30.11.2006
06 February 2012
With regard to contemporary political transition two things appear to stand out if one wants to look at Indonesia and Egypt in a comparison. Firstly, the transition in both countries was sparked through political and/or economic crisis. Secondly, in both transitions the youth has played a significant role.
In 1997 and 1998 the exchange value of Indonesian Rupiah against US Dollar was plummeting down toRp. 16,500, devaluated to more than 20% from its original value. This caused huge debts in foreigncurrency. Price of basic and essential needs skyrocketed. Poverty rate increased, almost instantly. Peoplebegan to question whether the newly formed presidential cabinet had the capacity to restore the economicstability. Among those who posed a critical stand against Soeharto and his regulations were students. And they went protesting on the streets.