Exchange of youth

From Kompas

I was one of the candidates from West Java for international exchange of youth 1994. I collected the paperwork that had to be completed at Jl. Aceh in Bandung on May 23, 1994 and returned it the following day. But I failed to complete the paper and so I did not send it back. In the meantime, I learned that on every occasion of this kind there is always a privileged candidate.

The qualification test was held on May 26, 1994, and the result was announced on that same evening. I was quite surprised when a participant told me that a certain candidate passed the test even though the candidate's seat was not occupied during the time of the test.

My friend then wrote a letter in a paper in Bandung about the case. The letter appeared on June 3, 1994. On the same day the Chairman of the Committee phoned the writer and gave a lengthy explanation to the effect that the controversial candidate was given a chance to take an extra test, which is the policy of the committee, adding that the candidate came from Tangerang and had to travel by train to get to Bandung.

This is ridiculous. The authorities concerned did not respond to the letter. In fact, being published in a newspaper, the letter is no longer personal, but had become public.

I asked myself "is it necessary for the committee to have an extraordinary policy in this kind of affair." They should have been objective in dealing with the written test, anyway. One can imagine what will happen in an interview, which tends to be subjective.

Are we going to send a pre-fabricated candidate abroad?

ANDRY HARIANA

Bandung, West Java