Anti-Drug Day, a national illusion
Indonesia took part in World Anti-Drug Day for the first time on Wednesday.
Drugs have become the nation's enemy, but political awareness to fight the menace remains low. One of the indications is that the National Drug Agency (BNN) has yet to be adequately organized and managed, with a budget and laboratory.
It is now high time that the government empowered BNN and gave it as many powers as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Fighting drugs needs energy, goodwill, commitment and a long- term strategy. Without determination, any anti-drug effort will prove useless.
And current anti-drug efforts are useless. Will we have to wait until the day our President's children become victims before the government thinks it is time to fight it. -- Media Indonesia, Jakarta
;JP;ANT; ANPAk..r.. Other-State-Official Other Opinion JP/6/OTHER2
State officials' extravagance
Is it proper for our Vice President to stage a wedding party in the holy city of Mecca? If the nation was in a normal economic situation and all Indonesian people were wealthy, nobody would bat an eyelid. But since it is being done while the nation is in crisis, what are people likely to say about it?
Although it has been mentioned by only one or two newspapers, Vice President Hamzah Haz's plan to hold a wedding party in Mecca has already provoked heated debate.
Those in favor say it is Hamzah's personal right, while those who are against it say it reflects the absence of a sense of crisis among the country's senior state officials.
Similar criticism was previously voiced about the lavish party Attorney General MA Rachman gave to celebrate his daughter's marriage and Taufik Kiemas's extravagant birthday party in Bali.
These criticisms should serve as a warning to all sides, that the people are now keeping a close watch on what their leaders do, not only in their capacity as public servants but also as private individuals.
There is, in fact, a message in these criticisms, namely that leaders should feel compassion for the ordinary people who daily undergo the hardships of life. Hopefully, our leaders will understand this message one day. -- Republika
28 June 2002 ;JP;ANT; ANPAk..r.. Other-Conspiration Other Opinion JP/6/OTHER3
Tommy's revelations Prioritas
Tommy Soeharto admitted in court that security personnel helped him while he was on the run for 18 months.
The youngest son of former president Soeharto, who is a defendant in a murder trial, was able to move from one place to another freely, from his residence in plush Menteng to a comfortable apartment in Central Jakarta without other people noticing.
Tommy also told the court that he was able to stay at his relatives' homes in the Taman Mini area and Surakarta, Central Java, thanks to the police.
Therefore, the people who allowed the defendant to travel freely and did not inform the police about the defendant's whereabouts should be brought to court. If not, the Indonesian people will never respect the law in this country. -- Republika, Jakarta