Extravagant political elite

Extravagant political elite

From Rakyat Merdeka

Is President Megawati's visit to five countries useful?,
legislator Toni Erivanto wrote in Rakyat Merdeka. Perhaps another
article will appear under the title Are comparative studies by
some legislators in Europe useful?.

It's really embarrassing if the plan of some members of the
House of Representatives (DPR) to make a comparative study to
Europe is executed at all. Then they truly lack a sense of
crisis. How could they spend the money so extravagantly at the
cost of the people's suffering?

Even though she is a head of state, Megawati's foreign tour
has been criticized by many circles including the DPR members.
But, strangely, no one makes any comment on some DPR members'
plans to conduct a comparative study abroad.

Frankly, what is the benefit of conducting a comparative study
abroad? With the current technology advancement, all data can be
obtained from the available communication networks. There have
been so many comparative studies conducted but none of the
results have seen to be implemented.

People are already fed up to see the performance and the
attitude of their representatives, who are yet to think about the
public interests. Now the political elite, particularly those in
the House of Representatives, should realize and change their
attitude. They should demonstrate that they truly represent their
people. They should work to fight for the people's interests and
not for personal benefits, accumulating wealth while
opportunities prevail.

H. SOEJOEDONO R.

Jakarta