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most generous, who frequently gave away more than 50%. Students worldwide from Pittsburgh to Jogjakarta, averaged a "rational" 45-50%. Among traditional peoples around the world, the scientist discovered that there is not an inherent sense of fairness and that views of generosity varied among peoples. Participants in some societies offered only 25% of their windfalls but were not punished for their "selfishness". It was acceptable conduct. The Indonesian whaling people had a different perception. Their life -related to catching whales--is best on mutualism and a great deal of coordination is required for success. In this type of community people are raised to trust more. They also disdain bad behavior and strive to maintain a good reputation. This may explain why among the many peoples studied, this Indonesian whaling community regularly gave away more than 55% their windfall in the "generosity game".
In Sumatra, Meanwhile, Autonomy Is Working
In March, Time Asia ran a lovely story by Jason Tedjakusuma about decentralization in West Sumatra, an area with a long history of democratic local self government. An except is reprinted below.
Harmaini, headman of the village of Padang Japang, is a political dinosaur. The calendar in his office is a year old and his pen and paper supply ran out weeks back. But the 63-year-old shows up everyday in a freshly-pressed safari suit, does some retirement planning and is actually eager to welcome his imminent replacement, a village chief elected in a whole new way. "I'm relieved," he says, "that we'll finally be going back to a system that truly suits our community."
Jakarta is voluntarily loosening its control of Indonesia's 361 regions, and that may be a factor in last week's gruesome troubles on Borneo. But in at least one part of the country, West Sumatra, decentralization is raising hopes of a more comfortable - and long-term - relationship with the central government. "Decentralization should be about taking power away from the government and handing it back to the people," says Alis Marajo, the head of Lima Puluh Kota district. "That's what we're doing in West Sumatra." from Time Asia
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Indonesian Tourist Arrivals Up In March Vs February
JAKARTA -- Indonesia's tourist arrivals rose 20% to 354,000 in March from 294,500 in February, the country's central bureau of statistics said Wednesday. This brings the total number of foreigners visiting the country during the first three months of this year to 978,000, compared with 962,400 during the same period a year ago. Dow Jones Newswires May 2, 2001
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| Political Affairs
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James Kelley, State's New Asia Policy Specialist
The Bush administration's senior State Department point person for Indonesia will be James Kelley, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Below are excerpts from his confirmation hearings in front of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee led by Senator Craig Thomas
Federal News Service
April 26, 2001
SEN. THOMAS: Thank you. Let me scoot back to Indonesia, one of the largest population areas in the world; growing chaos and violence and atrocities there, allegedly some by Indonesian military and so on. They've refused to prosecute on East Timor, kinds of things and so on. How do you view our policy of supporting the territorial integrity of Indonesia? Is that a policy that we'll maintain at all costs?
MR. KELLY: It's a policy that we're certainly -- if I'm confirmed, I will advocate supporting the territorial integrity. East Timor is now independent. That was a serious and contentious issue. And I don't believe that the interests of the people of Indonesia or, for that matter, the people of the United States, are served by a fragmented Indonesia that feeds fundamentalism, narrow regionalism and movements that, to put it most charitably, are very unstable and very dangerous. Chaos would be the result in a case like that, Senator, and I very much hope that our policy will try to influence that bad thing from happening.
SEN. THOMAS: One of the alleged difficulties there was kind of an uncontrolled military.
MR. KELLY: "Well, sir, any resumption of military cooperation really has to depend on the government of Indonesia's attention to human rights and the rule of law. There's a very troubled record by the armed forces of Indonesia in East Timor and elsewhere. We have no problem or I have no problem with the legislative restrictions that have been put on American contacts with the Indonesian army.
That said, the Indonesian army has been very much a part of the problem. It is also, I believe, going to be a part of the solution. And I think we're going to want to discuss with you and other members of the Congress ways in which we can, in a very careful way, try to resume helpful dialogues and contacts with the more positive elements within this huge army and this huge country.
I don't think there's any significant action; Indonesia, for example, which is going through -- and probably will continue to go through in the weeks, and maybe even this coming weekend, certainly for the months to come -- a very difficult period. The U.S. does have important influence in Indonesia, but it's a limited kind of an influence.
We can't just make a speech and expect things to happen.
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