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usiness owners have demanded that the government and Bank Indonesia prepare comprehensive measures to alleviate the impact of the depreciation of the rupiah because they have started to feel the pinch from the pressure of the weakening currency.

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) deputy chairman Chris Kanter said the government and other state institutions should work together to handle the issue just as the country had been able to handle the impact of the 2008 financial crisis.

'€œThe 14,000 level is not below the currency'€™s real value, so it is more costly for business owners. Quick and comprehensive measures should be taken,'€ Chris told The Jakarta Post recently.

On Aug. 25, the rupiah passed the significant 14,000 mark against the US dollar for the first time since the 1998 financial crisis as the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), the main price indicator on the local stock exchange, lost almost 4 percent to close at 4,163.73. The loss came as frenzied trading occurred following heavy selling pressures in other Asian markets.

On the same day the rupiah dipped, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo invited Indonesia'€™s top businessmen to discuss the country'€™s economy, even though he did not specifically address the rout in local financial markets during the two-hour meeting.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno also reportedly told state companies to buy back part of their shares to prop up falling prices.

Chris praised Jokowi'€™s decision to hold the meeting as well as Rini'€™s order to state-owned enterprises to buy back shares. He also stressed that existing regulations that could help maintain the level of the rupiah should be enforced, such as Bank Indonesia'€™s policy on the ban of US dollars.

Earlier in July, Bank Indonesia (BI) decided to stand firm in enforcing the ban on US dollars for domestic transactions, fully implementing the central bank regulation (PBI) no. 7 that enforces the mandatory usage of the rupiah for all transactions onshore.

The regulation is designed to rein in local demand for dollars and stabilize the rupiah, known as one of Asia'€™s most volatile currencies. On the other hand, Chris said the government should accelerate its spending to improve the country'€™s weak consumption, which had caused a slump in economic growth to 4.67 percent in the second quarter of this year.

'€œWe [business owners] have suffered from losses but we could keep surviving through better management of our spending and finding cost efficiencies. We know what to do, because we have learned a lot from previous crises,'€ Chris said.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani voiced a similar view that business owners had suffered badly from the depreciation of the rupiah and various other economic pressures, such as weak demand in almost all economic sectors.

'€œThe condition has forced business owners to manage their cash flows better, such as introducing massive cost efficiency measures, reducing production and executing lay-offs. It is quite worrying for us,'€ Hariyadi said.

Similar to Chris, Hariyadi said that it was essential for the government to start boosting its spending especially for infrastructure in the regions, which remained lackluster due to administrative issues and land-clearing problems.

Triyono Prijosoesilo, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Soft Drink Producers (Asrim), expected a similar move from the government'€™s acceleration of spending, which could help the country to maintain its purchasing power and domestic consumption.