Introductory Note: Devaluation is the official decreasing by the government of the value of a given country's currency against a foreign currency. If a currency's value decreases solely due to market forces and entirely without government intervention, the decline in a currency's value is called depreciation not devaluation. On 15 November 1978, the Government of Indonesia officially announced the devaluation of the Rupiah against the U.S. dollar from Rp415 per US$ to Rp625 per US$. The Rp415 rate had been in effect since 1971. Various explanations were given to the public about the policy. One way of conveying these explanations was through a television interview that took place on 22 November 1978. The interviewer was Drs. Sumadi, M.EC., a graduate in economics at an Australian university, who would later become the Director General for Radio, Television and Film, and then go on to serve as Indonesian Ambassador to Mexico, a post which also covered Cuba and Panama. The government prepared several anticipatory moves before making the decision. Two of the most important things involved were the sufficient stockpiling of foreign exchange reserves and food supply (rice) all across the country. Therefore after the devaluation announcement took place, every request for foreign exchange and/or food could immediately be fulfilled.