Government's explanation needed

Government's explanation needed

From Neraca

I am a working woman and at the same time a student at a
private university. My colleagues and our bosses at the office
have been withdrawing their bank deposits and buying daily needs.
I followed in their steps.

My brother who is employed in the Sudirman area also has the
same story. His friends were involved in panic buying and bought
up everything at Goro, Makro and other supermarkets. They are
afraid that the government will introduce rupiah devaluation.
Strange that this "horrifying" rumor can easily spread and
influence most of the community in Jakarta. (I don't know if the
same thing has also happened in other cities.)

My aunt, who has just sold her house, has become greatly
worried by these rumors. She has also, as a result, withdrawn her
deposit, placed it in a government bank, and, for safety's sake,
bought U.S. dollars, despite the unreasonably high exchange rate
of Rp 11,000/U.S. dollar, because she has not found a suitable
piece of land or house to purchase.

Our neighbors, housewives, have of late been fond of gossiping
about the U.S. dollar rate hike and the skyrocketing prices of
the nine basic commodities, medicine and milk. What's worse,
supplies of these commodities are running thin. Carton-packed
powdered milk for babies, usually cheaper than tinned powdered
milk, disappeared from distribution, while the price of tinned
powder milk has increased by almost 200 percent.

Housewives says that our income remains the same while the
prices of the domestically produced basic commodities, let alone
those of imported goods, have continued to go up. I have heard
that at Kramat Jati and Rawamangun, the Jakarta logistics depot
sold the nine basic commodities at reduced prices but that they
have sold out. Then, where is our economy heading? The crime rate
is on the rise because great numbers of people have to be dumped
into the ranks of the unemployed.

Deep in my heart I hope that the government will immediately
explain to the community what our economic condition is at
present. The community is keen to have such information as the
position of our trade balance, the magnitude of our imports and
exports, the size of our foreign exchange reserves, a realistic
strategy to translate into reality the state budget of revenues
and expenditures, the position of our offshore loans, the
progress in our economic reforms, the aid provided by the IMF and
so forth.

However, the government seems to be unperturbed. Please,
explain all these things to us, the laymen, so that we will not
be confused all the time. At least, the government should
consolidate social unity and union in order that the community
will continue to have confidence in the rupiah. It can do so by
saying "Go to hell US$."

Our fellow countrymen in rural areas do not care a dime about
U.S. dollars, do they? What concerns them is only the price of
the daily necessities. Please let us have the real situation. We
still nurture a deep sense of nationalism. We do not wish to see
this country's economy crash into pieces simply because of the
greenback or because of what profiteers are doing at the expense
of our people. Or, perhaps, there is another solution. Who knows?

Name and address

known to the editor