2007年VOA标准英语-Indonesia Passes Law to Attract Foreign Investo

By Trish Anderton
Jakarta
15 August 2007

Investors¹ are beginning to show renewed interest in Indonesia, whose economy has finally been shaking off the effects of the 1997 Asian economic crisis. But one legal expert says the country's judicial² system needs a total overhaul³ to guarantee justice and reassure⁴ investors that the country is safe for business. Trish Anderton reports for VOA from Jakarta.

Indonesian workers sew blue jeans at a textile factory, in Bandung, Central Java, Indonesia (file photo)

Indonesia has embarked⁵ on a campaign to make itself more attractive to foreign investors, and it appears to be getting results.

The country's Investment Coordinating⁶ Board says realized foreign direct investment rose 17 percent in the first half of 2007, compared to last year.

A revamped investment law aims to make it easier for foreign investors to enter the market and to take out profits. The law also provides improved procedures for resolving disputes.

Darmawan Djajusman is the coordinating board's deputy chairman for investment promotion⁷. Speaking at a forum⁸ sponsored by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club Wednesday, he said the new law has helped.

"The government introduced some law to make ... improvement of our investment climate. I believe it is working," he said.

But Indonesia is also notorious for its corrupt⁹ and unpredictable courts. Lawyer Andrew Sriro, who works with foreign companies here on legal issues, told the forum the judiciary simply has too many shortcomings for a quick or partial solution.

"Underpaid, overworked, lack of access to law and support, lack of respect in the community, constant temptation, antiquated¹⁰ procedures, no binding¹¹ precedent¹², no penalties for frivolous¹³ and litigious cases, career judges without practical experience - all work against justice," he said. "The entire system has to be scrapped¹⁴ and rebuilt."

Sriro says investors themselves are partially¹⁵ responsible for Indonesia's failings. He says foreign and domestic corporations in the past have promoted an atmosphere of lawlessness by failing to respect, or even trying to understand, Indonesian law.

"Management often confuses the lack of the rule of law for the lack of law itself. A laziness has developed in Indonesia based on its reputation as a place where anything can be arranged through corruption," he said.

Despite the problems, the economy has been growing at its fastest clip in two years, averaging more than 6 percent growth in the first half of 2007. Moody's Investors Service recently said it was considering upgrading the country's credit rating to reflect improvements in its finances.

The government's aggressive development goals, such as cutting poverty by half, are going to require a huge infusion¹⁶ of cash. For the five years ending in 2009, the government target is $426 billion in new public and private investments.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

3 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

4 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

5 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

6 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

7 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

8 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

9 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

10 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

11 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

12 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

13 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

14 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

15 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

16 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。