JUST as South-East Asians are trying to believe that their smog-filled air is now clearing, so they dare to think that the worst of their currency troubles are also dispersing. Certainly, some of their governments seem to be taking economic action. This week Thailand unveiled its plan to meet the terms of a $17.2 billion bailout by the IMF; the Fund’s officials arrived in Indonesia to help with restructuring; and Malaysia was set to announce a budget for its newly straitened circumstances. Yet the region’s policymakers are still avoiding the central issues, hoping for a quick fix. Like the fires that smoulder on in Indonesia, South-East Asia’s economic troubles need monsoon treatment rather than a brief downpour.
