Simon Montlake in Jakarta looks at how Indonesia is gearing up to life without the IMF and forthcoming democratic presidential elections.
Almost six years after it turned to the IMF for emergency loans to stem a financial meltdown, Indonesia is finally preparing to go it alone. Its current IMF package, a $5bn loan agreement signed in early 2000, ends in December and the government has opted not to renew – a decision that has proven popular among Indonesians. Many fault the IMF and other lenders for exacerbating the social impact of the 1997-98 crisis.
