WE should not be grateful for the increased prosperity among a small number of Indonesians. Instead, we should regret the rise in the numbers of the poor majority. A survey by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini showing that the number of Indonesians worth more than around Rp9 billion has risen by 16.2 percent only highlights the extraordinary inequality when juxtaposed alongside the data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS). According to the BPS,