Avoid negative perceptions

Avoid negative perceptions

The Jakarta Post is perhaps the only source of independent and
neutral reference about Indonesia for the rest of the world. What
you say and how you say it carry enormous weight in shaping
international perception of the country.

I was, therefore, rather disappointed to the screaming
headlines on the front page of your newspaper, on two consecutive
days last week, that Our sense of humanity is already dead (Nov.
15), and Indonesia mentally ill (Nov. 16).

In my opinion, the Post presented a very gloomy picture rising
out of certain current events. Newsworthiness is important, but
this is not the only concern. A responsible and influential
newspaper like yours should avoid creating excessive and negative
perceptions, which would not only create cynicism among the
public, but would also nullify any small chance for direct
foreign investment that the country might expect in the near
future.

The majority of Indonesians love peace. From whatever
experience I have gathered in this country, I opine that the
common people of Indonesia are kind-hearted and gracious as
individuals, and stand up to truth, justice, tolerance, and
compassion for their fellow human beings.

Your own "Speakers' Corner" column, I notice, often brings out
the best wisdom, generally not expected from the lowest strata of
society, whom you interview regularly.

Let us look at the positive events that have happened in
Indonesia in recent years. Who would have even thought that
president Soeharto, after 32 years of rule, would step down from
office so abruptly in 1998? Who would have imagined that the
status of East Timor would change so drastically, thanks to a
single major decision by Habibie, who was president at the time?
I was pleasantly surprised that during the beginning of president
Abdurrahman Wahid's rule, he audaciously abolished the
information ministry. Press freedom is now taken for granted.

All these momentous changes took place within a span of a mere
four years. Not a mean achievement at all, for a country of this
size and diversity.

D. CHANDRAMOULI, Jakarta