Subject:	The Collapse Of Indonesia
Date:	1999/05/27
Author:	fedinfo <fedinfo@halifax.com>
	Posting History

Y2K COLUMN - Indonesian banks eye survival, not bug 02:00 a.m. May 26, 1999 Eastern By Soraya Permatasari   JAKARTA, May 26 (Reuters) - Indonesia's debt-laden banks have paid scant attention to the countdown to the year 2000 as they devote all their energy and resources to simply surviving Indonesia's economic meltdown.   With some banks trying to raise more than a billion dollars through rights issues just to stay afloat, the costly task of preparing their computers against the millennium bug biting as January 1, 2000 dawns is beyond their reach.   ``Y2K is definitely not a priority for many banks,'' says ING Barings banking analyst Limi Halim.   ``First of all, they have to struggle just to survive.''   Analysts doubt that even Indonesia's healthiest banks, those with a capital adequacy ratio already above four percent, can afford to upgrade their computer systems.   ``I can say that the awareness here is quite low -- and by the time they realised it, there wasn't much time left,'' a consultant in charge of a Y2K project told Reuters.   Overall, the Indonesian banking sector's battle plan for the Y2K bug does not fill the experts with confidence.   Adji Gunawan, a Y2K consultant at Andersen Consulting, says the country may still be ironing out Y2K bugs until 2003.   Some bankers, too, are less than optimistic.   ``I don't think there is a single firm in Indonesia that will be fully compliant,'' said one.       ============   Clue-by-four: They are not going to survive. The fourth most populous nation on earth is about to be eviscerated.   I think I will change my tactics. A new approach. No more Mr. Nice Guy.     What are you abject morons thinking? Huh? You waiting for a brick to fall on your head?   The fourth most populous nation on earth is gone. They are already fighting for their lives as it is. Y2K will disembowel them. Oh, wait a minute. I forgot. All the nice Indonesians are known for their contemplative and moderate behaior. When anything happens, political upheaval, economic collapse, acts of God, the Indonesians are widely known to behave calmly and rationally.   Never do you hear of racial killing sprees, food riots, decapitations and other assorted butchery. Not the mild and benevolent Indonesians. Mais non!   Cripes! They wrote the book on sadistic mayhem. Mengele was a piker compared to them.   Nah, nothing will happen there. Nope. Nope. Nope. Banks go under. Ahhhhhh. Sweet tranquilty. No electricity. Charity and hospitality for all.   They are not 'closing in' on compliance.   One of their bankers:  "I don't think there is a single firm in Indonesia that will be fully compliant", said one."     All the Pollyannas exclaim that there is no need to take precautions. None of the global collase will wash up on these shores. A mere insignificant Indonesian banking problem, by way of contrast, rocked the world's markets. Now, one after another, signifigant countries are going down the drain, one by one. And you are just going to sit there, like an imbecile, and watch it happen.   It's coming to a town near you, very very soon. So, do nothing. Listen to the ignorami, the decherts, the egans, the brocks. DO NOTHING. Or maybe call the toll free number and get one of Koskinen's compliance kits. I hear that it contains a full color poster! Oh boy! Posters!   Then, die in your ignoarnce because you don't like what you are hearing.   But, for those of you with an ort of common sense....   GET OUT OF POPULATED AREAS, NOW.         http://infoseek.go.com/Content?arn=a3625LBY473reulb- 19990525&qt=y2k&sv=IS&lk=noframes&col=NX&kt=A&ak=news1486   -- Paul Milne If you live within five miles of a 7-11, you're toast. --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- ---Share what you know. Learn what you don't.---

-- a (a@a.a), May 27, 1999

Answers

Remember those pictures from Jakarta a few months ago? The rioting? I remember.

-- GeeGee (GeeGee@madtown.com), May 27, 1999.

Maybe Milne is right and the time for Mr. Nice Guy is past. "Butthead" seems almost quaint at this point. Already have nostalgia ...

USA imports quite a lot from Indonesia ...

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), May 27, 1999.

Intersting post...fears well founded...but no guarantees. A third world country..even heavily populated..is still a third world country. Now Japan is a different story. Will the imploding continue? It appears so. Only a matter of time. Every big event always takes longer to occur than a smaller one. The depression will wash ashore here. How bad? we haven't lived in one..most of us..."brother can you spare a dime?" will be replaced by..."your dime or your life!" I have a bad feeling about this year...

-- rick shade (Rickoshade@aol.com), May 27, 1999.

Rick, by what definition is Indionesia a third world country? I seem to remember seeing during the riots a few months back that Indionesia is one of the group of top economies on the planet - way higher than I would have ever surmised!

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), May 28, 1999.

I think I remember that Indonesia has the highest percentage of pirated software.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), May 28, 1999.