Announcing wealth

Referring to the approval given by President Abdurrahman Wahid to the effect that the wealth of officials should be made public, I would like to urge all officials to announce immediately in the media their wealth, with no feelings of shame or the slightest doubt. Anyone who fails to comply with this ruling should be suspected of being dishonest and not transparent.

The reluctant officials should resign in an honorable manner before the President dismisses them or they are made to step down by the people or reformist-minded students, and live a happy life with the support of the accumulated wealth (no matter how incomprehensible the fortune might have been gotten if compared to the real official monthly salary they were entitled to).

Further, as this constitutes an initial step and a concrete manifestation of the political will of the present government in its effort to prevent repetition of past practice of corruption, collusion and nepotism which led to the national catastrophe, we all hope that the President and Vice President will take the initiative to publicly announce their wealth. Only then will their subordinates follow suit.

WISDARMANTO GS

Jakarta