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At the recently concluded GES Business Summit in Singapore, one of the speakers pointed out the difference between young Americans and young Asians.

Americans, he said, aspire to be self-employed and run their own business, while Asians prefer to get good-paying jobs — not because Americans are more entrepreneurial than Asians, but because starting a new business in America is relatively easy and cheap. Many Americans, therefore, can afford to start businesses, fail and start again.

This is to what Indonesia must aspire. Unfortunately, it is not our reality today because of heavy bureaucracy, corruption and high costs that hurt the business climate.

This sad truth was reflected in the country’s drop in the rankings of the International Finance Corporation’s Doing Business 2012 report.

The country slid three places, down to 129th out of 183 countries reviewed in the report. It said Indonesia’s efforts to improve its business climate by introducing a simplified application process were insufficient to match those of neighboring countries.

This basically means that Indonesia may be moving ahead, but other countries are running much faster.

Singapore still tops the list, while Thailand is in 17th place, Malaysia in 18th, Brunei in 83rd and Vietnam in 98th. Coming in behind Indonesia were Cambodia, the Philippines and Laos. Indonesia should be competing with the likes of Malaysia and Thailand, but we lag far, far behind.

While Indonesia is attracting record foreign direct investment, local businesses are finding it harder and costlier to operate. The government must be more pro-business not only in word but in deed. It must deregulate quickly and remove costly tariffs. These are the areas where Indonesia fares poorly and where there is an urgent need for improvement.

We cannot hope to create a dynamic entrepreneurial society if we make it difficult to start new businesses. We must fire up the imaginations of our youth so that they will become job creators instead of merely job seekers. Of course, not everyone can start a business, but we must support those Indonesians who are willing to take the risk of making their vision a reality.