Gold collection

Gold collection

From Merdeka

Considering the latest economic developments in the country, I
admire the donation of two kilograms of gold by 200 ulemas to the
government, especially since it made reverberations nationwide
even though it was from a small group. This symbolic gesture,
however, should not be sought for from common people, either at
mass gatherings or at small Koran reading groups, because it
would create an adverse impact.

The main reason is that most of our fellow Moslems are still
poor, unlike Koreans whose per capita income is already very
high. Despite their economic weakness, Indonesians are quite
sensitive. If their kyai (ulema) touches on the need to sacrifice
in his sermon, they would be easily touched and forget that they
are poor. They would be ready to part with their gold, and even
their houses, if they were called upon to make such a sacrifice
for the sake of the country. However, this would pose some
dangers, wouldn't it? We do not want to see a misplaced
manifestation of concern and solidarity.

We need to think clearly about the present crisis. As most
experts have said, the crisis was triggered mainly by our
business tycoons' excessive business expansion with, as Faisal
Basri has put it, large offshore loans as the consequence. These
business activities have resulted in kebablasan (going needlessly
too far) in the words of Pak Harto (or keblinger meaning "wishful
thinking" according to Bung Karno, if he were still alive).

These offshore loans amount to US$65 billion. As a result,
when some of the loans to the amount of some $9.6 billion came
due, the value of the rupiah plummeted. The situation has become
worse with the emergence of a strange school of thought called
the "new nationalism", which appeared earlier and is rapidly
gaining followers. The result has been capital flight.

Pak Probo has estimated that this capital flight plus funds
parked overseas (a practice started since the second Five-Year
Development Plan of 1974/1979), amount to $80 billion. With this
in mind, we must say that the management of the crisis must also
be monetary in nature and must start from this point.

The funds piled up abroad must be repatriated, private loans
should be settled by private circles themselves and the
bureaucracy should be made more efficient to prevent another form
of kebablasan. Common people will certainly have to show their
solidarity with these businessmen, but the latter must also feel
the sting of the crisis. Many experts cannot guarantee that the
IMF funds will put things right, let alone the dollars collected
from the "Love Rupiah" campaign or the gold donated to the
government.

It would be a good idea to donate gold or other items to the
poor people affected by the crisis, including people who have
lost their jobs because of it. If it was only a matter of gold,
the government, in fact, could easily mine gold from Irian Jaya
and Kalimantan and sell it to settle all the problems (just
regard it as alms to the poor).

I fully agree with the idea that a "national prayer" or
istighotsah be held again with all Moslems participating. On such
an occasion, the participants could be reminded that the crisis
could be brief or last a long time. So they simply have to keep
their own money and gold for their own use later should hard
times persist. Just like running in a marathon race, we must
conserve our energy in order to keep up our stamina for the long
road.

KUNCORO

Jakarta