rijkschroeff and Georgine Kwa paint a painful picture about these people in a new Dutch book.

At the Tong Tong Festival in The Hague – the biggest Eurasian festival in the world – you don’t need much effort to bring these stories to the surface. Many of the people affected are still alive. Practically every Dutch person knows at least one of them.

Take Emie van Minos, whose story is probably true for thousands of others. Family life in the post-war Dutch East Indies was far from unpleasant. Then, in 1949, the Netherlands gave the colony independence. For 250,000 Dutch nationals in the East the question was: Do we stay here or go back to a chilly, damp country?

Brave patriotVan Minos' father proved himself to be a good patriot. Like many others, he followed the advice of his government. He stayed because the Netherlands would be too small for all the newcomers and, according to officials, there could be cultural clashes. For example, cohabitation of unmarried couples was at that time fairly common in the East, but was frowned upon in the Low Countries.

It soon became clear that there would also be clashes in the island kingdom, especially when Indonesia and the Netherlands began a tug-of-war over New Guinea. Ms. Rijkschroeff says: "In practice, you were still attached to the old colonial regime. You were whiter than the Indonesians, and you spoke the language differently. Discrimination was the order of the day."

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Co-author Ms. Kwa knows this only too well. Her family, consisting of six daughters, opted for Indonesian nationality. After the Dutch finally made their choice in December 1951, the atmosphere worsened.

Intimidated"My sisters and I were harassed,” says Kwa. “My parents were intimidated by the police. They felt devastated. Eventually, we left hastily on the day of the coup by General Suharto. It was the last flight between Indonesia and the Netherlands."

Van Minos had similar experiences in the sixties. "As a child, I felt trapped and isolated in a 25-metre square yard. My mother had been traumatized by her stay in a Japanese POW camp. She was afraid of her Indonesian environment, which was becoming increasingly violent. On the walls was scribbled the message: 'Away with the dogs.' ‘The dogs’ referred to us, the Dutch-Indonesian community."

Focusing on those who stayed behindRijkschroeff and Kwa's book focuses on those who stayed behind. They followed the trail of the Halin Foundation which gives a monthly supplement to about 800 poor people. Many of them have barely had a chance to develop throughout their lives and now live in poverty.

"We are talking about living history,” says Rijkschroeff. "A group which, although ageing, will probably still be around for another fifteen years or so. They are senior citizens who speak Dutch, and have a picture of the Queen in their room. But they are still disappointed that the Netherlands no longer wanted them to return. There is a deep sense of rejection."

Halin FoundationAccording to the authors, it’s too late to seek legal means to alter the position of these poor people. In many cases, their offspring are responsible for giving them shelter, food and medical care. Rijkschroeff and Kwa hope charities will continue to ensure that they manage to make ends meet.

The above articles are meant to ask ourselves how can we make a bridge to start a new spirit to get a new bond between The Netherlands and Indonesia. Both sides begin to understand that the Dutch-Indonesian or the Indonesian-Dutch Diaspora could be the bridge builders in this new beginning for both countries.

These group of people from both countries and living in both countries understand both cultures. This ability could be the basis of starting business together. Many of the Dutch-Indonesian people in The Netherlands experience ethnic discrimination so their career opportunities are not promising. It is highly possible that with their educational basis they could help the Indonesian people to take their management skills to the next level. If there would be people to understand both the Dutch and the Indonesian culture then these groups are the most suitable to start businesses in Indonesia and the Dutch government could encourage and support them to do so.

(to be continued)