A question of discipline

A question of discipline

As was reported on Saturday, Roni, a five-day-old baby, was
being taken care of in the Ulin Public Hospital in Banjarmasin
when a power blackout occurred. Because the generator was
defective, the incubator stopped functioning. The first child of
the couple Rudi Herliansyah and Rosi, of Banjarmasin, South
Kalimantan, died in the incubator.

Apart from the question of neglect, which could develop into
an interesting legal case, the case is actually an illustration
of our lack of discipline. While products of modern and even high
technology are all around us, precision and discipline are needed
to make use of them.

On May 20, our National Awakening Day, the President initiated
a national discipline campaign. The campaign is to be executed by
doing little day-to-day things right. The President mentioned
examples, such as obeying traffic signs, disposing of garbage at
the proper places, queuing and observing proper work hours.

Our culture demands that examples be given by those who hold
prominent social positions as well as by imposing sanctions. As a
model for other cities, Jakarta and its national discipline drive
initiated by Governor Surjadi Soedirdja a while ago could serve
as a pilot project. We must begin, not with lofty schemes, but
with concrete actions.

-- Kompas, Jakarta