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
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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