A nation without a real leader<\/p>\n
Sunday is normally a relaxing day in my life because I can
\nwake up late and enjoy my coffee in the morning without worrying
\nabout traffic jams, which, during the week, become the order of
\nthe day.<\/p>\n
But last Sunday was somewhat different. As I read the Post on
\nSept. 1, my eyes caught the headline 64 workers, children die in
\nNunukan. I was so sad and choked with emotion as I read the
\narticle. Although 64 people seems like a small number compared to
\na population of over 200 million in this country, if we knew who
\nthey were, I think we would be overcome with sorrow.<\/p>\n
They are our national citizens who were struggling to get
\nahead by working illegally in Malaysia because there were not
\nenough jobs available for them in Indonesia. They struggled for a
\nliving and also for their family and relatives back in their
\nkampong.<\/p>\n
Now as Malaysia has enforced new laws that punish these
\nworkers with caning, imprisonment and large fines, many of
\nIndonesia's workers, who are mostly illegal, are trying to avoid
\nthe sanctions and return home. Unfortunately, there has been no
\nsignificant help from the Indonesian government in easing the
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
That is not the case with the Philippines. President Gloria
\nMacapagal Arroyo sent her predecessor, former president Fidel
\nRamos to Kuala Lumpur to solve the issue of illegal immigrants
\nthere. She went to Bangao in the province of Tawi-Tawi, to meet
\nthe illegal workers that had disembarked in the city to get
\nfirsthand information about the suffering of thousands of
\ndeportees from Sabah. The climax came when she talked on the
\nphone directly with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad with the
\nresult that Kuala Lumpur has halted the deportation of Filipino
\nmigrant workers, as reported in The Post on page 2 of Sunday,
\nSept. 1.<\/p>\n
What is happening in Indonesia is different. Despite the
\ncrisis that is hitting this nation and the disaster involving
\nsome 22,000 illegal workers in Nunukan, President Megawati went
\nahead with her scheduled trip overseas. It seems to me that she
\ndoes not feel responsible to solve the issue. Instead, she relies
\non her assistants to sort out the problems. I have concluded that
\nour nation has no real leader. We have only a leader of the
\nCabinet.<\/p>\n
M. SULHAN ASKANDAR, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-nation-without-a-real-leader-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }