Taking stock

Taking stock

President Soeharto, in his speech before a plenary session of
the House of Representatives on Saturday, emphasized the
importance of prudence on the part of both the government and the
community in braving the current monetary developments.

The President asked everyone concerned to make their
businesses projections in a reasonable and realistic manner.
"This means that both business and the government must be careful
in choosing their projects and determine what must be given
precedence and what can be delayed," the President said.

The statement does not necessarily mean that businesses and
the government must delay their projects. What is desired is
caution, no unbridled offshore borrowing and taking precautions
to minimize any possible effects of the current monetary upset.

Naturally, this also goes for our consumptive behavior, which
is quite often irrational, as people tend to prefer anything
foreign over our own domestic products.

We must also be rational in our handling of inflationary
pressures -- that is to say that if such pressures should tend to
occur due to our own low economic efficiency, then this is where
our target for improvement should be. The business community
should not be made to pay the price, for example, by putting
limits on needed credit expansions.

There is no need for us to panic. The important thing is to
make the necessary adjustments. The government should continue
its deregulation and debureaucratization programs in order to
eliminate distortions and get rid of our high-cost economy. In
this manner, all our economic actors will be able to move with
agility and efficiency.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta