A year of misery

According to the Chinese zodiac cycle, 1998 is the year of tiger. But to my mind, it is the year of misery. It is a saddening year, a year for sobbing. This is no fabrication, no exaggeration.

A monetary crisis is crippling our country's economy, and prices are skyrocketing. Some employers have had to lay off workers and others will have to do that later this year, thus increasing the number of unemployed.

Life is obviously much harder than it was.

And life could get much worse for the poor in the near future, when our government will have to raise the price of fuel. As we know already, the government is prepared to cut its subsidy for fuel under the state budget plan, revised and agreed on with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

I wonder how long this crisis will last. Nobody knows what will happen next -- is it going to get better or worse? There is the saying, "every cloud has a silver lining". But we are not really sure when that silver lining will show up. In this respect, all we can do is wait patiently since God always stays with those who are patient.

Indonesia is not alone in facing this monetary crisis. Our neighbors -- Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines -- are also dealing with this problem, and Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan are in the same boat.

DJOKO SUBINARTO

Cimahi, West Java