Gambling, not confidence

Gambling, not confidence

So, a bunch of foreign investors, especially large fund
managers, are strongly interested in buying shares in the
country's publicly listed companies, which, as our esteemed
minister of finance refers to as "this strong interest indicates
their continuing confidence in Indonesia" (The Jakarta Post,
March 31).

How's that for pure, unmitigated twaddle! It's nothing but
speculation, period. I myself am not averse to having a bit of a
flutter every now and then, and would probably do the same thing
if I had their kind of money. You don't need a degree from an
American university to realize that stock exchanges are nothing
but glorified gambling dens.

GUS KAIRUPAN

Jakarta