Am I the only person confused?

I fully and without any hesitation accept the fact that the President is fully responsible for the wellbeing of our country. And because of that he has the right to take any step he thinks fit for the benefit of our country. I am also aware that our President was elected for the first time in our political history in a fair and democratic manner.

But all the factors mentioned above, cannot take away a citizens right to ask questions or express their doubts about the steps taken by the President. My doubt is about the appointment of foreign advisers to our government. Why is this necessary?

In my humble opinion Indonesia has enough experienced and learned people to help the government to make correct decisions for the benefit of Indonesia, because they are Indonesians and because they love Indonesia and want to see Indonesia become strong and prosperous. In our country's life of more than 50 years this is the very first time that our government has appointed foreign advisers.

Can a foreign adviser give good objective advice to Indonesia if a problem arises between Indonesia and his own country. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, a senior Minister of Singapore, if asked about a problem concerning Singapore and Indonesia will certainly give advice that will benefit Singapore and not Indonesia. And so will other advisers if the same kind of problem arises between Indonesia and their country.

Henry Kissinger, if asked about how to handle a problem with Freeport will almost certainly give advice that will favor the USA and Freeport. Besides that, those foreign advisers will be paid in U.S. dollars which will be very costly.

I read in Suara Pembaruan on March 4, an article written by a well-known Indonesian named Sabam Siagian, an observer of International affairs and of political and social development in Indonesia. He wrote: "I heard that one client (a big company or the government of a certain country) who wants to consult Henry Kissinger and Associates has to pay tens of thousands of U.S. dollars per hour, besides other additional expenses".

Can you imagine how costly that will be? There are plenty of Indonesians with lots of experience and good solid knowledge of Indonesia and it's people, who can give advice, perhaps for free or at a far lower cost. And their advice will certainly be more effective, because the advice they give will be more applicable to Indonesian circumstances. More importantly is their love and affection of their homeland.

Another thing which puzzles me is the intention of the President to appoint the Vice President as Prime Minister. Why is this necessary ? Without appointing Megawati as Prime Minister, she will do everything the President asks her to do. In my opinion, the Prime Minister of Indonesia is the President. During Sukarno's time we had deputy prime ministers but no prime minister. I cannot say that this is wrong, but it is very uncommon; like the swearing in ceremony of an interim minister recently, where the Home Minister was appointed as Coordinating Minister of Political Affairs and Security, which is not illegal, but very uncommon.

SOEGIH ARTO

Jakarta