Leasing Batam Island

The concept of leasing Batam Island to safe economy as appeared on page 4 of The Jakarta Post on June 20 could possibly be the most innovative suggestion in healing our economic woes ever tabled. Before we howl "neo-colonialism", consider the possibilities in financial terms. The article mentioned a sum of money between 50 and 100 billion U.S. dollars is needed in foreign exchange to stabilize our economy and as a foundation upon which to build a prosperous future.

Our Batam Island already boasts a sound infrastructure, and with its proximity to Singapore, would surely be worth, say on a 100 years lease, (as was Hong Kong), the sum total of the figures mentioned.

With a substantial reserve of foreign exchange safely tucked away we could possibly bring the rupiah to a realistic level of say Rp 5,000 to Rp 7,000 thereby restoring the purchasing power of the vast majority of our population, (who probably have never even heard of Batam Island) thus enabling them to enjoy a reasonable standard of living again. We could possibly also tell the IMF "thanks, but no thanks."

YOKE PANCAWARDANI

Denpasar, Bali