Let the rich help out now

Let the rich help out now

From Merdeka

U.S. dollar owners, people who follow the rate of exchange between the dollar against the rupiah, and the government are eager every day to know the latest rupiah/dollar exchange rate.

The Indonesian government has set the official exchange rate at Rp 4,000 per dollar, but in reality the exchange rate is over Rp 8,000 per dollar.

President Soeharto's appeal to Indonesians to have faith in the rupiah has not been heeded by dollar lovers.

But rural people still fully respect the rupiah, and in fact they may never get hold of any dollars. Most of them even live hard lives.

Monetary crises have also hit our neighbors -- Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. Their currencies have also fallen against the U.S. dollar. And Thais and South Koreans called for their governments to resign, and now have new governments.

South Korea's new President Kim Dae-jung (formerly a prominent opposition figure) has taken a brave political step by appointing George Soros as an informal monetary advisor.

In efforts to solve Indonesia's monetary crisis, besides chalking out economic and political reforms, President Soeharto could appeal to conglomerates and the new rich to join hands to overcome the crisis. They should not only withdraw any money they have saved in foreign countries, but their consciences should prompt them to lend money to the government in the form of soft loans.

This is only fair because most have become rich due to facilities given to them by the government, or through collusion or manipulation.

The present crisis cannot be solved through economic and monetary actions only, we also need to conduct political reform.

By the latter we mean that the government needs to make personnel reforms in both central and provincial institutions first. Reforms should be thorough not just a form of cosmetic surgery.

MARSOESI

Surabaya, East Java

;; ANPAk..r.. Letter-crisis-TV-influence TV report sparks panic, hardship JP/4/let4

TV report sparks panic, hardship

From Republika

A private television station aired on Jan. 8 a scene showing customers in Jakarta jostling each other to buy canned milk powder. The store owner was forced to limit purchases to three cans of milk powder per customer.

Watching this, my wife became very worried. We have five small children who still drink milk of a certain brand. She instructed me to go to the market to buy a few cans of milk, for fear that it would be sold out, as it was in Jakarta.

That evening I hurried to the store hoping there was still milk left and that the stores would still be open. Luckily the store where we usually go was open and there were still many customers about. I grabbed some milk powder and had the usual Rp. 9,500 per can ready to pay only to be struck dumb to hear that the price of a can of milk powder had been increased to Rp 16,500. Apparently the store's owner had watched the same TV broadcast which showed the panic in Jakarta.

To my disappointment I was only able to buy two cans of milk. Because of this my children have to drink less milk than usual, with the risk that their health may deteriorate. My wife and I also have had to adjust the pattern of our food consumption accordingly.

I don't mean to be dramatic, but I have a hard time ahead of me because I have been laid off from my job for unclear reasons. Maybe the crisis has forced the company to reduce its number of employees.

Only the rich can afford to buy sufficient daily necessities now.

It is obvious that TV broadcasts can influence the behavior of individuals in society. I therefore appeal to the Information Minister to supervise negative TV broadcasts so as not to worsen the prevailing economic and monetary crisis.

Rich and poor alike in cities and in villages should make a concerted effort to overcome the economic turmoil.

H. AHMAD HUMAIDI

Palembang, South Sumatra