Re-Worked Rupiah...

With so many pressing and important matters to deal with in Indonesia, the government has gone straight to the biggest and most pressing of those issues, the currency. The government has decided that there is a need for a new IDR 1000 coin and a new colour scheme for the IDR 10,000 note.

The coin is a nickel coated steel deal with the Garuda symbol on one side and Gedung Sate with an angklung in the foreground on the flip side.

The colour scheme on the note was so 1990s that the government felt the note needed a little sprucing up and decided on a colour change.

Seriously though, there must have been a real important reason for doing this. Is it a new and improved security measure?

Will This Cause Inflation?

There is a bit of concern that the introduction of the new 2000 rupiah note will lead to inflation as merchants jack up their prices with a view to not having to give change. However, these concerns have been dismissed by the Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, as "theoretically impossible".

I have been hearing that the notes are pretty popular in the lead up to the Idul Fitri (Eid ul-Fitr) celebration. Indonesians tend to give crisp new notes as gifts to young children in recognition of the end of the fasting month.

There is a press release on the currency release here (in Indonesian).

Maid Reliance

It is always fun to listen to people trying to work out how they are going to cope for the week or two that their maid(s) return home to the kampung. It is even funnier to know that those who are a little more well-to-do check into hotels in order to avoid having to do the washing, ironing, cleaning and the like. I, on the other hand, look forward to the maid being back home in her kampung for a week or two.

I was born and raised in Australia. I have been washing and ironing my own clothes for as long as I care to remember. I have been cleaning up after myself for that long as well. I am a good cook (almost became a chef) and I have the basics down on sewing and other things.

Now, that said, I enjoy having a maid and have enjoyed becoming even lazier than I was before.

It is interesting that people panic that their maid(s) will not return after the trip back to their kampung. For me and the missus this was never an issue. When it is all said and done our maid has a pretty cushy gig. It might be as boring as watching the grass grown on a hot summer afternoon but she is well looked after in terms of salary and benefits. And, she is free to pretty much come and go as she pleases.

Sometimes we impose on her to stay at home but that is so rare I cannot even remember the last time that we did it. Generally, it is a security thing in making sure someone is home, but since the missus "retired" there has not been much of an issue on that front.

The wife and I were having a bit of a chuckle this morning about our maid's style as we were sitting in the study. The maid has a mobile phone and it is one that allows hand's free operation and she seems to be all geared-up on that front. The chuckle was to watch the maid go about her business sweeping and mopping while nattering away hands free. It was pretty funny but I guess you would have had to been there to appreciate how funny it was to us.

I guess it was funny to me because I cannot remember the last time I used hands free or the speaker phone. She seemed happy enough though.

Anyway, long story short, the maid had her two weeks off back in the kampung and has returned to resume doing whatever it was that she was doing before. She has been with us a bit over 12 months now so it is time for a raise on the salary front. We are not going to tell her about the raise rather just surprise her with the extra and explain it at the time. It is not mega Rupiah to us but I am sure it will make a difference to her.

The Entrepreneurial Indonesian Spirit

One must tip their hat to the never say die Indonesian entrepreneurial spirit. The recent serial killings that have been uncovered in Jombang, East Java, have unleashed plenty of activity in the area. The increased number of journalists and spectators of the macabre have descended on the place. This has meant that a small service industry has sprung up to serve the needs of those in town.

The services have seen some enter into the merchandise trade. These entrepreneurs are selling pictures of the suspect, Verry Idam Henyansyah (aka Ryan) (pictured), for IDR 4,000 a piece. The happy snaps of the alleged serial killer are selling like hot cakes and most trades seem to have been able to sell a few hundred of them. Funnily enough, the picture is one that has been downloaded from the Internet.

The other big entrepreneurial gig is in food and drinks. A large crowd needs to be fed and watered. True to the Indonesian spirit of entrepreneurship these traders have arrived in force. This is something that I do not recall from other places that I have visited in the world. I am not sure that it is unique to Indonesia, perhaps I just have not been to the "right" places on my other travels.

Nevertheless, whenever there is an incident there will be enterprising Indonesians on the scene within minutes selling food and drinks. I recall an accident scene a few years ago where a car had overturned and caught on fire. No one was trapped inside but the burning car and possible explosion meant that a crowd gathered at a safe distance, me include. Within minutes there were people selling bottles of tea, peanuts, fried snacks, the whole works as a matter of fact.

Some people might be amazed or surprised to read about the traders that have emerged around the scene of a horrific series of crimes such as these must have been. For me it is just another example of the Indonesian ability to make a Rupiah no matter what the circumstances.

Long live the entrepreneurial spirit!