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