Nevertheless, conditions remain dismal for the majority of Indonesian workers despite a slight economic recovery. A staggering 36 million workers are unemployed, and underemployment hovers at 40 per cent. Officials at the Indonesian Ministry of Labour estimate that the unemployment problem could only be adressed if the country achieves a growth level of 15 per cent, an unlikely proposition for the immediate future. Meanwhile, wages are among the lowest worldwide, with labour costs representing a mere 5 to 10 per cent of production costs. As a consequence of massive unemployment, sub-standard wages and drastic social service cutbacks, abject poverty is rampant nationwide.
Sociologists warn of losing an entire generation of youth to poverty-related diseases.
It is estimated that 450 children die every day from malnutrition and lack of healthcare. Given the economic environment, Indonesia's president will need to do more than redress Suharto's ugly legacy of institutionalised religious and ethnic inequality. Should Wahid also fail to attend to creeping unemployment and deteriorating material conditions, he will in all likelihood have failed the test of his young presidency.