From the 24th of August until the 1st of September 2012, the former German Minister of Economics and current Member of Parliament, Michael Glos, paid a working visit together with the Head of HSF’s Institute for International Cooperation, Mr. Christian Hegemer, to Indonesia. Mr. Glos was the keynote speaker at two high profile events on the topic “The future of the European community and the conclusions for the economic stability of Indonesia and the Southeast Asian community ASEAN”. At both events, which had been carried out in cooperation with the German-Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (EKONID) and the German Embassy, MP Glos elaborated on crucial causes for the current finance and soverign debt crisis in Europe and highlighted that the crisis can only be overcome when all European nations stick together. He also mentioned that the European Union – in the light of both World Wars – is an indispensible part of harmony and peaceful co-existence in Europe. ASEAN can also learn important lessons from the crisis in Europe, as the Southeast Asian community should not define itself through a common currency at this time.

Similar issues were also adressed at the courtesy call to the Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare, Agung Laksono. During their meeting, the Coordinating Minister mentioned the growing gap between the poor and the rich in Indonesia. According to him, this discrepancy will result in social conflicts which can easily turn violent. For that reason, Mr. Laksono supports instruments which favor a more just distribution of wealth in Indonesia. The German social market economy, which has the potential to contribute to the development of stable democracies and economies also in Southeast Asia, serves as a model in that regard. The Coordinating Minister shows great interest in introducing this model to the conservative GOLKAR party through discussion rounds.

Further topics – in accordance with the project components of HSF Indonesia – that were adressed during the seven-day working visit were:

• Creating constitutional structures by cooperating with the Indonesian Constitutional Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Indonesian police force as well as renowned legal faculties of Universities throughout the country.

This component was covered through various courtesy calls and seminars. The former Minister of Economics delivered opening remarks at the Udayana University on Bali and at the Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) on minority rights and the relevance of electoral law for setting up democratic and constitutional structures.

These opening remarks were followed by lively discussions which emphasized the importance of the Constitutional Court and the Constitutional Law when it comes to the embodiment of a working democracy. The results of the discussions with the Indonesian Minister of Justice, Mr. Amir Syamsudin, and the vice president of the Indonesian Constitutional Court, Dr. Achmad Sodiki, have confirmed this statement. Mr. Syamsudin was grateful for the good cooperation between the HSF and the Ministry of Justice, which focuses particularly on the issue of “Constitutional conformity of legal drafts”. Although this cooperation is still rather young, an extensive training program with this ministry could already be executed. Further events in this project component comprised a much-noticed seminar with the Habibie Center on systemic corruption within the parliament as well as a discussion with representatives of the Indonesian police force and human rights organizations KONTRAS and UNODC about democratic and ethical police work. This discussion revealed the police’s readiness to reform in order to integrate human rights stronger into the police work – a goal that is to be achieved together with the HSF in Jakarta.

• Social dialogue and expansion of environmental education in Indonesia

The social and political development in Indonesia was subject of a discussion during a seminar which had been carried out together with the Indonesian Institute for Science and Research LIPI. According to the participants, the democratization in Indonesia is connected to a strong social change. Examples for that are the increasing corruption in politics and administration, the strong materialistic focus of many Indonesians as well as the alienation of the young generation from their traditional roots. This development leads to the questioning of Indonesia’s famous state ideology pancasila, which guarantees the equality of six acknowledged religions. Naturally, the former Minister of Economics Michael Glos could not offer a universal solution for this issue. However, he said that politics should, in general, pick up social trends in time and adapt accordingly in order to ensure the development of regulated social frame conditions.

Additionally, MP Glos had the opportunity to inform himself about the project component “Environmental education and protection”. In that regard, he visited a pilot project on Bali which introduces waste management and recycling. Besides, Mr. Glos had also had informative discussions with the rector of the Gadjah Mada University and Dr. Pratikno, Head of the Indonesian national council and former Minister of the Environment, on questions about environmental education at universities and climate protection.