Strengthening rupiah brings fresh hope

Strengthening rupiah brings fresh hope

Indonesian businessmen are at present seeing a glimmer of hope
in the strengthening trend of our national economy. Hope has been
bolstered with the strengthening of the value of the rupiah
against the U.S. dollar, which (on Tuesday) broke through the
psychological barrier of Rp 6,500 to the dollar -- a record high
since the onset of the economic crisis.

For the real sector, this trend of a strengthening economy
should be a spur to perform, as in the days before the crisis
began to wreak havoc in our lives. If capital isn't enough to
restart the wheels of business, then at least we could begin by
taking the necessary steps in that direction so that work can be
started as soon as the money becomes available.

For the government, steps must be taken to make sure that no
distortions will interfere with the natural course of
developments. Government officials should avoid making statements
that could affect the market.

We hope that the glimmer of hope that is beginning to shine on
us at present will not again be doused. If that should happen,
the suffering which we will have to endure could well be much
worse than what we have experienced so far.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta