• Burmese
Thursday, June 19, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

Nationalism Takes Center Stage in Indonesia’s Election Campaign

Rieka Rahadiana by Rieka Rahadiana
March 31, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Nationalism Takes Center Stage in Indonesia’s Election Campaign

Prabowo Subianto

2.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

JAKARTA — Dressed in the style of Indonesia’s first leader, even using replica 1950s microphones, presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto roared to thousands of supporters at a recent rally in the capital: “Indonesia cannot be bought.”

It is a nationalistic tone that has been on the rise in campaigns by the major political parties ahead of elections to choose a parliament on April 9 and a new president on July 9.

The question of whether Indonesia is souring on the foreign money that helped bankroll much of its growth was thrust into the spotlight this year with a new law that aims to boost the country’s profits by banning the export of minerals unless they have been processed first.

RelatedPosts

On Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Birthday, Recalling the Cake That Rattled the Junta

On Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Birthday, Recalling the Cake That Rattled the Junta

June 18, 2025
319
Bago Resistance Claims 20 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed

Bago Resistance Claims 20 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed

June 18, 2025
353
Global Campaign Reaches Goal to Honor Aung San Suu Kyi on Her 80th Birthday

Global Campaign Reaches Goal to Honor Aung San Suu Kyi on Her 80th Birthday

June 18, 2025
242

That threatens the fortunes of some of Indonesia’s biggest investors, notably two major US mining companies with large operations in the country—Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining Corp.

To continue exporting, mining firms must now either pay 20-25 percent tax from this year, rising to up to 60 percent by the second half of 2016, or invest hundreds of millions of dollars on new smelters.

The more prickly language, and its occasional echo of the jingoistic rhetoric of founding President Sukarno, who famously told the United States in 1964 to “Go to hell with your aid!”, comes as record foreign direct investment looks to be peaking.

In part, that reflects investor concern over muddled government policy, barely functioning infrastructure and a sharp rise in labor costs in the world’s fourth most populous country. Approved foreign investment outside the oil, gas and banking sectors last year was around US$22 billion, roughly the same as 2012 in dollar terms.

“In dealing with globalization, Indonesia should have a stronger position … We should ensure that we are independent, not relying only on foreign investment,” said Budiman Sudjatmiko, a member of parliament of the PDI-P party.

Opinion polls suggest that PDI-P, currently in opposition, will win the most seats in parliament and easily grab the presidency with its hugely popular candidate, Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

He has won national approval for his straight-forward leadership style but has yet to detail any economic policy.

Behind PDI-P are Prabowo’s Gerindra party and also Golkar, the parliamentary vehicle for autocrat Suharto’s 32-year rule, which has managed to resurrect its fortunes in the 16 years since its patron was forced from office and Indonesia became a democracy.

Several political analysts expect PDI-P to team up with the pro-business Golkar for its vice presidential candidate.

All major parties favor keeping the law banning mineral ore exports despite criticism from the World Bank that it will damage the economy.

“Indonesia has to be nationalistic … But it doesn’t mean that if national interest is at the forefront of our policy then foreign companies cannot come to our country,” said Burhanuddin Abdullah, a former central bank governor who chairs the council of experts at Gerindra.

However much the election speeches are tinged with xenophobia, all the top parties promise to address more fundamental economic challenges.

That includes a large current-account deficit that threatens confidence in the currency and the budget-sapping cost of huge fuel subsidies at a time when the outlook for economic growth has softened to barely 5 percent this year.

“Raising fuel prices, but gradually, will be one of the options. We will let the people choose, cheap fuel prices but poor roads or paying a higher price and getting good roads,” said Harry Azhar Azis, a senior member of Golkar’s economic team.

Investors who commit to broader economic development would win favor. Others may find Indonesia less welcoming, he said.

“It will be a bit tougher … Particularly investors who only play in the portfolio market, unless the investment has a strong correlation to industry development,” Azis said.

The director of PDI-P’s Megawati Institute think-tank, Arif Budimanta, said the country should develop infrastructure and lure investment into adding value to the country’s natural resources, much of which are exported unprocessed.

“There has to be synergy. With better competitiveness, the current-account deficit will improve gradually,” he said.

PDI-P wants to spend around 20-30 percent of the budget, from about 11 percent now, on infrastructure, whose weakness is a major factor in keeping economic growth below its potential.

“We will prioritize the quality of growth, not just growth but also in terms of even distribution,” he said.

About 11 percent of Indonesia’s 240 million people live below the poverty line. Another 30 percent are barely above it, many of them in the rural sector.

Gerindra says the government needs to return to the 1970s emphasis on agriculture to lift the economy and has repeatedly warned that the ever yawning gap between the rich and the have-nots threatens social stability.

“The focus of our program is agriculture and education … If we want to develop our industry, it has to be agri-based industry,” said Abdullah.

His party wants to boost budget spending on agriculture to 5 percent in 5 years, from around 2 percent now. It will also press banks to lend more to the agriculture sector.

The front-running PDI-P has also stressed education for an exceptionally young population— about half is under 30—whose classrooms churn out workers barely able to compete with neighboring economies.

Skill levels had to rise so locals could compete against outsiders coming into Indonesia’s growing job market, said Budimanta.

Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor and Jonathan Thatcher.

Your Thoughts …
Rieka Rahadiana

Rieka Rahadiana

Reuters

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.3k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.3k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
46.9k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.7k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Geopolitical Games Handicap Malaysia Jet Hunt

Geopolitical Games Handicap Malaysia Jet Hunt

Myanmar Tourism’s ‘Crown Jewel’ Feels Strains of Growth

Myanmar Tourism’s ‘Crown Jewel’ Feels Strains of Growth

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

2 days ago
1.6k
China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

2 days ago
1.4k

Most Read

  • Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    Updated Timeline: Key Events in the Life of Myanmar’s Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China’s Bet on Myanmar Junta Risks Backfiring

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Bago Resistance Claims 20 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.