Shopping holidays

From Media Indonesia

Alarming deliberations of deficit-prone transactions threaten to engulf our country and financial experts worry about our country's economic prospects. Therefore, I am perplexed to note the blatant retail ads from Singapore which aim to lure thousands of Indonesians to spend the school holidays there while retail outlets are holding annual jumbo sales.

According to a well informed source, Indonesian visitors receive an exceptional welcome owing to their extravagant spending sprees.

It made me wonder why people like to shop abroad? Is it to satisfy a private need? Or do they think that buying in foreign cities will make them gain in stature?

I remember that the shopping centers, plazas and malls were built with the purpose of attracting local affluent consumers, who were used to shopping in neighboring countries. I wonder too, if the mushrooming of such shopping malls and their recreation centers throughout Jakarta, still cannot stem rich people's foreign shopping fever? What are they actually looking for?

It is truly strange that there is still a group in our society who has the fortune to be affluent, but, is boosting consumerism with foreign shopping sprees despite the government's desperate efforts to gird local and offshore funds for the benefit of investments in the country.

Through this column, I would like to appeal to the fortunate ones and remind them that our nation gained independence from foreign rule because self-interest was put aside for all hands to work together on a massive scale.

Now that the country is independent, I hope that those fortunate people do not forget their less fortunate brethren and that they will shed the habit of savoring their good fortune all by themselves.

A, HARIYONO

Serang, West Java