Britain follows Indonesia

I see that the British press has now followed the lead of The Jakarta Post in a prolonged debate on the subject of beggars. As a Johnny-Come-Lately on the subject, the scribes of Fleet Street have taken over six months to follow the lead set by the Post.

The debate in the UK was given a major boost by the rather insensitive remarks of Prime Minister John Major who apparently referred to beggars as "a pain in the neck and a hassle" (Daily Telegraph,, June 2, 1994). This he did while being interviewed in the city of Bristol. Before the Conservative Government took power 15 years ago beggars were a rare sight on the High Streets of British cities. What has enraged opposition Labor Party MPs, Bishops and all those with a soul is the lack of compassion that Mr. Major has shown after his own party's economic policies created the phenomena in the first place!

Some months ago The Jakarta Post published a most illuminating article on Britons' love of dogs written, by the way, by the great Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa. Readers of this paper may be interested to know that the modern British beggar plies his trade in the company of his pet dog. It has been noted that beggars with dogs get a more positive response on the streets of Britain than those without dogs.

I wonder if the vehemence of the response to Mr. Major's comments has more to do with an implied slight on our canine friends than for a straightforward attack on street beggars. Now before anyone writes in to say I'm anti-British, I am in fact a Pommy and, moreover, rather proud of the way the English recently demolished the South African rugby team in Durban.

NARISH STOCK

Jakarta