An open letter to Amien Rais

In regard to your invigorating speech at the Aachener-alumni seminar on Dec. 1, as your fervent admirer and as a National Mandate Party (PAN) supporter, may I suggest the following:

Although burning matters need your attention I would suggest that you play "simultaneous games" like the grand masters of chess, as we in industry are forced and trained to do daily just to survive or excel.

This of course depends on the style of having a trustworthy crack team, who can expertly execute what you design and supervise.

More suggestions and things to look into:

1. Before Idul Fitri 2000, draw up a new law concerning drug carrying, use and sale, just like the one in Malaysia, or modify it slightly if necessary.

2. Ditto concerning financing and funding of political parties; I am so shockingly pleased that Herr Kohl, former CDU chairman and long-lasting Kanzler, is now facing criminal charges and heavy penalties. Similarly, all the silly Golkar-squeezing via Soeharto's foundations and other crime-inducing schemes (Bank Bali etc.) should stop at once, and violators should be penalized.

3. The son of former Army chief of staff Subagyo should be treated equally before the law, if what was reported in the papers about his implication in drugs is true.

4. On Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu and reported corruption in PT Jamsostek -- as commissioner or president commissioner he should supervise and take action if directors, shareholders or then minister A. Latief were involved in building a project with a marked up budget of between 40 percent and 90 percent. Everybody in Jakarta's property business knew about this matter.

A similar situation occurred in the US$10 billion Pertamina scandal in 1974, when nothing happened in terms of sending culprits to court, including the then minister of mining. Who was called by Soeharto to iron out all those debts and let us taxpayers (again) pay those debts? Former finance minister Sumarlin.

This harks of the Bank Duta scandal when only director Dicky Iskandardinata went to jail. But the former Bank director who is Garuda's president director and the whole board of commissioners who were also implicated walked free...

On Bank Bali, former minister Sumarlin cannot sit on the board of commissioners because of his fishy track record, including his involvement in and handling of the Golden Key-Bapindo scandal. During his tenure, not one penalty or closure of alleged abundant criminal doings (legal lending limits etc.) occurred.

And Rudy Ramli as the bank's major shareholder must have been either out of his mind to have him on the board, or Rudy himself may have been unclean. As the Dutch say, "wie met pek omgaat, wordt ermee besmeurd (he who plays with asphalt will be smeared)".

J. SANTO

Jakarta