Indonesia's problems are over - Not Yet!!
Last I heard, this plan has been shelved, for two reasons.
Firstly, the World Bank in KL can only accept deposits and withdrawals in Ringgit, and since Dr. Mahathir has now imposed controls, the Rupiah can not be converted into Ringgit. "In any case," says Datuk Daim, "the Rupiah is just too cumbersome, we would have to store all this money on the tarmac at the new airport. These Rupiah would take up all the space, rendering the airport in-operational. We would not want to offend the American tourists, who are our only source of foreign income."
Domestically, this plan has also created an uproar amongst the Armed Forces, as it would appear that the Air Force, which sees itself as a budding Fedex, would have the monopoly in transporting all these rupiah, and charging carriage fees in dollars, which as everyone knows, are scarcer than hen's teeth in Jakarta these days. At last report, the Army, Police and Navy have announced blockades of all Air Force bases......
Back to square one. |
