Asian economic turmoil<\/p>\n
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir's call for a ban on currency
\ntrading might have sounded rather absurd. How could he possibly
\nhave thought about putting restrictions on currency trade in such
\na free trade era like today?<\/p>\n
I do not think that it was a coincidence that the Malaysian
\nringgit has fallen every time Mahathir condemns foreign currency
\nspeculators for what they had done to the Asian economy. To me,
\nit looks more like a \"punishment\" of Mahathir by speculators
\nmaking a show of force.<\/p>\n
However, in my opinion, Mahathir has every reason to be angry.
\nThe Asian economy that has been progressing in the right
\ndirection for some time has been crushed, resulting in serious
\ndamage to all Southeast Asian economies.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, business has slowed down. Everyone seems to
\nworry about the uncertainty. Many are not sure what steps to take
\nsince the economic situation seems to be unstable and vulnerable.
\nA wrong step might lead to bankruptcy. How can one make an
\nadjustment if the value of the rupiah drops and changes every
\nminute against the U.S. dollar?<\/p>\n
This uncertainty does not only affect the business community,
\nbut it also affects the general public because prices of
\ncommodities keep going up. Business has become paralyzed as loan
\ninterests also have increased.<\/p>\n
In this context we have to be introspective instead of blaming
\nothers for our troubles and failures. Despite our faults and
\ncarelessness, I believe that the large-scale foreign currency
\nspeculators like George Soros have played a big role in causing
\nthe current turmoil in Asian economies. It's true that they have
\nthe right to trade currency everywhere in the world. However, is
\nit fair to play such a game or take advantage of countries that
\nare still in the process of growing?<\/p>\n
Asian countries are like young people. They are full of
\nenergy, potential and aspiration. Yet they are not fully grown,
\nbut are immature and vulnerable. One should not disrupt this
\nperiod of growth for youngsters. The same is true with Asian
\neconomies. They need time, space and support to grow and develop
\nuntil they are prepared to enter the era of globalization.<\/p>\n
JENNY LAURITZ KHOENG<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-economic-turmoil-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }