WITH THE PRIME MINISTER Indonesia a hope for practical relationship

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33413, 20 December 1973, Page 9

WITH THE PRIME MINISTER Indonesia a hope for practical relationship

From CEDRIC MENTIPLAY)

DJAKARTA. December 15.

In this strange new world of big and small nations, of waning imperialism and of international groups in which the smaller nation is free only to cry "Me too!" New Zealand at present is finding much satisfaction in the fact that Indonesia is friendK.

Our Prime Minister (Mr Kirk) has found in the last few days that "friendly” is a feeble expression to describe his reception here. He has received flattering, attention, including nine-teen-gun salutes and some impressive displays by armed guards of honour. But perhaps none of these has pleased him more than the! close attention paid by Presi-I dent Suharto and Minister of Foreign Affairs Adam: Malik to what he has to say.! It does seem now as if Mr, Kirk set out with the charming of Indonesia as one of* the major objectives of his ! six-nation tour. After all, it; would seem that a nation of; 130.000.000 people would: have little in common with! one of rising 3,000,000. But perhaps there is a basic reason to the contrary. The Indonesian leaders are' not happy 'with the big powers—no matter how much they disclaim ideas of imperial power. Neither are they satisfied with recent showings by Australia. Whether accidentally or otherwise, the policies of Mr Whitlam have; created feelings of unsettlement in South-East Asia. Once these feeling tended to pass to New Zealand, as another elder member of the British Commonwealth; but this is so no longer. New Zealand has managed to achieve a certain separatism at a time when it is sorely needed. It is significant—though it will not be received with joy by the "Old Empire” people among us, that "Godi Defend New Zealand” has! supplanted “God Save the! Queen” as our tune for ceremonial occasions. Nr/ f •determination Quite a bit of Mr Kirk’s| endeavours while here have’ related to areas in whichj small, highly-developed New Zealand, with its reputation) for losing some of its best: people to other countries! via the "brain drain,” can) lead and advise.

New Zealanu has already accepted the task of harnessing the considerable geo-l thermal steam resources of Indonesia, and setting up an; initial two power stations; producing a useful five mega-! watts of base-load electricity.! Other long-term negotiation has related to using New Zealand expertise in the search for oil. Mr Kirk reacted quite sharply to a question which asked whether too many such offers would overextend New Zealand capacity. “There is no overextension, nor will there be!” Mr Kirk said. “The main trouble in the past has been under-exten-sion, under-imagination, under-emphasis.” “We have suffered from the loss of our experts—our engineers, our doctors, our scientists, our architects. You see them all round the world today, paying in other countries the dividends of expertise they learned here.”! Mr Kirk wants it to bei possible for New Zealanders) to go on working to chai-' lenging projects initiated) within their own country.! “Our people have to be given! a demanding role, with work! requiring all their skills. It is because this atmosphere! was lacking in the past; that we have lost these; people.” He believes that the Com-! mon Market arrangements] made at Luxemburg were! made on the arguments of politics. “We have to seek' new political relationships.” “We are new in this field, as previously we were part of an imperial relationship. We have to succeed, and for this it hardly matters whether the politcal climate I is fair or foul. For us there is no other choice.” Certainly to the small group of New Zealanders travelling with the Prime Minister, arrival in Djakarta is like projection into another world. There are similarities with other cities in ! South-East Asia, but the : concentrations are different, Ithe emphases quite disoriented. Djakarta is a painfully-ex-,panding city of 4,500,000, where there were 500.000 only forty years ago. The

mere laci that it has more : than 300 years of Dutch paternalism behind it has a: pictorial value only. When a! iimonsoonal thunder-shower! < roars down, the ancient; /drainage system gives up; /and the roads become rivers. j |! The people don’t seem to) . worry. They laugh a) , lot —and when the car,! truck, cycle-taxi or motor-1 , bicycle breaks down, they) . pile off and push. This hap-j pened yesterday, when Mr , Kirk was in the middle of ! . his calls. ) One aspect of Indonesian I life which would not appeal ■ to some of our citizens is ! the emphasis on military ’ service. Almost inevitably, • during a Prime Ministerial tour, Mr Kirk and his party ■ have been surrounded by soldiers, armed police and • paramilitary forces through- • out their stay. i The Indonesian soldier—at • least the one chosen for an r honourguard—is well turned 'I out, with arms which, • i though sometimes quite old, dare well cared for by any .'standard. II There seems to be a pro-; J fusion of special forces, rangding from the purely mill;|tary, with peaked caps and ;-! pipeclayed webbing, to the i | sinister-looking blue-bereted forces wearing low-slung J Colt 45 automatics, and even 'j at times carrying sub-machine-guns. / The Indonesians fought a J j grim war for self-determina- ' tion, and another one to Hhold on to what they ‘ had—and they are very proud of the fact. As a vis- - iting head of state, Mr Kirk 1 found himself yesterday ■ sprinkling flowers on graves flat a “heroes’ cemetery,” in sj which some graves bore an J [American helmet, some a Neither is the Indonesian 1 form of government one we s can readily understand. The ; fact is, however, that the i! House of Parliament is • handsomer than anything we - have or plan. Indeed, it i bears a faint resemblance to : the new’ Christchurch Town , Hall, but leans more heavily - on massive concrete beams. If Indonesia and New Zea- • land are to be partners in , peaceful co-existence, there ) is much each should learn i about the other.