Community brawls

Community brawls

From Forum Keadilan

I refer to an article in Forum on April 16, 2000. I was sad to
learn of the community brawls that took place in two areas of
Matraman recently.

We often witness students brawls in Jakarta and society has
not found an effective way to stop them. Not to mention conflicts
between ethnic groups and between different religious
communities.

As an Indonesian migrant worker who has worked in Taiwan since
1998, I am very concerned about the situation prevailing in our
country. It seems that the brutal acts are the best way to settle
any conflict. In fact, it is like the rule of the jungle.

In Taiwan, whose inhabitants are predominantly non-Muslim, the
community is far from brutal. The same is true in South Korea.
People are highly disciplined. They shun away from criminal acts,
not because of the fear of sinning but rather because they are
ashamed to do negative deeds. It seems to me that virtue has been
implanted in their hearts.

Why shouldn't we do the same? We should be ashamed to do
things that may inconvenience other people.

FATHUR RAHMAN

Miao Li, Taiwan