Moral recovery should begin from the top<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Ethics expert Sonny Keraf said on Thursday that the nation's
\nefforts to emerge from the prevailing moral crisis should start
\nwith the leaders in society.<\/p>\n
Sonny said in his speech at Atma Jaya University here that
\npeople in the country remained in need of role models to make
\nchanges. Leaders, Sony added, always set the standard for the way
\ncommon people behave.<\/p>\n
\"My own experience has suggested that low-ranking officials
\nwould not dare to commit corruption if top echelon ones did not
\ndo it,\" said Sonny, the state minister for environment during the
\nbrief tenure of President Abdurrahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
The speech highlighted the commemoration of the 25th
\nanniversary of the university's Center for Ethical Development,
\nin which Sonny is a co-founder.<\/p>\n
Sonny further called on the country's leaders to take
\ninitiatives in the nationwide drive to uphold moral values. Moral
\ndeterioration is reflected, to some extent, in the rampant
\ncorruption in all levels of the bureaucracy, he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested that people should become introspective rather
\nthan just blaming the government for the moral breakdown.<\/p>\n
\"All parts of the nation should take this moral decadence
\nseriously because it is the source of the multifaceted crises in
\npolitics, society and the economy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sonny said all sectors of the community had contributed to the
\ncurrent moral decadence and, therefore, they should start
\nchanging their own lives.<\/p>\n
\"All past sins, such as corruption and human rights abuses,
\nwere committed collectively, meaning that all parts of society
\nplayed a role,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sonny suggested a national repentance, in which all people
\npledged not to repeat their past mistakes.<\/p>\n
He said that making excuses or shifting the blame to other
\nparties would only spark a distrustful environment in society.<\/p>\n
Sonny underscored the need for self consciousness, now that
\nthe society was experiencing a comprehensive moral crisis.<\/p>\n
\"The government itself is unable to solve the moral crisis,
\nbecause it has affected all elements of society. Even President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri herself disclosed that she was leading a
\n'trashy' administration,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He insisted that the media could contribute to the efforts to
\nuphold moral virtues in society, by highlighting the good people
\nin society, not only the corrupt ones. The press, he said, should
\ngive appropriate space to the few good people who are not
\ncorrupt, and who campaign for moral values.<\/p>",
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