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A good female (non-American) friend I have not seen in a long time sent me three text messages out of the blue:

Wimar, what is this! I’m pro-hilary!

Despite being the hottest man in modern politics, obama is a pling-plang flip flopper!

:-) everyone has gone obama crazy!

Obama FAQ by Wimar Witoelar

• Who do you like, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
  Both, actually. Anyone other than George W. Bush gives me relief. But the further away from Bush we can get, the better. That is why Obama is better than Clinton and Clinton is better than McCain.
• What would be the most important message from an Obama victory?
  That the majority of Americans do have common sense after all.
• Do you think Obama is a great man?
  He is an extremely skilled politician and a polished public speaker. He will be a great man if greatness is thrust upon him by the American people.
• Are you excited that someone who lived in Indonesia could be the next US president?
  To be honest it gives us quite a thrill. We find it difficult to produce great leaders for ourselves so it will be great to produce a President of the USA. I hope he will invite an Indonesian to his inauguration, and I hope it will be me.
• How will Obama be a better US president because of his Indonesian experience?
  We are sure he will be conscious of the fact that Indonesia is a place of people, of pluralistic values which no doubt have contributed to Obama’s own pluralistic values. He will respect the Indonesian people as much as the Indonesian government.
• Do you mind terribly that Obama’s Indonesian background is being used against him?
  I don’t take it personally. It is part of the barrier of exclusivity that President George W. Bush built up since September 11.
• What effect do you think Obama’s election would have on the US image?
  It would immediately improve America’s popularity rating. The George W. Bush years will seem like a bad dream. It will reaffirm our faith that America is the land of great people and great ideas.
• So how emotional do you get over Obama?
  He gives me a nice feeling of hope and world peace. But personally I am more driven my issues which are not in the realm of politics, let alone American elections where I am not a voter. Let Americans get back to their senses and I will accept the results happily. In the meantime, we have plenty of problems around here. Not to mention my own complicated, albeit happy, life. :)

So, dear J, chill out.

This article was firstly published by Perspektif Online. Re-posted for Asia Blogging with permission. Thank you Pak Wimar!

Most analysts see the economic outlook for 2007 and 2008 in varying degrees of optimism, depending on where the analyst comes from. A recent presentation by Dr Chatib Basri, a government advisor known for his integrity, gives next year projections of GDP growth at 6 to 6.5%, inflation hovering at 6.5 %, and generally improving trends in macro-economic indicators. This should present an inviting backdrop for business prospects in the Indonesia of the near future. However, care should be taken in disregarding uncertainties affecting these projections. Government priorities required to support these predictions are not necessarily guaranteed. These are in the areas of employment creation, poverty alleviation, reform in the labor market and infrastructure development

Government priorities tend to suffer from interaction with political realities. Take the historic cases of Lapindo Brantas, Newmont and Freeport, where it is difficult to see the border between sound business practice and government-backed political intervention. Many major companies do not combine economic with social interests, as government shies from their role as guardian of the public need.

Take the case of the recent cabinet reshuffle and how much political realities played a part. The original public demands were for accountability ( e.g. transportation, justice, state secretariat), performance (e.g. infocom, industry, health, education) and especially conflict of interest (Minister Coordinator for Social Welfare). Then media and public were distracted from their focus on good governance and effective government to ‘the reshuffle’ as a political happening.

From disappointment in government performance, the focus shifted to ‘who’ and ‘when’. At the end, the reshuffle proved to be politically-driven. Notable exceptions are the dismissals of the cabinet ministers for Justice and Human Rights and for the State Secretariat. While their cases of alleged corruption may not be of major proportions, keeping them in office would have put the President’s credibility at high risk.

Now comes the politics. The vacancy in the State Secretariat allowed SBY to move Hatta Rajasa away from the Transportation Ministry where he had presided over too many disasters in public air, sea and rail transport. Rajasa avoided moral sanctions because his real role in the cabinet makeup is to represent PAN, a party that SBY wants to keep on his side. Hatta Rajasa showed his usefulness when he intermediated between the President and Amien Rais when the latter played the campaign funds gambit, a small matter to which SBY devoted a high-profile television appearance.

Positions for Information and Communications and State Enterprises were shuffled around to get rid of independent-minded Sugiarto with no political party armor and to reward Sofyan Djalil who goes to ridiculous lengths to please the President, even threatening a lawsuit on a popular television parody which offended the First Lady. (more…)