Keeping the rupiah in check

Keeping the rupiah in check

Money, at present, is not just legal tender. It has become a
commodity as well as a war device, or an instrument to topple a
government. For those reasons it is extremely difficult to keep
the rupiah in check. The currency is very exotic and has proved
itself to be profitable to speculators. Indonesia's geopolitical
position and its great influence on its neighbors are additional
factors that must be considered. If Indonesia's policies are not
in agreement with the interests of certain other countries, the
rupiah, which is traded freely in New York or Singapore, could be
in jeopardy.

IMF officials are expected to arrive here on Sunday. This will
be a good opportunity to tell them of the need to take some
specific actions to control the rupiah. The IMF will probably not
oppose some soft foreign exchange controls since Indonesia that
has to be supported forever will be a burden to the IMF.

The IMF's top leadership has already changed. Hopefully its
policy stance will also change by detaching banker's calculations
from politics.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta