Only the cast has changed. The army has to take very serious action. If they just stand back, the looting will get worse and worse and in the end nobody will be able to stop it. While he has taken important steps toward dismantling the corrupt and authoritarian system of his predecessor, the President is still widely regarded as a hangover from the past. While acknowledging that current arrangements are not ideal, Minister of Cooperatives Adi Sasono argues that Habibie remains the best available option.
Many intellectuals agree.
But if their stomachs go on rumbling, ordinary Indonesians may find it more difficult to think things through. At a Jakarta depot, children scoop up a few scattered grains of rice, a staple many people can no longer afford. The answers are at the bottom of the translation.