Finnegan: Asian Values and the 21st Century
If it would make our Indonesian friends feel better, especially during
the Xmas and Ramadhan season, they should take a second to read on and
reflect on what Nobuyuki Idei, president of Sony Corporation, is saying
about the crisis in Japan:
"Corporate Japan recently was castigated for its failure to recognise
the internet revolution and its impact on business by Nobuyuki Idei,
president of Sony Corporation, a global company that has tied its future
to rising demand for digital electronics equipment. "Rapid development
in electronics technology has sparked an information revolution, forcing
Japan to undergo the third-biggest regeneration in its history," Idei
told a business forum in Tokyo. "Japanese firms in general still rely on
the post-war business ethos, such as volume production for volume sales,
construction of large plants and land holdings.
"Japan needs to shift emphasis from a manufacturing-based business style
to a new one that suits the information technology industries age, when
land and assets could become liabilities." He told The Australian
Financial Review (22/12/98) that Japan had been blinded by its success
in the high-growth era of the '70s and '80s and had become overconfident
that its status as the world's second biggest economy was unshakeable".
I have consistently written that the current crisis facing by the Asian
countries is basically the crisis of "Values". It is not only Indonesia
that is facing crisis, all other countries in Asian are facing crisis.
It is only a matter of degree. Indonesia is faring the worst because its
value system is rotten to the core. However, Indonesia is not alone in
this.
During the "miracle years" between 1970-1996, the successes of the Asian
economies ranging from Japan to Indonesia have been attributed by many,
especially among the Asians themselves, to the so called "Asian
Values". They have exalted the values of:
* Hard Working ethic
* Collectivism over Individualism, from within the Family to the
State
* Confucian sense of duty and obligation, from within the Family to
the State
* Obedience to the Authority and the Hierarchy because they know best
* Economic progress means material progress means happiness and
success, therefore it must be achieved at all cost. This was
exemplified by Deng Xia Ping famous saying: "To be rich is
glorious".
The recent crisis in the Asian economies showed that the supposed
foundation of the Asian miracles is nothing more than a mirage, a house
of straws. It was not be able to withstand a simple rumbling, let alone
an earthquake. The problem here is that these values are being practiced
in the forms of of oppression, exploitation, disregard for human values,
dignity and the rule of laws and most of all, the destruction of the
environment. It was practiced, as if we, the human race, is the chosen
race, the master of this earth and we can do anything we like to this
fragile earth in the name of economic progress.
In the case of Indonesia, the rich natural resources were treated as if
they were the private possessions of one family and its cronies.
However, having rich natural resources is no longer enough. As the
president of Sony Corporation said: "Japan needs to shift emphasis from
a manufacturing-based business style to a new one that suits the
information technology industries age, when land and assets could become
liabilities". (In Indonesia case, it is even worse, because THEY HAVE
SQUANDERED their rich natural resources for the benefits of very few).
The Asian values might be suitable for the Industrial society where you
dig the stuff from the ground, process it, make it into physical product
and sell it. The march of technology is such, there is no turning back.
Technology is threatening to turn everything into commodity. The only
one that will be left is "Knowledge".
The Industrial Era is dead. Physical assets are no longer the main
driver for wealth creation. It will become a "commodity". In the next
century, Wealth creation will come from the Intellectual Asset and
"Brain Power". Countries that can create, manage, harness and utilities
intellectual asset will the wealthy countries, not countries with
natural resources. You don't achieve this by oppressing and suppressing
people.
You cannot control Intellectual Asset the same way you want to control
the Physical Asset. In the Knowledge Era, you cannot control and shape
what, how, where, when people think. In the Knowledge Era, people need
to be given the freedom and encouragement to think, to innovate, to
collaborate, to share, to differentiate, to challenge and to be
creative. Not simply "Shut-up and do as you told". And �Working Harder�
is no substitute for �Working Smarter�. I am afraid, all these are alien
to the so called Asian values.
What about our beloved Indonesia? Poor fellow my country, it has not
even entered properly into the hall of The Industrial Era, yet it is
being threatened with extinction. It is absolutely lost as what to do
next and how to prepare itself for the next century. Its riches has
simply vanished in the air. I read the other day, the Indonesia's total
debt is about US$200 billions, this is roughly US$1000 for every man,
woman and child. It means with average income of US$300 per year, it
will take every man, woman and child in Indonesia 3 years to pay off the
debt. Poor fellow, my country man, woman and child. What I like to know
is "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE $200 BILLIONS!!!" Somebody must have got it.
My advice to the future President of Indonesia ( I have given up on the
present bunch) is to keep it simple. Keep the message and the vision
simple. Your people is your most important resource, not your oil, gas,
coal etc. Treat them with dignity, decency and respect. Give them an
education system that provide them with encouragement to think, to
innovate, to collaborate, to share, to differentiate, to challenge and
to be creative. Not simply "Shut-up and do as you told". The future will
care of itself.
Regards - Chai Finnegan, Christmas day 1998.
