Disinterested or lazy

I agree with G.S. Edwin (Sunday, March 9) that the phrase "It's so easy" is not usually very constructive. However, in the case of the Indonesian language, it is perfectly true. Any foreigner who is still unable to hold a simple conversation in Indonesian within six months of arriving must either be half- witted, lazy, or plain disinterested. Or maybe all three.

I suspect that many expatriates, especially the ones who live in a perpetual state of semi-paranoia in big villas behind barbed wire fences in Pondok Indah and Kemang, and who count their maids and their drivers as their closest Indonesian friends, fall into the "disinterested" category. Why bother? After all, they're not here to promote social awareness or make significant contributions to the welfare of the people in whose country they reside; they're here to bank their "hardship" allowances and live like the kings they think they are.

What's the point in learning the local language? They rarely come into contact with Indonesians anyway, except the plumber, the electrician and the odd taxi driver. And if they do have the occasional communication problem, they can always write a letter to the newspaper implying how stupid the Indonesians are.

BEN DOWSON

Jakarta