Herculean task

Herculean task

From Rakyat Merdeka

With a population of 210 million, Indonesia sustains offshore loans worth US$145 billion, the legacy of the New Order. These loans are made up of government loans ($70 billion) and government-guaranteed private debts, of which part of the interest and the principal has been settled.

During the New Order era, corruption, collusion and nepotism were rampant and 35 percent of the development fund allocated in the state budget disappeared. In the regions, part of this fund would again vanish.

When drafting the state budget, the fund for offshore loan repayment, totaling Rp 56 trillion, came from loans, assets of state-owned enterprises and the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, and also from the people through higher taxes and increased power and telephone rates and fuel prices.

Indonesians are now shouldering a very heavy burden. To make matters worse, efforts to recoup the state's assets stolen by "black" tycoons and corrupters have yet to bear fruit. To comfort laymen, there have been reports of irregularities amounting to trillions of rupiah uncovered by the Supreme Audit Agency and the Development and Financial Control Board. The law does not seem to work.

Even regarding President Megawati's explanation about this matter to Indonesians living in Japan, some domestic figures have commented that this is but another form of lip service.

In this context, law enforcement agencies must be responsive to the President's statement and follow it up with action. After all, they are paid by the people and are required to take action against officials and community members for their crimes.

About the increasing exchange rate of the U.S. dollar, nobody will be successful in keeping in check the soaring rate of U.S. dollar against rupiah. The reason? External factors and an increasing demand for U.S. dollars as this is time for the businessmen concerned to repay their debts.

MARSOESI

Surabaya