Common people always suffer

Common people always suffer

From Sinar Pagi

The hike of the U.S. dollar rate and the fall of rupiah value became a burden to ordinary people as prices of goods also went up, not to mention the difficulty in getting a job.

But, when President Megawati Soekarnoputri had just assumed office the dollar rate weakened to a level below Rp 9,000 per dollar. Some people, particularly exporters, said that the country's products would become less competitive in the world market if the rupiah strengthened.

We, however, might recall that the rate for one U.S. dollar was, at one point, about Rp 7,000 when former president Abdurrahman Wahid was in power. No complaint were made then. But, when the rupiah touched the level of Rp 8,500 per dollar, many businesspeople became worried about making losses.

As an ordinary person, I would like to ask whether the rupiah or this country belong to a few exporters, and the central bank to senior officials only. How, then, does the reform era differ from the New Order era if the elite groups serve only their own interests and neglect the people's suffering?

YUSWARDY

Medan, North Sumatra