(IPS) feature The closing day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is less than two weeks away, but Indonesian Muslims who would have been busy by now making the preparations for the grand feast are hard-pressed to even think of celebrating.

But some are exerting all their efforts to make the Aidil Fitri festivities, which fall on Dec 16-17, as joyous as possible despite a gloomy economy that has caused millions of Indonesians to lose their jobs.

Indeed, pawnshops, which usually do especially brisk business in the run-up to Aidil Fitri, are finding themselves working harder than ever before.

In South Sulawesi province, the local administration has already allocated 100 billion rupiah (RM380 million/US$100 million) to pawnshops in the region just for this season.

All pawnshops in Indonesia are state-owned. According to South Sulawesi officials, the generous infusion of funds to the shops this year represents a 30 percent increase from last year's allocation.

''We increase the allocation because people's incomes are (decreasing) and prices are soaring,'' says Puryoto, who oversees operations in a South Sulawesi pawnshop.

The Indonesian government itself has been having difficulty making ends meet. In truth, to cover the state budget deficit of 7.3 trillion rupiah (RM27.74 billion/US$7.3 billion), the government has increased fuel prices twice.

Empty wallet

Electricity and phone rates have gone up as well, leaving the ordinary Indonesian with a nearly empty wallet.

That the country is still seen as politically unstable by many outsiders has been considered as among the major factors for Indonesia's continuing economic woes. So too is the global economic downturn.

But some analysts have also long criticised the development strategy followed by the successive Indonesian governments that practically abandoned the agricultural sector.

Remarks agricultural expert H. S. Dillion: ''It is evident that the fundamentals of Indonesian industry is so weak. But the government favours industry because it gives the impression of 'advancement', while agriculture is 'backward'.''

''In fact,'' he says, ''Indonesia, by history and, nature and reality, is an agriculture country. People are returning to villages now, but only to find their farm, paddy fields, plantation have been converted to industrial estates or housing complex.''

Pawnshops

South Sulawesi, for instance, is one of Indonesia's most productive agricultural regions. Yet this had not translated into affluence for the farmers here, and residents have been trooping to the pawnshops long before the economy began spiralling downwards.

In the last few weeks, though, they have been doing so in hordes. City-based relatives who used to send home money to help out the families here are now either out of work or have found their salaries and benefits slashed. And with the festivities coming up, each family has a long shopping list.

''My children have not sent the money as they had always been done on the eve of Aidil Fitri before they come,'' says Sutinah, 57, who is a veteran visitor to a local pawnshop here. ''They said they are sorry not to send the money because the company they work for has cut their salaries - terrible.''

Home for good

Many in fact predict that millions of Aidil Fitri travellers will be making a one-way trip this year.

In the past, they would return to cities after spending several days in their hometowns. Many even take their relatives - cousins, brothers, nephews - to their home in cities and help them get jobs there, contributing to the ever expanding population of Indonesian urban areas.

This year, though, many of them will likely stay in their hometowns after losing their jobs and finding life getting more difficult in the cities. Among them will be Cecep Kustam, who has returned home for good after a spell of working in Batam island in western Indonesia as a construction worker.

''I will not go back to Batam,'' he says. ''Things are not as good as they were there.'' Asked what he plans to do next, he replies, ''I have no idea yet what I will do here. I think I will do some farming.''

But analysts say he may have another think coming. The agricultural sector has been hit hard this year by floods, and Indonesia is now even importing such staples as rice, fruits, soybean and potatoes.

Agricultural Minister Bungaran Saragih says the government has had no choice but to import these items - and a lot more - because many of the crops were destroyed in the floods that affected many regions in the country. As it is, GNP in agriculture has declined by 4.8 percent just in the last six months.

Still, he admits, ''These imports perpetuate Indonesia's dependency to foreign countries, weaken its production capability and prolong the economic crisis that should be firstly dealt with self-reliance.''

Yet for now, there is no indication that the government will finally begin paying more attention to agriculture.

In the meantime, people here rummage through their meagre family treasures to find things to pawn. As residents here say, Aidil Fitri comes but once a year, and the annual family reunions are worth the sacrifice of a few trinkets, perhaps even family heirlooms.

Says Heni Sumarni, 40, who sells cloths at the Makassar traditional market: ''I pawn my golden ring to get 300,000 rupiah (RM8/US$30). Hopefully I can take them back after Aidil Fitri.''