The Jakarta Post
Inflation in an economy is similar to blood pressure in the human body, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in his speech as he tried to explain the importance of the data in front of hundreds of administration officials from across the archipelago who gathered in Jakarta on Thursday. Once in a year, Bank Indonesia (BI) and the government invite all regional leaders to attend a national coordination meeting, aiming at ensuring they are on the same page when it comes to keeping the consumer price index in check. Balanced inflation would benefit both consumers and producers, said Kalla, who is a businessman himself. While soaring inflation would cripple the economy, muted inflationary pressure would discourage producers from expanding their businesses because of a lack of demand. “Inflation is like the blood pressure. We could collapse if our [blood pressure] is too high,”...