Never become an IMF plaything<\/p>\n
From Merdeka<\/p>\n
Several months before his resignation, former president
\nSoeharto signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund
\n(IMF). Rumors have it that he did so without even deigning to
\ndiscuss it first with either the House of Representatives or any
\nof his Cabinet ministers. The fact is, this agreement has leashed
\nIndonesia to certain obligations:<\/p>\n
1. We have been promised a loan which may be repaid over a very
\nlong period.<\/p>\n
2. The strings attached to the extension of this loan are
\nobviously a great insult to a sovereign state:<\/p>\n
a. IMF supervision in Indonesia's monetary policies;<\/p>\n
b. scrapping of subsidies for the people;<\/p>\n
c. privatization of state-owned enterprises;<\/p>\n
d. restructuring (euphemism for major overhaul) of the Indonesian
\nbanking system;<\/p>\n
e. private banks being permitted to expand their operations into
\ndistrict areas.<\/p>\n
Lately, there has also been a request that foreign investors
\nshould be allowed to control 99 percent (no longer 50 percent or
\n60 percent) of Indonesian private bank shares.<\/p>\n
Privatization will allow foreign investors to control our
\nstate-owned enterprises. Poland is an excellent example in this
\nregard. Soros once bought a Polish state-owned steel mill for a
\nvery low price. Then he sold it to an Italian investor at a much
\nhigher price. Can Poland ever exercise its control again over
\nthis steel mill?<\/p>\n
Unless the government acts cautiously, foreign private banks
\nwill soon gain control over our government banks. Once this
\nhappens, our private banks will never be free from foreign
\ncontrol. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia has always
\nrefused to request aid from the IMF -- perhaps because he knows
\nfull well the strings that the IMF would attach to the loan.<\/p>\n
Remember our first president Sukarno? He always called on our
\npeople to be self-reliant. Unfortunately our fate is now in the
\nhands of the IMF and Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance
\nand Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita. Our hope is that Ginandjar
\nwill be smart enough in negotiating with the IMF to make sure
\nthat the interests of the Indonesian people and state will not be
\nharmed.<\/p>\n
Let us not become international pariahs that foreign
\ncapitalists can have fun playing with. Let's not allow the old
\nadage \"Like rats dying in a rice granary\" translate itself into
\nreality.<\/p>\n
MRS. IRANA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/never-become-an-imf-plaything-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }