A breach of the Creator's laws

There is an ancient saying which goes as follows: Those who accept evil without protesting against it, are really cooperating with it.

Nowadays, this country harbors entirely far too many dyed-in- the-wool hypocrites who profess that they are, indeed, religious, who emphatically state to whoever happens to be in hearing distance that they live according to the Creator's laws, while in reality they do the opposite... flagrantly breaking almost all laws in His Books.

Do these despicable frauds feel even the slightest twinge of remorse? Have they shown any signs of being ashamed? Are they ready to contritely return everything they gained by unlawful means? Apparently not, as they are gloating in glee over their apparent "success" in getting away scot-free. The irony is that, by the time these scoundrels are really regretting all the villainous deeds they have perpetrated, it will be too late to make any amends... at least on this earth.

Indeed, for more than three decades we have accepted the evil from those in power, and serious protests began in earnest just last year. Let us hope we are not too late to save this country from utter destruction.

To actually see someone strike a blow for that which is right and just is, therefore, quite heartwarming.

Herewith, I would like to warmly compliment Stefanus Indrayana, Public Relations Officer at the Electronic Marketer Club, for his excellent and in-depth articles of May 23, 1999: Local electronics market undercut by illegal imports and Combating smuggled imported products.

It is definitely very heartening to actually witness a fellow Indonesian courageously pointing out the disgraceful flaws in our imports, and actually come up with several good suggestions for a solution, as well.

Also reading all that material about former president Soeharto and his appallingly greedy clan in Time magazine made me feel very disgusted and ashamed to be an Indonesian.

Mr. Indrayana's articles, which were like a fresh breeze in a room with stale air, have given me new hope: as long as there are Indonesians with courage and integrity like him, Indonesians who are really concerned about establishing a clean and fair business climate, our country has a chance, however slim, of surviving and overcoming its enormous problems.

MS. SOETAMI KOESTOMO

Bogor, West Java