Abuse of power

Abuse of power

Several weeks ago I read a letter in "Your Letters" by a foreigner who has been living in Indonesia for several years, analyzing why most Indonesian drivers become unruly once behind the wheel. He wrote that once drivers get power, they change into something totally in contrast to what is known as polite and cordial to Indonesians.

I have to admit that his analysis made me think several times before I concluded what lay behind his idea. Most Indonesians adopt a corruptive mental attitude once in power in their cars. They are corrupt because they may take or damage something or somebody with out the right to do so.

How many abuses of power happen in almost every aspect of life in Indonesia, and not only in the street as demonstrated by the reckless drivers.

President Soeharto recently criticized the Indonesian press for being unethical, subjective, and for twisting and blurring the facts by mixing them with opinion. Sociologist Ariel Heryanto revealed in The Jakarta Post that the collusion between businesspeople and bureaucrats has become so deep-rooted that it is difficult to create clean government in Indonesia.

The popular law No.11/pnps/1963 on subversion is an powerful weapon to crush and terminate political foes. Indonesian bureaucrats have demonstrated the rule of power constantly, like the Indonesian Democratic Party case in East Java, and the mayor threatening to bulldoze reporters if they write stories the local government dislikes.

These cases, to me, reflect the abuse of power by those holding power.

H.W. PIENANDORO

Bogor, West Java