Ecstasy incident embarrassing

From Bisnis Indonesia

The incident involving the Garuda pilot who attempted to smuggle 8,000 Ecstasy pills from Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, is really embarrassing Indonesia.

The pilot was reportedly treated in an inhuman way. But, with all due respect for nationalism, his was an irresponsible act which must have profoundly embarrassed the Garuda corps and the national airline. It encompasses the whole country. Even as a senior pilot, he acted immorally. I hope that the case is blown wide open, it should not be treated discreetly.

We should, indeed, appeal to the Dutch Police to ensure that they treat the pilot fairly as a suspect until proven guilty.

The pilot's action was not to the advantage of Indonesia's younger generation, he could not have cared less if he destroyed them. Now that he has been caught, he has appealed for pity.

Suppose he had not been caught; at an average price of Rp 60,000 per pill he would have made Rp 500 million.

This profit might have been enjoyed by himself alone. We hope that everybody learns a lesson from this incident.

My heart weeps for the young ones, whose future would lay nearly in shambles if those deadly pills had entered the country.

MEGA SIMARMATA

Jakarta