A lesson from Singapore
After reading Nazly Siregar's article "Fay caning uncovers bizarre truth in a civilized country" in the opinion page of The Jakarta Post of May 9, 1994, I was tempted to share my opinion regarding Fay's case.
Frankly speaking, I give my sincere compliments to Nazly Siregar for his (or her) clear comparison between Singapore and the United States. As far as we are concerned, what Singapore's government has been doing to Michael Fay, who has been convicted of vandalism, is none of our business. Singapore has its own laws and everybody must respect Singaporean law in Singapore and it is the right to impose any punishment on those who are found guilty of breaching its law.
Singapore is a small country from a geographic point of view. But as such, Singapore has proven itself to be a sovereign country by enforcing its law regardless of the status, origin and nationality of the perpetrator.
Even though Fay's case is none of our business, it might be useful for us if we try to draw a lesson from Singapore, particularly regarding law enforcement. Due to its strict law enforcement, Singapore has managed to maintain its reputation as the cleanest city in Asia.
Let us examine the situation closer to home. It is not so difficult, in our beloved country, Indonesia, to find state property such as public telephones and traffic signs vandalized by young people. Graffiti on walls which has defaced the beauty of the city is a common sight. It is also not uncommon to find some juvenile delinquents catapulting passing cars or trains. This sort of wrongdoing endangers innocent people.
Being a youth is no excuse for not punishing the perpetrator. Adopting a lenient stance by considering that such an attitude is very common and natural among young people will only spoil them further. And in the long run it will not educate them to become more responsible.
I fully support the opinion of an eminent law expert that only a horse must be flogged, but what we have to learn from Singapore is its insistence in enforcing its law. If caning is not human, we might consider another kind of punishment which is somewhat harsher. By this, one will think twice before intending to commit acts of wrongdoing including vandalism. If we really enforced our laws, the Bapindo scandal and the Kalti Mas ferry tragedy might never have happened and millions of dollars and hundreds of lives could have been saved.
We hope that after learning from Singapore, "law like a spider web, it catches a fly and lets a hawk go free" is not true.
NYOMAN SUWELA
Singaraja, Bali
Product of American family
Marshall Cromwell, like many people, seizes the Michael caning incident as an opportunity to self-righteously bash American society in general and American youth in particular. Fay has emerged as a symbol of the overindulged, raucous, whiny teenage product of an American dysfunctional family within the out-of- control U.S. society. Additionally, the general public, notably expatriate Americans, has suddenly acquired the expert skills and analytical tools of lawyers, judges, psychologists and sociologists. The collective public response overwhelmingly condemns Fay and supports Singapore's tough stance with almost bloodthirsty dogmatism. And, once again, the vast majority of wonderful, caring, intelligent, law-abiding young adults living in America and abroad, are discounted.
To Marshall Cromwell and others, I say stop the lecturing and the one-sided alarmist scare tactics! There are still plenty of decent American teenagers! Also, 25 years ago, plenty of boys chose not to go to Vietnam, and many that did go returned with severe alcohol and drug addiction problems. Further, some of those boys 25 years ago chose to impregnate their girlfriends to avoid being classified 1-A, and a good number of "Mamas" whined and cried and encouraged their boys to resist service in the military.
Stop oversimplifying things! American society, far from being "sick" continues to be dynamic, evolving and still pretty comfortable. And no, I don't "miss" America and I am enjoying immensely the 10 months I've spent in Indonesia. It is a beautiful country, rich with diversity and I feel honored to be here. I also hope Indonesia will deal with the problems of graffiti (gang tagging-just like we have back home), vandalism, rising crime rates, etc. in ways the Indonesian people deem culturally correct.
Singapore may be "safe," but at what price? It is a censorship-filled, repressed society in many ways, and their address numbering system is among the most archaic and bizarre in the world. Singapore, in short, like all countries, has problems. To blindly hold Singaporean justice (swift, brutal, universal) as a paragon to be emulated is, I think, a serious mistake. Singaporean justice will not provide a panacea for America.
Finally, as a teacher/counselor (16 years working with gang members, unwed mothers, gay/lesbian youth, high-risk inner-city teens in Los Angeles and Oakland) I can state unequivocally that young people respond tremendously to positive, continued support. Being young today (with AIDS, drug resistant strains of TB and other diseases, threats of nuclear war, rampant availability of drugs and alcohol, unprecedented global upheaval, global warming, etc.) is decidedly not the same as it was during the 1950's or 1960's. We no longer live in the comfortable denial-filled times of Ozzie and Harriot. Youth today need our love, our support and our encouragement. They need positive role models of effective living who are willing to listen to them and share their lives and experiences with them. (This is very different from lecturing and condemning).
In closing, I think that all expatriate parents need to start really listening to their kids. I would love to see some parent/teen dialogs started here--places where parents and teens could learn the skills necessary for real, solid communication. Really hearing someone, with an open heart and mind, is the most precious of human experiences. Over-reaction and condemnation close doors, and blanketly writing off a generation (or, a society) is dangerous.
TONI HARDY
Jakarta
Bizarre toll regulations
From Kompas
In an attempt to ease traffic congestion in Jakarta, the government built highways. However, lately, traffic jams are worse on the toll roads than on the ordinary roads.
On May 9, a terrible traffic jam occurred at the gate of toll road No. 1, Semanggi. Some drivers, including myself, who had already entered the highway gate tried to turn off onto a less- crowded street.
But to my surprise, a highway patrolman closed the gate and asked us to continue on the toll road because our cars had already been entered into his computer data. He explained that his computer data would be loused up if we turned.
We paid the toll and attempted to turn off the highway, but again we faced a hardheaded officer. He did not let us turn without giving a logical reason, although he did not refuse to accept our money.
Suddenly, I imagined what would happen if a sick man requiring prompt medical treatment was trapped in one of the cars on the jammed highway.
I think the reason people take the toll roads is that they need to go to a place as fast as possible without any disturbance. But unfortunately, once there, they were confronted with a terrible jam and stubborn highway officers.
If the computer data system is the only reason why they are so strict, perhaps the government or the highway management should find another program which does not cause difficulties to both officers and drivers.
WIDYARTO A.
Jakarta
Non-smoking flight a la Sempati Air
From Bisnis Indonesia
I recently took Sempati Air flight 301 from Semarang to Jakarta.
All passengers, including myself, were relieved when one of the stewardesses informed us that the flight was a non-smoking flight. We were assured that it would be a comfortable flight because it was free from smoke pollution.
So imagine our surprise when a stewardess opened the cockpit door and we saw that both the pilot and co-pilot were smoking.
Is it right that on a non-smoking flight the passengers are not allowed to smoke in the aircraft while the crew are free to smoke?
I HUBERT WIDIASTONO
Jakarta
TV tax officers get physical
From Kompas
At the end of April, a television tax officer, Agus, came to my house to collect our tax for March and April.
Usually my wife pays the tax and keeps the card as a record of payment. But on that particular afternoon, my wife was not at home and I couldn't find the card and did not have enough cash on hand.
So I told him to come back in the evening when my wife would probably be at home, and I also explained that I only had enough money to pay the March bill. He agreed that I would fix it all the following day.
At 4:15 p.m., the officer arrived accompanied by Ridwan. Agus ignored our agreement and forced me to pay the entire tax that evening. Of course I could not pay it because the banks were closed and I really did not have enough cash.
In contrast to the television tax officer featured on television, these men were very rough and cruel. These two men got angry and threatened me with violence. Ridwan grabbed my collar and said, "Let me punch him. I am not afraid of being jailed!"
Then I called my wife over, so that she could be my witness if he hit me. To pacify them, my wife explained that we really had insufficient cash and asked them to be patient because the following day we would pay the tax in full.
They refused to back down and one of the thugs threatened again to hit me. My wife stood between us and asked them to leave our house.
They left but one of them mocked us by pointing his buttocks at us. And by employing silat (traditional self-defense sport) techniques, Ridwan struck the jaw, lips, and bosom of my wife. And before I could protect here and fight back, the two had driven away by motorcycle.
My wife's lip was severely wounded, her right jaw was bruised and her front teeth almost knocked out.
I have already reported this case to the police, but I need to write this letter to warn others to be on the alert when receiving visits from television tax officers.
TRIMARDJI ATMONO
Yogyakarta