There is still hope

The string of events that have occurred during the past week should give cause for growing concern among Indonesians. The value of the rupiah declined again, which demonstrates the progressive weakening of the currency against the U.S. dollar. This makes it difficult for business to calculate the prices of products, affects production costs and causes the amount of dollars that people in business must accumulate for debt repayment purposes to swell. The public, too, is inconvenienced because almost all consumer products use imported components.

Another laughable development occurred this week. Finance Minister Prijadi Praptosuhardjo declared in a meeting with the House of Representative's Commission IX that the agreement for the purchase of a palm oil estate belonging to the Salim Group by the Malaysian company Guthrie Berhad has not been finalized. This is despite the fact that the sale of the asset, which is controlled by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), has already been approved by the agency's financial policy committee. Coordinating Minister of Economy, Rizal Ramli, said he considered the transaction final.

What happened to Mobil Oil and Arun (natural gas fields) has further damaged Indonesia's image as a safe location for investment. One further implication is that the trust of user countries of Arun products is being marred. The long-range impact will be a loss of trust in consumer countries of Arun products.

There is, however, still a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The President will soon meet leaders of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and MPR factions to find a common standpoint regarding the problems this nation is facing. Let us hope this meeting will not merely be a symbolic gesture, but that it will really reach the heart of the matter.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta