TOO MUCH PREPARATION IS NEVER ENOUGH

 WHAT YOU HEAR MAY NOT BE WHAT THEY SAY     

A Bill-free meeting 

I can’t tell you Bill’s real  name, but can authenticate he was a hIgh-level Australian executive sent to Indonesia to build contacts that might lead to business. We shared a coffee.  Then another. He continually checked his phone.

In 2021 Indonesia launched a sovereign wealth fund – the Indonesia Investment Authority. The pitch claimed foreigners could make money but the intent was to get funds into state-owned enterprises.

These include banks and fuel stations, power and water supplies, makers of guns and drugs and scores of other enterprises.  Many are monopolies and not always run efficiently.

Bill’s Board had been impressed by President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo  telling the world his nation was hungry for investment and taking unpalatable bureaucratic condiments off the menu.

So Bill had sent all the right intro letters followed by e-mails and phone calls and was waiting in a Jakarta five-star for the promised responses.

They never came and he quit the capital after exhausting his  travel budget wondering what he’d done wrong.

The chances are that the service he was offering didn’t attract the people he’d contacted, particularly if middle management.  If they hadn’t been told to respond they’d fear getting involved in an unapproved venture.

Indonesian administration is top-down.  Jump here for a guide to management styles.

Elsewhere a polite rejection letter is common, but the Javanese think this  impolite so prefer to ignore. Indonesians also use WhatsApp rather than e-mail or phone.  Facebook is declining as a business tool.

Bill’s real fault was not understanding the Javanese subtleties; there’s no easy guidebook, but these comments might help.

Indonesia is the world’s third largest democracy, but it’s a mistake to believe it works like those in the Anglosphere.  It’s a  ‘flawed democracy’ according to the Economist Intelligence Unit; nations in this grouping fail on measures of pluralism, civil liberties, press freedom and political culture.

Many Westerners assume that when the President makes a statement it carries the weight of one delivered by his equivalent in the US or UK.

If only. In 2021 Australia announced it was cooperating with those two nations to sail nuclear-powered submarines in waters around Indonesia in a strategy called AUKUS.

 Jakarta officially stressed it was ‘deeply concerned over the continuing arms race and power projection in the region’.  The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Jokowi ‘repeatedly and forcefully’ raised concerns with the then Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

 

Then in May this year the New Straits Times ran an interview with Jokowi saying ‘we should view … AUKUS as partners, and not competitors.’

 

Some media assumed Indonesia was shifting its position  but Susannah Patton, from Australia’s  Lowy Institute warned against reading too much into the President’s comments  telling the Australian Financial Review: 

 

‘Jokowi has form in saying very positive things that don’t necessarily reflect Indonesia’s official position’.

 

So before buying Bill’s business class ticket his bosses should have  thoroughly researched the President’s comments on overseas investment.  

 

Why were they made?  Maybe to spur local corporates to open their wallets through the threat of foreign competition rather than open the doors to dollars and yuan.   

 

Indonesians are nationalistic and many resent outside influence (‘soft power’)  they think comes with investment. Jakarta might tick a proposal but the overseas company finds its plan frustrated by regional administrations.

 

Some Chinese companies have brought in their own workers causing resentment among locals expecting jobs.  A good discussion on how Beijing does business abroad is here.

 

Indonesian leaders must use Indonesian when making official statements so it’s best to read the original and get a reliable translation rather than use the words published in the Western media.

 

Indonesian is not Jokowi’s first language - that’s Javanese, a complex hierarchical tongue adroitly employed by the president.

 

It’s rarely used outside the island which dominates the archipelago politically and economically, so misinterpretations are commonplace. For those serious about Indonesia one of the best guides to improve understanding is here.  

 

Many readers would know the old cliche that an Indonesian’s ‘yes’ means ‘no’, and a ‘no’ means maybe. When  Australian journalists once asked Jokowi if  their nation might join the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations he apparently responded:  ‘I think it’s a good idea’

 

This led  to reports that an expansion of the ten-member group was possible, but those knowledgeable of the nuances laughed.  Wrote one academic:

 

‘Australia has not been invited to join ASEAN, and will not be invited to join ASEAN in our lifetimes. Jokowi was offering a ‘Javanese response,’ trying to be polite.’

 

Bill’s company might have done better in hiring an agent to advise on who to see and what to say.  Most embassies in Jakarta have business units able to recommend reliable resources, though it’s wise to double-check officers’ skills and experience.  

 

Are they academic theorists who’ve never been outside the public service, or do they have dirt under their fingernails?

 

In brief:  Examine every angle, talk to all sides and take your time.  Indonesians don’t like to be hustled.  Who does?

 

When you eventually find the right folk work hard to maintain contacts.  Remember birthdays and national events.

 

Do your homework.  Too much information is never enough.

Duncan Graham is the author of Doing Business Next Door (Wordstars)

First published in Indonesia Expat, July 2023: http://online.fliphtml5.com/qinqh/ebee/#p=20

 

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MARTIN NEWBERY

Laughing up business                                              

Hollering into a handphone in a restaurant or openly reading e-mails during an important presentation seem to be required skills for businessmen in Indonesia.  

Women generally find brashness unnecessary to polish their credentials.  So does Western Australia’s outgoing (in both senses) Jakarta-based Trade Director.

“It’s behavior I really dislike,” he said.  “I don’t own an iPad or a BlackBerry.  That’s a fruit. I’m a Newbery.”

If Martin Newbery had used that corny one-liner when he walked out of Soekarno-Hatta seven years ago he’d have risked ridicule as an eccentric wonder from Down Under.

Whoever prefers graciousness above gadgetry?  Add the bleached thatch indicating a preference for beach over fairway, and a suspect image might have set.

But his eclectic CV embraced bureaucracy and business, a rare combo. He’d learned the language and felt at ease in kampong and corporate tower.

As a young Australian public servant he’d surfed Bali.  Then he tried Java and found heaven. He switched to air-freighting fresh fruit into Indonesia, then ran seven prawn trawlers crewed by Indonesians, a job that required tact and toughness.

While talking to The Jakarta Post he politely but firmly flicked away a major Indonesian government department wanting to attend a seminar, but dictating terms. “My show, my rules,” he said.

Staying upright on a twisting board, speed skimming just ahead of towering waves yet having fun, is an apt metaphor for surfing the rips of Indonesian business culture where getting dumped is an everyday hazard.

“Investors should consider my five P principles,” Newbery said.  “Be Patient, be Present and Persevere.

“It’s no good trying to trade using e-mails from a distance.  Establish trust. That means personal contact.  It takes time.

“Then there’s Payment.  It’s important to understand and accept the way Indonesians do business and run their accounts.  Sometimes people agree too fast without understanding the detail.”

And the final P?  Newbery’s colorful phrase risks misinterpretation by those stumped by Australian slang.  Best translate as ‘having a good time’.

“Never get down to business without first having a laugh,” he said.  “Indonesians have a great sense of humor.  It’s one of many factors that make this country and its people such a delight.

“I don’t accept we’re clumsy when dealing with other cultures. That’s not the right word. Sometimes ill-prepared and vulnerable, too fearful and hung up on things like drinking and eating pork. We should just be ourselves.

“I’m a proud Australian (he has convict ancestors) and very proud that we’re friendly, respectful and keen to learn.  We have so much in common with Indonesians and can work together to improve people’s lives. 

“There are still misconceptions and an element that has a poor attitude, but that’s diminishing.  I take a positive view.”

At the end of November and days before he left, Newbery was in Surabaya witnessing re-endorsement of the 23-year old sister-state agreement between East Java and Western Australia, the only State that maintains a continuous full-time presence in Indonesia.

Earlier Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a new Asian Century policy to reposition Australian culture and business in their real geographical location, far from Europe.

“This is what I’ve been saying all along,” said Newbery who’s been involved with Indonesia for more than three decades.  “For too long we’ve been overflying this country to concentrate on trade elsewhere.

“Investors have taken the view that the Indonesian market is a little bit too difficult, or tricky. It has its characteristics, but it’s not too hard to adjust.”

  

Newbery, turning 60 and still surfing, said he’s quitting to spend more time with his three children in New South Wales, and because “I’m growing tired and need a year off.

“I might start the day talking milk, then move to beef, followed by mining services, shift to oil and gas and finish the day discussing seed potatoes. In future I’ll be working as an independent advisor on single issues.”

Foremost will be attempts to get Indonesians eating tempe (soy bean cake) using lupins.  He’ll be helping the 115,000 strong cottage industries adjust to the new resource and improve processing techniques.

“Overall I’m pleased with what’s been achieved,” Newbery said. “The low point was banning live cattle exports. That should have been handled better, though the Embassy team did a great job.”

Last year the Australian media exposed cruel practices in Indonesian abattoirs.  Canberra responded to public outrage by banning exports. When they resumed Jakarta imposed quotas.

Newbery suggested a crisis could have been avoided through both sides agreeing to improve facilities and techniques.

 “It was a matter of bad practices that had gone unchecked, not different attitudes towards animal welfare,” he said. “No ban, just a firm action plan.

“Indonesia has become too self-protective.  Food security is good, but the way it’s being done is too tough and complex. 

“We’re the most efficient cattle breeders and Indonesia the most efficient cattle feeders – we can work together and create a meat export industry.  We’re not stealing customers; we’re supplementing your production to meet demand.”

Newbery’s role hasn’t been confined to boardrooms.  He’s helped premier soccer squad Perth Glory and several basket ball teams play in the Republic.

Going the other way have been santri (religious students) looking at agricultural colleges.  “When people meet people, business falls out of the encounter,” he said.

The WA government closed its Surabaya office after it was trashed during the East Timor 1999 referendum protests and moved it to Kuningan.

Newbery said it should shift back to Surabaya “if for no other reason than it’s so time wasting trying to mover around Jakarta.”  His position will be temporarily filled by agri-business advisor Kellie-Jane Pritchard.

Deputy Premier Dr Kim Hames said Newbery had been a “fantastic representative” for the State. NGO special needs schools activist Trisha Henderson praised Newbery for holding governments to their aid commitments.

“I’ll be back, particularly during southern winters,” said the phone phobic who prefers eye contact to iPad.   “Indonesia’s my second home.”

(First published in The Jakarta Post, 10 December 2012)

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