Donna's open criticisms<\/p>\n
Whenever Donna Woodward makes a contribution to The Jakarta
\nPost, it is always a surprise. The courage she shows as an
\nexpatriate and righteous person -- in this country always
\nextremely vulnerable to threats from officials who feel
\ntheir good (?) name to be (rightly) defamed -- is truly
\nremarkable. The doggedness with which she pursued the immigration
\ncrook in Medan, through her revelations in the Post, is a
\nuniquely outstanding feat in the annals of concerned expatriates
\nopenly and successfully decrying through the media the glaring
\npower abuse by greedy officials.<\/p>\n
Her article about Habibie and some of his aides is again a
\nremarkable feat. It's a perfect analysis of the Habibie enigma:
\non the one hand Habibie's undeniable contributions toward
\ndemocratic progress in this country, his 100 percent true-to-
\nhimself demeanor, his exemplary attitude in not seeking
\nrevenge not even for malicious attacks on his character; but on
\nthe other hand: his halfhearted initiatives regarding political
\nprisoners, his courageous but ill-timed and badly sold East Timor
\ninitiative, and regarding Aceh his clumsy policies approaching
\nbetrayal of his own people.<\/p>\n
To me, the Habibie enigma is exemplified by two sets of
\nconfusing contradictions, such as: his clownish, comedy-like
\nacting during his official hollow-sounding speeches in contrast
\nto his very human, touching and extremely sympathetic duet with
\nJoshua a couple of weeks ago; or Yunus Yosfiah's law on freedom
\nof the press as opposed to Wiranto's draft security bill.<\/p>\n
Even the Post's editorials, without exception day after day
\nthe best journalistic jewels one can find in any newspaper in
\nthis country, seldom reach the level of clarity and objectivity
\nas in Donna Woodward's article about Habibie.<\/p>\n
I feel unfortunate never to have had the honor of meeting
\nDonna. Wouldn't she be the right person to act as an ombudsman
\nfor expatriates' interests, or to set up a foundation to defend
\nexpatriates' rights, or to establish a Chamber of Commerce of
\nForeign Investors in this country? To my knowledge, neither
\nAburizal Bakrie nor the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
\nIndustry (KADIN) have never taken any initiative in this respect:
\nForeign investors are welcome if they come with open hands, never
\nif these same open hands mean a request for justice or freedom of
\nharassment.<\/p>\n
What do the concerned expatriates here think of this idea
\nthemselves?<\/p>\n
There must be some out there who have some guts, even if it
\nwere only 10 percent of Ms. Donna's?<\/p>\n
IDRIS KYRWAY<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/donnas-open-criticisms-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }