'I’m worried. Very worried.': We Spoke to Indonesian Millennials About How Rp 15,000 Feels

What's Rp 15,000 mean to you? To a lot of millennials, a weaker rupiah is just one more in a long list of stuff that stresses us out. We already have to deal with low-paying jobs, rising rents, and sky-high housing prices. Most of us still live with our parents in a city few of us will ever be able to afford to buy a home and settle down in.

Now, the economy is feeling just as shitty as the rest of us do. But has the new exchange rate, the worst since the 1998 Asian Finance Crisis, left young Indonesians feeling scared? We hit the phones to find the answer to that question.

"I don’t know all that much about foreign currencies, but, for now, I’m not too worried about it because it hasn’t really affected my daily needs like the cost of food and transport. It’s business-as-usual. But I’ve read about the crisis in Venezuela and Turkey, and they sound pretty similar to our own '98 monetary crisis and that’s a bit scary.

"In all honesty, I never felt the difference when rupiah was stable anyway. People are still buying music merch from overseas, stuff from like Joy Division or Title Fight. So I think things are still pretty normal. But if the rupiah keeps getting weaker, then we should be worried. I worry more about the social and political consequences of it. We don’t want to repeat the past. I hope no one takes advantage of the current situation for political purposes. But that kind of thing is hard to prevent, and that's why I’m scared.

"In my opinion, the monetary crisis of '98 won’t happen again here. I was little back then, so I don’t remember much, but from what i understand, '98 was the domino effect caused by Thailand and George Soros. It’s different now. I’ll start panicking when the health insurance premiums, home loans, or taxes get jacked up."

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"So far, I haven’t really been affected by it. When I heard about the news, I thought, 'Man, I should’ve exchanged my dollars!' Am I afraid for my future? Nah, the government won’t let things stay the way they are.

"Indonesia is a developed country and our finance minister is smart. The monetary crisis of '98 isn't going to happen again, no way. I’m confident because we’ve been fine so far. I have no doubts about the current the government. The price of rice is still the same, isn't it?

"There’s just not a lot of difference from how it was [before the rupiah hit Rp 15,000]. Maybe people who live to travel overseas a lot are having a bit of a headache right now, but I haven't really been affected yet. My business is doing well, and my expenses haven’t gone up. Maybe, when the cost of commodities start to rise, then I’ll worry. But it really depends. If that happens, I’ll just raise my prices. I run my own business, but it seems like my friends who work at offices aren’t really affected either. It’s all good."

"I feel pretty insecure and worried about asset depreciation, to be honest. My import/export business got hit hard by the rising exchange rate and now out working capital has spiked to an unbelievable level. My major concern is how to manage my assets well so I won’t get caught up in this depreciation wave.

"As someone who works in finance, I think people are scared of the big 15,000 because it reminds them of the '98 monetary crisis when the US dollar was extremely strong. People are obviously also worried about inflation. The fear is inevitable, but we shouldn’t overthink the issue.

"If I were to give advice to millennials, specifically, it would be to STOP OVERSPENDING. Millennials tend to lead these glamorous lifestyles beyond their means and live without savings in mind. We should manage our assets better, decrease our spending, and keep supporting our government. This is the perfect time for us to start saving-up and planning well for the future."

"I’m worried. Very worried. We’re in a tough place already. There is already all this pressure to own a house, to pay for a wedding, all sorts of payment installments in order to live a 'proper' life like the previous generation. So the rising value of USdollar against rupiah just adds insults to the injury. People with difficult lives already are only going to see their lives become even more difficult.

"What worries me the most is if the cost of basic commodities is affected. If the government raises the cost of oil, then the others will follow suit. Sadly, it’s unclear if a salary increase will take place as well, because usually when it happens, it’s all already too late.

"Honestly, I already had my skepticism about the government without the weakening of the rupiah. This only lowers my faith in them even more.

"If rupiah declines past Rp 15.000, I might start thinking of doing more stuff to make money, because I will have less time for stuff that doesn't earn me anything."

"As someone who works in the media and deals with a lot of foreigners, I feel a heavy burden here. Our upcoming events involve a lot of foreigners, so our budget might swell up [if the exchange rate remains this bad]. I'm feeling the impact, for sure.

"But what’s scarier here is the potential that this could cause discord in society, but I don’t think another riot is going to happen. In '98, Indonesia was a place of total chaos. The exchange speculation was ridiculous, it went from Rp 3,000/USD to Rp 15,000/USD. As a former sociology major, I learned that dramatic change is hard for people to accept. But still, no one is killing anyone yet like we saw in the '98 riots.

"If it gets to Rp 20,000/USD, then it’s dangerous. For Indonesians overseas, life is going to get harder. When I went to school overseas and rupiah got weaker, it definitely affected me. I thought, 'fuck, I better finish my studies fast and get to work, or I'm going to have to spend a lot more money.'

"In my opinion, the people of Indonesia have always been skeptical of the government. And as a media person, I can only support individuals who push the country forward. I’m worried about the students who are studying overseas to better the country. It won't be good if they have to stop their education halfway through."

These interviews have been translated to English, and edited for content and clarity.