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