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