Crucial, adds Basu, is that officials put in place well-defined bankruptcy laws. This is not the first time Chinese Indonesians have paid a price for their role in the economy, but Australia is starting to look good. A dire situation has been made more so by the fact that the Chinese-dominated distribution system was virtually wrecked in the riots. That, plus the IMF's mandate to reduce subsidies, sent prices soaring. Cooking oil, selling in February for 24 cents a bottle, has nearly tripled in price.
Expensive food is what got people into the streets in the first place.
Nuriati speculates that pricier oil has something to do with the torching of tycoon Liem Sioe Liong's house. His Indofood makes a lot of oil. He doesn't want to admit that he already sucked our blood while Suharto was in power. The riots also left scores of companies with daunting repair bills. More than 500 bank branches and at least 200 automatic teller machines were trashed and looted.