Sok Siphana discusses Cambodia’s efforts to join the World Trade Organization and to implement economic reform and development domestically. He discusses Cambodia’s transition to a market economy.  Accession to the WTO offered an overarching goal that allowed the government to implement key reforms, including establishing legal frameworks protecting private property and regulating economic activity, standardizing government procedures with respect to foreign corporations, and overcoming entrenched interests. Siphana explains in detail the efforts of the WTO negotiation team to represent the Cambodian nation and to build consensus within the public sector, the private sector, the non-profit sector, international donors and the general populace. Siphana discusses the problems faced by Cambodia in these aims, including entrenched interests, political gamesmanship, lack of expertise and capacity building, bargaining inequality, language barriers and budgetary constraints.

Hadi Soesastro discusses economic deregulation and political and civil service reform in Indonesia since 1986. The 1986 plunge in oil prices affected Indonesia severely, and precipitated a number of deregulation policies, backed largely by academics and government technocrats, including tariff reductions, industrial reform and investment encouragement. Soesastro recalls resistance to reform from entrenched interests, and Suharto’s reform of several sectors in which his close associates or he himself were not involved. The second wave of reform came in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which plunged Indonesia into a severe recession. Efforts by the International Monetary Fund to help recovery were stymied by Suharto's resistance to reform, especially in industries in which he had personal interest; this eventually led to his resignation. Major reforms were later achieved in the financial and political sectors. The leading result of political reform was decentralization, under populist pressure and fear of secession. Soesastro also discusses reforms in the Finance Ministry since 2004, including anti-corruption and personnel reform. He also speaks about the failure of judicial reform in Indonesia. Finally, he reflects on challenges faced by the Indonesian government at the time of the interview.

 

Case Study:  Decentralizing Authority After Suharto: Indonesia's 'Big Bang,' 1998-2010