The ugly American way

How often have our monies (foreign notes) been refused in Indonesian banks because they are not pristine and perfect? Last year I traveled throughout Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Not once did I receive the spoilt brat arrogance that I constantly have to put up with here.

I try to use banks with a decent background and provenance. I went to ANZ, I have an account in Australia with them -- maybe not for much longer, depending on their reply, and I took US$ to convert to A$ and to transfer to a Commonwealth Bank account in Australia.

The bills were perfect except for a wallet fold in the middle. They, of course, were refused -- the battle raged on for an hour. Managers were all conveniently unavailable. Business behind me came to a stand still. Eventually, I had to resort to "the ugly American" method, obnoxious and loud insults. I let them know that it stops right here, right now with me and I'm not leaving. Finally, hypocritically, they would accept my "dirty" money only if I converted from dollar to rupiah first and then to A$ at far worse than the usual exorbitant bank rates. The birthday kid at home ate the loss.

This arrogant attitude sickeningly pervades all levels of the economic, judicial and government sectors of this nation. Ethics, a foreign concept and all its strange global connotations, has no meaning here. It must be force fed, as must be done with recalcitrant children. How's about we all add five minutes of grief towards those who try to enforce these bumptious policies.

BRIEN D.

Jakarta