Comma vs point

I also might not fully agree with David Tucker's reasons on why Indonesia should stick to the "decimal comma" instead of switching to the "decimal point" (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 15).

Still, I agree with him on Indonesia's right to keep the decimal comma: the system was inherited from the Dutch and is neither out of tune nor not modernly progressive, as stated by Rudy Schouten (Dec. 22; Schouten sounds like a Dutch name?).

In this "ever more integrated, borderless and technical world," most of Europe uses the decimal comma (for easy reference, see how the currency conversion rates are quoted at www.euro.ecb.int, the portal of the European Central Bank) and I do not think countries like Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Benelux, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland can be considered "out of tune with the rest of the world."

If being truly international means having to conform to Anglo Saxon practices, why not get rid of the decimal system (imposed by Napoleon) outright? Or start writing dates with the month followed by the day and year (in compliance with good, solid and modern American logic?) rather than the antiquated European logic of day, month, year.

Overall standardization will happen in due time, following a natural process, the same as we are experiencing with the introduction of the euro, and we will see with the unification of accountancy systems.

It is all coming. Whether the decimal point or the decimal comma, at that stage it will not really matter.

BENITO L. CURTAZ

Jakarta