People told to suport economic rescue

JAKARTA (JP): Calls mounted yesterday for people to remain calm and take action to support the government's economic rescue package as the rupiah continued to dive to another low.

Businesswoman Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana and Golkar legislator Theo Sambuaga asked the people to keep their faith in the rupiah and change their U.S. dollars into rupiah if necessary.

"Let's stop the dollar buying spree. Whoever we are, we have to show our love for our own currency, including releasing our dollars," said Hardiyanti, President Soeharto's eldest daughter, on the sidelines of the People's Consultative Assembly.

The rupiah surpassed its weakest rate ever of 10,000 against the U.S. dollar yesterday, inciting some people to rush to supermarkets to stock up on food and other goods in apparent concern of a huge price hike.

Hardiyanti, better known as Mbak Tutut, said public confidence in the rupiah would play a pivotal role in settling the crisis, other than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package.

"Without such self-confidence, it's difficult for us to cope with the crisis," she said.

But she refuted that government officials or public figures have to initiate the move to change their dollars into rupiah.

"Don't wait for other people. The movement must be conducted by all of us," she said.

Theo, chairman of the Golkar faction in the House of Representatives, agreed. He said selling dollars was a reasonable way to show confidence in the rupiah.

However, he said nobody could be forced to change their dollars into rupiah, because it was everybody's right to deposit their money in their favorite currencies.

"I just call on people who keep money in the U.S. dollar to sell it. They can agree or disagree to this suggestion," he said.

He said that under such a tight monetary policy, people should also use local goods rather than imported ones, saying that it would not only boost domestic industries but also curb imports.

He predicted that the drastic fall of the rupiah would be short-lived, because it represented an excessive response to the government's decision to base the draft 1998/1999 state budget at a rupiah exchange rate of Rp 4,000 against the U.S. dollar.

Calm

Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs, Lt. Gen. Yunus Yosfiah, called on the people yesterday not to panic in responding to the monetary crisis now jolting the Southeast Asian region, including Indonesia.

"It is easy to say, but people must have faith that the government is doing its best to settle the crisis," he told reporters at the Armed Forces' headquarters.

He called on the people not to be easily influenced by the rumors, which would only lead to panic.

He said the rapid dissemination of such rumors indicated that certain groups in society were deliberately making the situation worse.

"We have told the people several times to increase their alertness, but without being too suspicious," he said.

The government-backed chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Soerjadi said yesterday that people should stop spending their money on unnecessary things, avoid living in luxury and be disciplined in their individual budget.

He said the government should focus all its energy on regaining people's confidence in its policies to restore the economy.

He also called on the government to be more serious in establishing a clean and good governance.

"Otherwise, the people will never trust its policies anymore," he told reporters after the meeting. (imn/amd)