Rupiah rate and competitiveness

Your front page news on Thursday, Oct. 22, about the ideal range of the rupiah as stated by Coordinating Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita is really absurd. As everyone knows, for 32 years Indonesia never dreamed of developing up-stream industries producing raw materials.

Present manufactures in Indonesia are still importing 60 percent to 75 percent of their raw materials. Certainly they won't be able to do so at Ginandjar's rate.

As coordinating minister of economy, finance and industry, Ginandjar should not have made such a preemptive statement because Indonesian industries still need a strong rupiah, at an exchange rate between 5,000 and 6,000 to the U.S. dollar. At that range, Indonesia will still be competitive compared to Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.

Let's do our homework first before we talk.

DR. BENNETT, Ph.D

President

Graduate School of Management

LPMI, Jakarta