Daily commentary on Asian business strategy, management, market research, marketing tips, business prospects, economic and culture news. Market prospects. Economic prospects. Short reviews, links, advice, satire and topical coverage for international and Asian managers doing business in Asia.

The Hari Ini column is available daily on the Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine home page. Sure.. go there now for more of the same. At least it's fresher...

This page contains one month of the archives.

The Hari Ini column documents off-the cuff comments, very odd spots, unsubstantiated rumours, misinterpretations, cruel innuendo, limp jokes, dodgy links, tips lacking in credibility, and other material very roughly related to Asian business, marketing, management, culture, politics, economics and why the earth is round.

Some of the items emerge into sections later on; some are contributed by email or word of mouth by friends of the forum, columnists, editorial advisors, and the Chao Phraya River Rat. ..Most of it just ends up here...

Basically it means we can at least comment on happenings that we wouldn't otherwise have the time to.

"Hari Ini" means "Today" in both Malaysian and Indonesian.

..Which means that everything on this page is already outta date...

As the masthead suggests, this column also includes all the news that doesn't fit..

It also means we can add some lightheartedness and CNN type shallowness to our otherwise more serious content. As CNN proves, such content sells...

Mostly the column just reflects the mood of the editors on the day, and gives a potted summary of key issues in the region. If you want it to reflect your mood as well, email us contributions at chiyo@apmforum.com.

Chiyo Hyiuiki (Webmaster, and on behalf of the editors)

Merdeka Day in Malaysia today. The annual Malaysia national day holiday celebrates independence from the British forty three years ago. Happy Mederka to all our Malaysian readers. | The more things change... the more they stay the same... How much to license a bank in the new Asia? In one case in South East Asia, it's 10,000,000 US - and that's before you take into account funds exchanged over the table... The $10,000,000 was for kick backs, paid under the table twice, once to the responsible minister at the time to get licensed, and once to the highest level of politics last month to get on the list again when restructuring came around. In fact the cheif honcho was adamant that the same kick back had to be paid to him, as was paid to his former sacked minister. In the past few years many Asian countries have restructured their banking systems, some like Singapore, before the crisis, and others like Indonesia, Thailand and Korea, forced into it.. In the example above, the first 10 M found its way into the election funds of the former minister's political cronies, the second 10 M found its way into the election funds of the latter's cronies in the same party. Complex bidding processes are becoming more popular in Asia post crisis - in an endeavour to give the appearance of accountability and fairness. In reality, the process is a mere formality. The prize usually goes to the bidder who has done their research best and diverted the most money into the most grateful (and dependable) hands. | One of our correspondants in Bangkok has reported back that the inspirationally-named "Clinton Plaza", yet another go-go "entertainment plaza" first reported in this column last year, is doing great business. Smack (excuse the expression) in the middle of the tourist hotel precinct in downtown Sukhumvit, it now boasts a clone of the "Rock Hard" in Phuket, and opening September 15th, yet another bar chock full of bikini-clad hoofers named "The White House". We're not sure what Clinton's legacy will be internationally, but Bangkok's go-go establishment has decided already. So far, according to our correspondant, no cigar stall to be found.... | That's All Folks! Carl Barks, Disney's longest serving Donald Duck cartoonist died last week at the age of 99. There must be no other profession as satisfying than those dedicated to making people happy. For after all is said and done, what would you prefer to say on your death bed? - that you became a millionnaire - or that you made the world a happier place for literally millions of people? | Thailand is one of the few places countries to take democracy so seriously that election days are afforded the same respect as Royal birthdays and religious holidays - the pubs are all ordered to shut. ..Unless of course you have enough Baht to pay off the local constabulary of course. And now Thailand has its own independent website for political junkies. Thailand is not in so urgent need of the independent political coverage afforded neighbouring Malaysia by the excellent malaysiakini.com, but there are dark clouds on the horizon in Thailand from an increasing merging of interests between media and political clout. Local celeb Rapeepan Luangaramrut has launched a site called politicsthailand.com to give some balance to the other self-interest sites like thaksin.net, chuan.th.org, and samak2000.com Political aspirants can have their own section of the site for 20,000 Baht. As a mate of late Thai PM General Chatichai Choonhaven and present deputy education minister Karnchana Silapaarcha, expect some tasty exclusives in coming months.

Kuala Lumpur: Tuesday August 22nd 2000

No durians; no fish sauce: The famed durian, the Malaysian version being the most authentic (smellier than the rest), has been banned from airlines, to say nothing of hotel rooms and taxis, for years. And now the pungent smelly fish sauce that is a required condiment on Indo-Chinese dinner tables is also a victim. Vietnam Airlines yesterday banned Nuoc mam, the finest example of the genre and native of the island of Phu Quoc, from being boarded on aircraft. Customs officials on the island have been alerted to add the sauce to other prohibited items such as guns, knives and the like. According to AFP, a bottle of the delicacy was spilled on one flight, causing paroxysms of distress from foreign passengers. And just in case you don't know, the sauce that you liberally sprinkle over your Keow Pad is made by leaving small fish to ferment for six months to a year in large barrels of sea salt and water. ..Now you know... | For those who still call Australia home, check the Australians Abroad web site. Lots of info for Ozzie expats, dicussion, and links. Hopefully they will have the result of the AFL Grand Final as soon as the final siren sounds... | The Bangkok Post has published an extensive Mid Year Economic Report for Thailand | The National Eye Centre (Singapore) has reported that Lion City residents have the worst eyesight in the world. Thirty-four percent of young children are reportedly myopic, with this number accelerating. For seven-year-olds, the number has doubled in three years, particularly among those of Chinese descent. Possible solutions? Genetics and the environment of course. However, follow up studies will investigate other possibilities, such as too much homework, as well as too much time in front of television and computer screens. | Planning on investing in Burma? Be prepared for the monthly na lone ti holiday. The unofficial holiday occurs from the third through the ninth of each month and coincides with the release of national lottery results. Businesses often close as the nation becomes obsessed with the daily offering of numbers. However, most players aren't interested in the complicated official lottery but, rather, are concerned with its illegal offshoot, the na lone ti, or two digit lottery. This variation is both cheaper and offers better odds than it's official cousin. Players choose two numbers, rather than eight in the official version, with the winner being determined by the last two digits of the official draw. Winners receive 80 times their initial investment and can redeem their winnings immediately. | Afghanistan won't be joining the rest of the world at the Sydney Olympic Games next month. The Taliban government tipped its hand towards this decision recently when a visiting Pakistani football team had their heads unceremoniously shaved. Their offence, wearing shorts in the Islamic state. | They've got a little list: Police in Bangkok have started compiling a list of gunmen and gangsters for a crackdown prior to upcoming elections in November. More than 100 individuals are currently on the blacklist. The usual law and order campaign before the polls? Not really. The police intend to round up these potential troublemakers in advance of the election to prevent intimidation and violence during the campaign. The grenade blast during last month's election for the Bangkok governorship reminded everyone that politics in Thailand is often about more than simply getting out the vote. | Who says Communism is all bad? Macau, the poor cousin to Hong Kong, has enjoyed a minor renaissance since being handed back to China by former colonial ruler Portugal last year. Tourism is up by 21% for the first seven months of this year and, most importantly, government coffers are filling. Income from gambling taxes has increased by 25% to US$ 336 million over the previous year.

Kuala Lumpur: Wednesday August 16th 2000

Singapore lion hatches pussies: According to a survey by Singapore Press Holdings, only 7% of Singaporeans are "prepared to voice their opinions at public forums or through the mass media". 93% would prefer to remain silent. Behavioural psychologists and common sense (uncommon bedfellows to be sure) have the answer of course - people, like Pavlovian rats, repeat behaviors that are rewarded, and avoid behaviours that are not. And Skinner taught us that these "learned behaviours" persist well after rewards are changed. It will take more than Speaker's Corners and a government campaign to encourage debate. Still at least a start has been made. For the measure of a confident competent economy is how well they listen and react positively to their dissidents. | Korean chaebol Samsung boasts their own Economic unit - and their Samsung Economic Research Unit provides a wealth of free information on the South Korean economy. | You will be hearing a lot more from us about ESOMAR's Asia Pacific Market Research Conference, this year to be held in Bangkok. If you are a market research professional, the program looks well worth a visit to the kingdom. | I stood tall.. and did it.. the Khmer Way..: Malaysia deported all their Filipino lounge bands mid-crisis to the immense relief of your editors who had quite enough of listening to Leaving on a Jet Plane for the umpteenth time performed by teens in red hot-pants reading the words from bits of paper. Only 18 months later the government reversed its decision as Malaysians got even sicker of listening to the insipid strains of "Song Bird", a 10 year-old pop song, probably the definitive example of the middle-of-the-road genre, that is one of the few Western ditties politically-correct enuff to broadcast, mainly due to the fact that it had no words. Maybe for this reason it became a fave tune of the Otis Elevator Company and just about every other Malaysian enterprise that wanted to lull consumers into a state just above comatose - perfect for a dose of subliminal advertising or propaganda (Ah! so that's how Mahathir did it...). Now the Cambodian government has woken up to pop-culture-imperialism and has ordered karaoke clubs in Phnom Penh that local songs have to be played at least two thirds of the time. So brush up your Khmer before your next visit. It just may be that the non-Khymer quota has already been reached and the world will be saved from your version of My Way. If you've forgotten the informal Karaoke rules, web historians and aficionados may also wish to re-live Blanchard's 1995 visit to a KL Karaoke joint. The long lost but never forgotten Blanchard was one of the first APMF columnists, in good old text-only and battle-ship grey background, and indeed one of the first on the Net. | Jagdith Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at the Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA warns that academics are in danger of becoming redundant in the information age. In this month's interview from Emerald Now, he says "...The "half life" of knowledge in electrical engineering is five years. In management and in marketing it is far shorter. In marketing, for example, the "half life" of knowledge is only 18 months. Unfortunately, we academics are still in the Napa Valley when the world has gone Silicon Valley. This is a big "disconnect"..." He's right of course. Usually by the time the boffins have analyzed a problem, or even identified that one exists, it has gone away to be replaced by new ones. Thank goodness the academics who read this forum are the exceptions.. | It's not us but they have good articles too... The Pacific Form publishes Asian economic and business articles regularly. Well worth a visit...

Kuala Lumpur: Monday August 14th 2000

Business holiday in Thailand today (Monday) to celebrate the Queen's birthday on Saturday | Another recalcitrant hits the road. According to the Singapore Business Times, "...Malaysia's national carmaker Proton announced yesterday that the Japanese member of its board, who questioned its chances of survival without protective tariffs as a small carmaker in an industry of ever-larger giants, has resigned. The remarks by Fumio Yoshimi, who is also general manager in South-east Asia for Proton's strategic partner, Mitsubishi Motor Corp, were slammed by the Malaysian government and highlighted looming difficulties facing the country's treasured programme of building a car industry..." | Drugs, Arms & Automobiles... Bangkok's The Nation newspaper continued its weekly examination of Southeast Asia's flourishing drug trade by naming names. The Burma-centred trade in amphetamines and heroin has, quite naturally, expanded to include weapons and stolen vehicles, largely Toyota Landcruisers. Go to the Who's Who in the Zoo of the Golden Triangle. | The More Things Change... Singapore, not generally known as a bastion of free speech, is establishing its own Speakers' Corner. In true Lion City spirit, however, it will differ slightly from its model in London. Only Singapore citizens will be allowed to rant and, even then, they must register with police up to 30 days in advance of their moment in the sun. Religion will be off-limits, as will any speech that has the..."potential to cause feelings of enmity, hatred, ill will or hostility between different racial or religious groups..." say police. This left Hari Ini's editors slightly confused. Given Singapore's draconian libel laws, what else is left? | ...the More Things Stay the Same: Le Kha Phieu, General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, has attacked the state media for the practice of accepting bribes from individuals in return for complimentary press coverage. Comrade Phieu stated that the media had a duty to check the accuracy of what they were reporting. ...Well Comrade, lets not get carried away there... | A Hands-on Leader: Knock Yokohama, the former governor of Osaka, received an eighteen-month sentence, suspended, after pleading guilty to molesting an assistant for 30 minutes during his re-election campaign last year. If the gov can keep his hands to himself for the next three years he can keep himself out of jail. | That great sucking sound... Honda announced that, for the first time in its corporate history, it will import foreign-built models into Japan. So which low-wage nation will be producing the three-door model Civics? Korea? Malaysia? Thailand? Guess again. The cars will be coming from Honda's new plant in the UK. This is not exactly good news for a country in its tenth year of economic stagnation. | Only 33 Aussie dollars now to fly Sydney to Brisbane as new airline entrant Impulse Airlines attempts to shake up some cozy pricing strategies. You have to book on-line and for a flight between August 28th to September 11th, among other conditions. |

Kuala Lumpur: Friday August 11th 2000

Your old rules are rapidly changing: Ex Thai Deputy PM Sanan Kachornprasart was found guilty yesterday of falsifying his asset statement plunging the ruling Chuan-led Democrat party into crisis leading up to a general election maybe as early as November. Read the analysis from the Chao Phraya River Rat on the fight against corruption in Thailand, and the implications for the upcoming November elections. | Some new research and working papers from the US National Bureau of Economic Research: The Razor's Edge: Distortions and Incremental Reform in the People's Republic of China, and Does the "New Economy" Measure up to the Great Inventions of the Past? | Thai coppers get transparant: A few years back, Kuala Lumpur karaoke bars were forced to replace the opaque walls of the "private rooms" with glass, no doubt to discourage patrons and GROs from engaging in behaviours they would not normally carry out in public. Now Bangkok traffic police have been asked to remove the tinted film from the windows of their booths. "Currently, when traffic policeman arrest offenders, they take the violators inside the booth to talk, causing the public to think there is something fishy going on inside", said Metro chief copper Lt. General Wannarat Kajarak. Seems transparency is catching... | The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) most recent review includes the the August 2, 2000 speech given by Donald T. Brash, Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which deals with the Reserve Bank and the current rise in inflation, and a speech by Koh Yong Guan, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. | Malaysian newspapers reported the Anwar verdict buried well behind the more useful reports on the court appearance of Islam terrorist behind the arms hiest alleged to have strong relationships with Malaysia's opposition Islamic based PAS party. Meanwhile, the rest of the world decided the Anwar verdict was more news-worthy that day. Thailand took a diplomatic view as did many other ASEAN countries, hiding behind the "highly useful" principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. With almost all South East Asian countries facing economic and/or problems, adhering to this principle assures each country that others wont criticise you - but also ensures that South East Asia continues to spiral towards isolationism and reduces the ability to ask the hard questions. Elsewhere the US, Australia, and New Zealand have been highly critical as have been the Malaysian Bar Council, the Thai Muslim Youth's Association, Amnesty and other Human Rights Associations. Malaysia's Legal Affairs Minister Rais Yatim explains the criticisms as part of the world conspiracy against Malaysia, and Mahathir and others, quite rightly, have reminded the rest of the world, that Anwar this time was convicted of sodomy - hardly a political crime. Mahathir descibed Anwar as a "sexual deviate" - a startling reflection on his own ability to pick the right sucessors seeing Anwar was his previous right hand man, and one who he had groomed for leadership for more than a decade. Yet concerns do exist on the impartiality of the Malaysian justice system, especially where serious areas of doubt existed in the evidence presented and sworn allegations of statements extracted under police brutality and psychological pressure. Malaysia would be far better served to do what they are have done with serious aplomb through the media for several months. After attacking Anwar's character endlessly, they are now ignoring him, towards the highly likely outcome, given the behaviour of Malaysians over the past few years, that he will be forgotten. Singapore are basking in the world attention on Malaysia, happy that they have lost their mantle of the human rights bad boys of South East Asia, and the media is distracted from their own record in such matters. It is well past time that the fragile ego of the Malaysian élite realised that it is far better to ignore critical comments from overseas if you know you are right. Why bother getting into a bun fight with people that don't matter, when Malaysia Boleh (Malaysia Can!) all by itself? We are sure that is what Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew will be advising when he makes his first official visit to Malaysia next week for a decade. ...Then again he may not want to lose one of Singapore's competitive advantages...

Kuala Lumpur: Wednesday August 9th 2000

Closure? Was God expressing his displeasure when KL was deluged with a downpour shortly after Anwar was sentenced to 9 years to be served consecutively with his previous sentence yesterday? Can we now put the Anwar verdict behind us and get on with business in Malaysia? The Chao Phraya River Rat analyzes the implications of the Anwar verdict for Malaysia, still seeing many competitive advantages for Malaysian business, but national governance is not one of them... | Who would be an Asian pollie? While in Malaysia the courts were twisting the sword into an ex PM, over in Indonesia, corruption charges were finally laid against Soeharto. Perhaps there are worse jobs than the editor of the APMF... | You can keep your hat on: It must be difficult running a bar in a less-than-salubrious precinct of Bangkok. The Silver Dollar Bar in Washington Square assures patrons on each page of their menu of the hygiene of their offerings. "Our food is very clean" is the somewhat reassuring claim on the first page. The final page offers the clincher however ... "...Our cooks wash their hands and keep their hat on..." | Meanwhile back in KL central, one Indian restaurant truly believes in honesty in advertising. The name of the eatery? "Fierce Curry House". We just hope it doesn't apply to the cook when you complain about the food | New Bangkok governors have a tradition of announcing high profile mega projects in the first few weeks of their term, and newly elected Samak is no different. Seems he is thinking of replacing Bangkok river taxis with the Amsterdam styled broad bottomed boats where passengers actually site below the water line. Existing operators are none too happy. Looking confused, one commented, "...But that would mean we have to actually stop at the ferry stops..." As an aside, Bangkok river taxis are highly recommended for visitors to get a quick overview of the city, and yes, you have to be nimble as the boats do actually slow down but don't actually stop as you board and alight. Passengers ending up in the drink are not uncommon. But at 8 to 15 baht (15 - 30 US cents) for a one hour ride, what do you expect? | To say the atmosphere in the court was tense as Anwar and the beak exchanged jibes during Anwar's post sentencing statement, would be an understatement. At one stage the judge also took the role as doctor and advised Anwar that "...You are a sick man..." ..Still we guess that if a medico can be Prime Minister, it's only fair that a judge can be a doctor too...

Kuala Lumpur: Sunday August 6th 2000

Naval Gazing: Malaysia's submarine policy has drawn mixed reviews in the Bangkok press. It was front-page material in Bangkok's The Nation on August 1. The line flowing across the front pages concerned the spawning of a new regional arms race and speculated that this move would undermine Thailand's continuing efforts to modernise it's surface fleet. For it's part, the Bangkok Post, quoting Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Pallop Suntarapai on August 2, pointed out that the party truly threatened by this move would be China, in the ongoing dispute over the Spratly Islands. He seems to understand that one uses submarines to deny seas to adversaries, not to project force. At least it's better than that claptrap about stopping terrorists taking hostages off Borneo. | Who says politics is a man's game? Story of the week is a rumour that was being spread by Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, leader of the New Aspiration Party (NAP) - (affectionately known at the APMF as the New Exasparation Party). Apparently Chavalit told reporters that PM Chuan Leekpai's mother, Thuan, had consulted a fortune-teller who advised her to change her name to Panikar (to live) in order for him to become PM for a third term. According to Chuan, "Mae (Mother) Thuan is still Mae Thuan." He described Gen. Chavalit both as "silly" and stated "I think he is way out of his mind.". ...So.. what's new?... Thavorn Senniam, secretary to the Interior Minister was more colourful. "The New Aspiration leader may still be in a dream or he may not be in his right mind, or he may have contracted a communicable disease from his wife." Now that's hitting below the belt.... | Speaking of the NAP, the party's former economic advisor will be released on bail today in the United States (3 Aug). Surasak Nananukul is in San Diego awaiting charges of attempting to violate a United Nations embargo by smuggling oil out of Iraq. His family and friends posted the US$ 450,000 for bail but he must wear an electronic shackle that sounds an alarm if he moves more than 150 ft from his guarantor's residence. If they could only come up with such a device to alert taxpayers when politicians get near the treasury... | Hawker's Holiday no more: Gen. Samak Sundarevej, Bangkok's new governor has honoured his pledge to end the ban on street vendors working on Wednesdays. Vendors will be expected to keep their stalls clean and will now be charged a daily fee of Bt5 per square metre for cleaning by city crews. Said Samak; "Each vendor would pay the city no more than Bt20 a day. ...And city police will no longer extort protection money from the vendors." Sure General. Sure... | Shades of Seattle? Bangalore, India's answer to Silicon Valley and the MSC, is in a state of emergency after widespread rioting. Did the WTO come to town? Not exactly. Veerappan, India's most wanted bandit, kidnapped Raj Kumar, a 72-year-old matinee idol, and three relatives from his forested farm in neighbouring Tamil Nadu State. Veerappan, wanted for smuggling ivory and sandlewood, responsible for the killings of 2000 elephants, as well as the murders of 138 people, left behind an audiocassette asking for a state government representative to meet with him. The ensuing rioting by Kannada speakers (Raj Kumar appeared in Kannada language films) in Bangalore closed the city, disrupting road and rail traffic and left one person dead. Order was only restored after 10,000 police personnel were deployed in and around the city. Needless to say there will be no IT work for several days | Dog bites Man: In an editorial in Wednesday's Nation, the paper castigated US presidential candidate George W. Bush's foreign policy after a televised interview with Stephen J. Hadley, Bush's foreign policy advisor. Based on Hadley's statements, the paper concluded that a Bush Asia policy would extend no further south than Taiwan. Asean nations were generally ignored, despite pointed questions from Asian journalists. Lamenting the Clinton Administration's lack of policy towards the region, the paper warns that Southeast Asia is a region that the US cannot take for granted. "...If Asean continues to be ignored … the next American leader may find a different ideology flowering in the region, one which it will not … be able to influence..." Who says that Thailand is only a developing nation?... They are beginning to sound like Canadians already. | And just on the US elections, we may have fun with headlines around here.. but finally a bold copywriter in the US came up with the headline that stretches credibility and many others decided to leave well alone - "Clinton rejects Bush"... | The Stock Exchange of Thailand is too small for big money. The latest critic of the Bangkok bourse? The Thai Government Pension Fund. The Fund has received agreement in principle from the Bank of Thailand to begin looking abroad for investment opportunities for the 117 billion baht employee pension fund. This is obviously a big step for the Fund, but reflects the lack of quality investments on the SET. Currently the Fund only has 7% of its holdings in Thai equities. Says Nawaporn Ryanskul, secretary-general of the Fund, "Money needs a place to go. You can't just hold cash.".

Kuala Lumpur: Thursday August 3rd 2000

Again apologies for the late updates this week due to our hard disk crash. Things will be back to normal by Friday. ...And its back to Malaysia this week for a fun-filled week in glorious downtown Kuala Lumpur. It all started with the announcement of a crack-down (if you will excuse the expression) on Ecstacy being consumed in night clubs. MCA (One of the two major Chinese parties in the governing Barisan Nasional government) pollie Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik noted that ecstacy users can spend up to 10 hours non-stop dancing... Now where can we pick up a pill to get employees to work for more than 10 minutes in a row?... That would be REAL ECSTACY... | Malaysia's official newsagency also reported Ling saying that "...many road accidents happened because the youths (sic) liked to listen to loud music and do the head-banging while driving their cars on the road.." ...Beware the head-banging Proton drivers... PM Mahathir meanwhile has come up with his own "101 reasons why you shoudn't attend demos" this week. Top of the list is that it will damage the economy because stall holders will have their business disrupted. The Education minister has also announced that "a close watch" will be carried out for students and teachers taking part in any rallies on what protest organisers are calling Judgement Day - tomorrow's handing down of the judgement on Anwar's sodomy charges. They should stay in school and not disrupt their studies, according to the PM. Politics in Malaysia is for grown-ups only obviously. | Search Engine junkies would be interested to know that Alta Vista has made some major changes to the look of their Search Portal - and we expect a change for the better for their index any day soon. We still find Google the fastest way to find relevant Web resources, followed closely by the the little-known ix-quick. | Could this be a new Mahathir, who has routinely blamed foreigners, jews, the global financial system and Western evils in general for almost all problems in Malaysia? In a rare show of soul searching the father of Malaysia admitted mistakes in the handling of Perjawa Steel in an interview with the Malaysian Gossip magazine, ...and suddenly he seems more human... The "top down" method of wealth creation never really stands a chance in a region where when you get a Ringgit, you make as sure as possible that you keep as much as possible for yourself. For most, the "trickle down" theory which has justified much economic policy in South East Asia, is a cruel joke.. | All mates again. Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Akbar Tanjung, Parliamentary speaker and Golkar king maker, and National assembly chairman Amien Rais had a chit chat on Tuesday and annonuced they would work together "for the good of the nation". Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono was also present. Divisiveness has characterised Indonesian politcs recently, stimulated by power struggles in the 4 major parties and nakes ambition by Amien Rais in particular. Hardly a good example for a people that must work togther to acheive an enormous potential. Time will tell if actions speak louder than words, and we will have an Indonesia where business planning at last will make some sense. All good Muslims of course, they wont be having a beer together to make up. Maybe just lighting up a Gudang Garam...