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Zuraidah Ibrahim

Phila Siu

Indonesian President Joko Widodo wants Chinese investors in his country to build a name as long-term partners that create jobs for locals, the way Hong Kong firms have done.
In an exclusive interview with This Week in Asia ahead of his visit to the city on Sunday, he highlighted the phenomenal growth of Chinese investments in Indonesia, which rose more than 300 per cent from 2015 to US$2.7 billion last year.
Watch: Widodo speaks to SCMP about Chinese investment

“I have conveyed to investors from China that they should not bring too many of their own workers into the country as we in Indonesia already have a lot of untapped labour,” he said. “If it is technical expertise, they are welcome to bring their own, but Indonesia has a lot of workers.”
Widodo, the first self-made entrepreneur to be elected to the highest office of Asia’s third-largest nation, is known as a pragmatist. He also has a reputation for pushing back against ethnic and religious nationalism.
Jakarta’s ethnic Chinese leader is gone, is it Widodo next?
Indonesia has had a complex relationship with its tiny ethnic Chinese community, which includes some of the country’s biggest tycoons. Anti-Chinese sentiment is occasionally whipped up by hardliners.
This month, the ethnic Chinese and Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, lost the gubernatorial election after a campaign marked by inflammatory racial and religious appeals to the Muslim majority.

The recent wave of mainland Chinese investors – mostly in manufacturing, ports, transport, electricity, mining and construction – has also ruffled feathers.
China leapfrogged from being the 9th largest investor in 2015 to third place last year, behind Singapore and Japan. But the 4,000-odd Chinese projects have been dogged by rumours of millions of Chinese workers brought into the country illegally. The government has tried to counter such claims with data showing that only 31,000 Chinese workers entered last year, with 21,000 of them on temporary work passes. Labour unions are not convinced.
In the interview at the presidential palace in Jakarta, Widodo made clear that Chinese investors would continue to be welcomed, but also stressed the need to show their commitment to Indonesia by phasing out their own workers and localising their manpower and management.

He held up Hong Kong firms as a positive example. “Our Hong Kong investors are very strong. They believe in long-term investment. They respect our laws, they respect our culture and society,” he said.
Watch: Widodo's message to Hong Kong investors ahead of his visit to the city

Last year, Hong Kong was the fourth-largest investor, at US$2.2 billion. While mainland China is relatively new to the scene, Hong Kong has been among the top 10 investors for nearly two decades. Many Hong Kong investors took significant stakes in Indonesian companies that needed to be bailed out during the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
Widodo, his paranoid general and a ‘rotting situation’ in Indonesia
Widodo cited Jardine Matheson, which has a big stake in Indonesia’s Astra International. Astra is Southeast Asia’s largest independent automotive group. With a workforce of more than 214,000 workers and a market value of US$27 billion, Astra has an almost exclusively Indonesian workforce – with just three foreigners, one of them on its board.
“This shows the human resources capabilities Indonesia can deliver,” Widodo said.
He also referred approvingly to a mainland Chinese company engaged in nickel smelting in Sulawesi. It halved its Chinese workforce from 2,000 within a year. All Chinese workers are to be sent back when the plant is fully operational. “That’s the point of investment,” he said.
Widodo’s aggressive plan to transform Indonesia’s infrastructure dovetails with China’s belt and road initiative to link economies into a China-centred trading network. Chinese investors’ interest perked up after President Xi Jinping (習近平) visited the republic in 2013 and became the first foreign leader to address the Indonesian parliament. Widodo has met Xi at least five times and is among the heads of state expected to attend next month’s Belt and Road Summit in Beijing. He said he was keen to hear more details and how Indonesia could “accrue more benefits” from the initiative.

Widodo also addressed the controversy surrounding the recent Jakarta gubernatorial election, which most observers have taken as a worrying sign of the growing appeal of hardline Islamists in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation – possibly jeopardising his own re-election bid in 2019.
Widodo brushed aside such fears: “Our diversity is still strong. But in elections, emotions are always inflamed.”
He noted Indonesia was more than just Jakarta. “This year, we’ll have 101 local elections – 101! And next year, there will be 171 local elections,” he said. “My responsibility now, after the elections, is to bring society back together again to be united and work together to develop the country.”
During his two-day visit to Hong Kong, Widodo will hold several closed-door meetings with business leaders. A one on one with Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, is scheduled for Monday, the Post has learnt. Also in the works is a meeting with at least eight prominent businessmen, including leaders of Kerry Group, Jardine Matheson, Hutchison, Swire, HSBC and Bank of China.


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Widodo wants Chinese to keep coming – as investors, not workers

Indonesian president holds up Hong Kong firms as an example to their mainland counterparts

Widodo

Chinese President Xi Jinping (front L) accompanies Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (front R) to view an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 26, 2015. Widodo is in China following his four-day visit to Japan. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Feng Li / AFP PHOTO / POOL / FENG LI

Widodo speaks to This Week in Asia. Photo: Thomas Yau

FILE PHOTO: Indonesian President Joko Widodo (2nd L) and the general manager of China Railway Corp. Sheng Guangzu (C) stand next to a train model as they attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the Jakarta-Bandung fast-train railway line in Walini, West Java province, Indonesia January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Garry Lotulung/File Photo

President Xi Jinping and Joko Widodo in Hangzhou in September. Photo: AP

Jakarta’s ethnic Chinese leader is gone, is it Widodo next?

Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Photo: Reuters

epa05915004 Jakarta governor candidate Anies Baswedan (R) hugs his runnig mate Sandiaga Uno (L) after exit polls in Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 April 2017. Indonesia votes in a local election for Jakarta's Governor after a campaign period with religious tensions following the blasphemy trial involving the incumbent governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama. EPA/BAGUS INDAHONO

epa05914385 Anies Baswedan, Jakarta governor candidate, displays his ink marked fingers after voting at a polling station in Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 April 2017. Indonesia votes in a local election for Jakarta's Governor after a campaign period with religious tensions following the blasphemy trial involving the incumbent governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama. EPA/ADI WEDA

Supporters of Jakarta governor candidate Anies Baswedan react as Baswedan leads the count at the Petamburan flat polling station in Jakarta, Indonesia April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta

Anies Baswedan, second from left, celebrates his victory. Photo: EPA

epa05914804 Jakarta's incumbent governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama looks up shortly before speaking to journalists on a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 April 2017. According to media reports, the incumbent governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama is defeated by his Muslim challenger Anies Baswedan in a run-off election after a campaign period with religious tensions following the blasphemy trial involving the incumbent governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama. EPA/MAST IRHAM

epa05914646 Chairman of Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party Prabowo Subianto (C) talks to journalists accompanied by Anies Baswedan (R), Jakarta governor candidate, and his vice governor candidate Sandiaga Uno (L) after exit polls in Jakarta, Indonesia, 19 April 2017. Indonesia votes in a local election for Jakarta's Governor after a campaign period with religious tensions following the blasphemy trial involving the incumbent governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama. EPA/BAGUS INDAHONO

Widodo, his paranoid general and a ‘rotting situation’ in Indonesia

General Gatot Nurmantyo, the commander of Indonesia’s armed forces, with President Joko Widodo. Photo: AFP

Indonesia Coordinating Minister for Legal, Politics and Security Affairs Wiranto speaks to journalists during a press conference on counter-terrorism in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on August 10, 2016. Charities that send financial aid to trouble spots sometimes have the funds "hijacked" by militant groups to carry out attacks, an international counter-terrorism meeting was warned on August 10. / AFP PHOTO / SONNY TUMBELAKA

Indonesian Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu looks on during the third Trilateral Defence Minister's Meeting in Nusa Dua on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on August 2, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / SONNY TUMBELAKA

Protesters surround the entrance to the North Jakarta Court as Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, attends his ongoing trial in Jakarta on December 27, 2016. Jakarta's governor, the first Christian to govern the capital in more than 50 years, returned to court on December 27 to fight allegations of insulting the Koran that could see him jailed under tough blasphemy laws in the world's largest Muslim-majority country. / AFP PHOTO / GOH CHAI HIN

Incoming Indonesian Military Chief General Gatot Nurmantyo (L) shakes hands with outgoing Military Chief General Moeldoko during the swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in Jakarta on July 8, 2015. General Gatot Nurmantyo was sworn in as armed forces chief by President Joko Widodo at a ceremony in the capital Jakarta, and will replace General Moeldoko, who had also previously been head of the army. AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY / AFP PHOTO / ADEK BERRY

Xi urges Widodo to help keep Sino-Indonesian rail project rolling

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo walk together for their meeting at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou on Friday. Photo: AP

The rise of political Islam requires a balancing act from Indonesian President Joko Widodo

Muslim men raise their fists and shout slogans during a rally against Jakarta's minority Christian Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama. Photo: AP

Indonesian President Joko Widodo inspects a guard of honour during a ceremonial reception at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi on December 12, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / MONEY SHARMA

Muslims flock to Jakarta's iconic National Monument for a protest on Dec. 2, 2016, demanding the arrest of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the Indonesian capital's Christian governor, over remarks they regard as having insulted Islam. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

epa05656219 A handout picture made available by Indonesia's Presidential Palace on 02 December 2016 shows Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (front, R) and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (front, L) walking out from the Merdeka Palace to meet the participants of the mass protest against allegedly blasphemous remarks made by Jakarta's Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as 'Ahok' at the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta, Indonesia, 02 December 2016. Thousands of Muslims staged a mass Friday prayer and rally demanding Jakarta's governor be prosecuted for blasphemy. EPA/AGUS SUPARTO/INDONESIAN PRESIDEN HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

FILE PHOTO - Members of hardline Muslim groups attend a protest against Jakarta's incumbent governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian running in the upcoming election, in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo REUTERS PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2016 - SEARCH 'POY 2016' TO FIND ALL IMAGES

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.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Exclusive | Widodo wants Chinese to keep coming – as investors, not workers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Indonesian president holds up Hong Kong firms as an example to their mainland counterparts

Exclusive | Widodo wants Chinese to keep coming – as investors, not workers

Indonesian president holds up Hong Kong firms as an example to their mainland counterparts