http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20060417.E03&irec=2
Knowledge-base foreign policy necessary for exploiting ties Siswo Pramono, Jakarta A knowledge-based foreign policy would help Indonesia exploit, and tap the benefit of, its ties with friendly nations. Our ties with Australia and the Netherlands are cases in point. Dutch ties with Indonesia and Australia began four centuries ago, with the operation of Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) in Indonesia and the landing of the Dutch vessel Duyfken in Australia. Since then, there were more contacts across the Arafura Sea between the then Dutch East Indies and the Australian continent. Australia was among the countries that supported Indonesia's decolonization from the Dutch in 1945. Maintaining good relations with Australia and the Netherlands is thus of paramount importance for our national interests. While our trade with the Netherlands is limited (about US$2.12 billion in 2004), the strategic values of the port cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam have made the Netherlands our main gate to Europe. Our trade with Australia, too, is also limited (about $5 billion in 2004). But, for Indonesia, a country with a large Melanesian community, Australia serves as our gate to the (Melanesian) South West Pacific region. For us, Australia and the Netherlands are also important sources of foreign direct investment. Economic interests aside, our cultural roots in the Netherlands and Australia are strong. About 1.6 million Dutch people are currently connected by blood, experience or affection to Indonesia. This number includes 45,000 Dutch-Mollucans, about 30,000 Javanese Surinams and a 500,000-strong Indo-Dutch community. Thanks to Dutch multiculturalism, Indonesian culture, and its Indo-Dutch subculture, is well preserved and developed in the Netherlands through education, museums, restaurants, pasar malam (night markets), sports and various festivities. The Australian case is different. Despite its geographical proximity, only about 47,000 Indonesians live in Australia. This somewhat limited number is the consequence of the White Australian Policy which was introduced in 1901 and only completely abolished in 1973. About 1,000 Indonesians are studying in the Netherlands and 18,000 in Australia. Despite the well-developed and mature relations, our ties with Australia and the Netherlands are also marred by sensitive issues, some of which are the residue of the colonial past. Thus, for instance, despite the Dutch and Australian governments' official support for Indonesia's territorial unity, the recently published book by Dutch Professor PJ Drooglever on Papua's 1969 act of free choice (Een Daad van Vrije Keuze) and the granting of visas by Australia to Papuan asylum seekers have sparked controversy. Such controversy is not without reason since, toward the end of the 1960s, Indonesia was dragged into military conflicts with the Dutch over Papua. And, by then, the Australian political standing on Papua was not clear. Many in the Netherlands and Australia, too, hardly understand why the enhanced authority granted by the Papua Special Autonomy Law has failed to enhance Indonesia's capacity for addressing Papuans' grievances. As such, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Australia each should learn the democratic dynamics, and hence the policy making process, of the others. The Netherlands provides an example of such an effort. Toward the end of the 19th century, through the work of such Dutch scientists as Professors Snouck Hurgronje, Cornelis van Vollenhoven and Christiaan Eijkman, knowledge about Indonesia was transferred to, and developed in, Dutch universities, especially those of Leiden and Utrecht. The Netherlands became an outstanding center for Indonesian studies, so that it knew how to deal with the complex Indonesia and hence understand our intentions. To know means to gain knowledge. The Dutch and Australia are knowledge-based societies, where research plays an important role in policy making. As the younger generation in the Netherlands (i.e. policy makers, students, teachers, journalist, etc.) is now more European oriented, for the European Union is now the soko-guru (cornerstone) of Dutch foreign policy, knowledge about Indonesia is vigorously developed in Australia. Research by Arndt Graff (2002) of the University of Hamburg, revealed that the Netherlands now contributes less than 20 percent of all publications about Indonesia. And the market for Indonesian studies is progressively developing in Asia-Pacific countries, including Australia. Conversely, Indonesia has barely developed knowledge about Australia and the Netherlands. Despite the progress of Australian studies at the University of Indonesia, and various cooperations between ministries and universities or research centers, we need to cultivate more knowledge about Europe and Oceania and use it in our policy making process. It is rather unfortunate that many Indonesian students who are studying social science in the Netherlands and Australia are engaged more in Indonesian studies rather than European or Oceanian studies. While Indonesian studies are important and badly needed for our national development, we need to encourage our students in the Netherlands and Australia to gain more knowledge about the two important regions. Equally important for us is the need to develop a National Theses Library -- perhaps a body under the Indonesia Institute of Sciences -- to publish and manage all of the bachelor, graduate and postgraduate theses produced by Indonesian students in foreign and domestic academic institutions. The National Theses Library of Indonesia, so to speak, should become a center of reference for knowledge-based policy making. In this way, regional studies -- Asian, African, Oceanian, European, Middle Eastern and American -- and knowledge-based policy formulation could go hand in hand. Last but not least, there should be a change in the attitude of our policy makers that the use of knowledge, rather than the mere emphasis on "budget-oriented" projects, should be the basis of policy making. With such a knowledge-based approach, we could expect that our foreign policy would become more solid, focused, less speculative and less reactive, in addressing various important and sensitive issues. This article reflects the personal views of the writer, who is a minister counselor at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague, and who previously completed master's and PhD programs in Australia under Australian Development Scholarships. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. 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