The Indonesian Devaluation of November 15, 1978 – A Basketful of Dilemmas

The author has known Kurt Martin since the early 1960s when he was in Indonesia on an assignment to assist a new research institute (LEKNAS) in its formative years. It was the latter part of the Sukarno period, when the economy was suffering from rampant inflation, dwindling exports and foreign exchange reserves, and global political orientations that were not too favourable for the growth of the domestic economy. We remember Kurt Martin from those days as an inspiring counterpart in professional discussions, who always tested the logic and relevance of our arguments. We shall always be grateful to him for this role as intellectual sparring partner, but we were no match for his beloved chess games! Kurt is not responsible if, in later years, we have lost some of our intellectual rigour — after many years in government one tends to lose some purity of thought. The author left government in April 1978 to return to university life, but he is still suffering somewhat in the decompression chamber. He is trying to practice detachment in his observance of public affairs but finds this very difficult.