The Indonesian rupiah must be the most valuable currency in the world. After all, it’s now wrapped in plastic and edible! I figure this is why in Indonesia coins can be substituted for candy. Realistically, of course, what retailers do to the general public is as easy as stealing candy from a baby – only they’re the ones giving us the candy!
How many of us actually enjoying receiving candy instead of money? How many of us actually realize this is daylight robbery? How many of us actually end up chucking these icky sweeties in the bin, out the car window, in the empty lot next-door, in the river? How many people have considered that it is actually not good to encourage people, especially children, to eat sweets?
Sly local retailers like to make out that they are victims of the banks – banks that don’t stock coins. My answer is: “Get real” or “Round down if you don’t have the change”. It is our legal right as consumers to get our change in legal currency and we should not stand for being short-changed or ripped off.
Unfortunately, society seems to willingly accept this scam. I suppose this is why that the government has eventually decided to crack down: now it is officially illegal to give change in candy.
Bear this in mind when someone tries to ‘slip you the sweet’: that retailer is actually profiteering out of this fiasco; the negative impact of the disposal of millions of plastic sweet wrappers every day; that these retailers are actively encouraging junk food consumption; if you were in your own country, you would never put up with it.
I encourage you as the consumer to:
1. Say “no” to candy change.
2. Insist any retailer or service provider give you the correct change.
3. If they don’t have change, insist they round down rather than up because it is their responsibility not yours.
4. Return another day and attempt to buy something with a mountain of candy – they’re using it as currency, why shouldn’t you?
