ALARMS have been ringing over the past week. The rupiah is under mounting pressure. Its exchange rate against the United States dollar has quickly slipped to the Rp16,300 level, far exceeding the psychological threshold of Rp16,000, often regarded as dangerous.

What is particularly concerning is the speed of this decline, coinciding with an unexpected backdrop. Last Thursday, the US Federal Reserve announced a 0.25 percentage point rate cut. Tra