The Foreigners Are The Cause Of All The Countries Problems

[Mr Lee]

Boy this sounds just like it could be the Philippines they are talking about. Of course, the dark forces against such an open-door policy remain alive and well. So does the historic xenophobia that prompts politicians to occasionally blast foreigners and blame them for all of Indonesia's problems, which helps explain the country's dismal tourism figures. The latest such tirade came from Patrialis Akbar, the minister of justice and human rights. Patrialis matter-of-factly declared last week that it was a foreigner's fault that convicted tax cheat Gayus Tambunan was able to leave Indonesia at will last year on a fake passport while he was supposed to have been in jail awaiting trial for corruption. Yes, of course, it's not the fault of the police guards who accepted bribes, or the immigration officials who allowed Gayus to leave the country. No, it was some unknown American's fault for allegedly helping to get him a fake passport. And this alleged scoundrel, John Jerome Grice, who also allegedly had a bogus foreign residency sponsor, has left the country. The Indonesian government's attempts to nab Grice by contacting Interpol and requesting a "red flag" be issued against him are laughable. As if this guy matters in the big picture, which in Gayus's case is massive collusion and corruption among the National Police, state prosecutors, a court judge and tax-evading big business. Perhaps if Patrialis focused his energies on getting back all those fugitive Indonesian business tycoons who robbed the country of billions during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and then fled to Singapore, the country's child malnutrition and poverty rates would be lower. Of course, that would require senior government officials to take responsibility for the mind-boggling corruption, injustices and impunity that are occurring with increasing frequency in Indonesia as its democracy and anticorruption drives flounder. Instead, Patrialis says he's going to launch a crackdown on foreigners working in Indonesia — as if expats are the source of everything that ails the country. I'm looking forward to any new regulations, apparently with the minister personally reviewing every one of the tens of thousands of foreign work permits. The whole story HERE