Jakarta. Close neighbor Malaysia recently unveiled its plans to join the BRICS economic bloc, sparking questions on whether it was time for Indonesia to pursue a membership.

BRICS originally included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group not long ago saw Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Ethiopia become its new members. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently revealed that Kuala Lumpur was preparing to be part of the BRICS family. Fellow ASEAN member Thailand has also shown similar intentions. 

Although Indonesia has said that it wanted to take their time, economist Bhima Yudhistira advised Jakarta against joining BRICS, listing closeness with China and the group’s internal problems as some of the reasons why it might not be the right move. 

Indonesia has long embraced what it calls a “free and active” foreign policy: in other words, the country refuses to side with any major power. But the world has seen Indonesia forging close partnerships with China across many fronts, particularly trade and investment, as Beijing took part in many major projects in the country, including the $7.3 billion Jakarta-Bandung high speed train. China will even possibly take part in extending the railway to the East Javan capital of Surabaya. Bhima said that China’s growing investments had led to assumption that Indonesia was getting awfully close with Beijing, and a BRICS membership would come as another proof to Jakarta taking sides.

“So Indonesia will likely be seen as leaning towards Chinese interests if it joins BRICS. … It will likely affect Indonesia’s ‘free and active’ stance,”Bhima, who is also the executive director of the think-tank Celios, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. 

If Indonesia wants to boost economic ties, the country can simply just take a better advantage of the existing trade agreements and other multilateral forums. This includes the world’s largest free trade deal --the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)-- of which China is a member of. Bhima said that Indonesia was also already working with BRICS members India, Russia, China at the G20 forum. 

Bhima then warned about the internal problems that the BRICS face. As a case in point, China and India are in the midst of a territorial border dispute.  

The economist also suggested that Indonesia should focus on its candidacy at the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). The OECD, often dubbed as the rich country club, aims to promote economic growth by imposing certain standards that are set to drive reforms in its member countries. OECD will suit Indonesia better as the country hopes to be in the world’s top four economies by its centennial in 2045, compared to BRICS which mainly comprises developing countries.

He added: “The incoming government should be more selective in what international cooperation the country should pursue. We cannot solely rely on Chinese investments. China’s economy is forecast to continue to slow down due to the property crisis and slower domestic demand.”

Last August, Jokowi attended the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, leading to assumptions that Indonesia would like a seat at BRICS. Jokowi said at the time Indonesia had not sent a letter of interest to BRICS, saying: “We [Indonesia] would like to make the necessary calculations first. We do not want to rush things.”

Earlier this year, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that Indonesia was still carefully calculating the benefits that the group provided. 

Indonesia will soon see a shift in power as Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto officially succeeds Jokowi this October. Last November, Prabowo said that he would consider having Indonesia apply should he win the presidential race, as long as BRICS could give the country clear economic benefits.