Fair, open governance wanted

Fair, open governance wanted

Sincerity from the government (in implementing IMF-mandated
reforms) is important in restoring public trust. This is due to
the fact that we are facing not only a monetary crisis or
economic distress but social and political troubles as well. The
swelling tide of demands for reform, openness and justice
demonstrate how wide-ranging the problem has become.

We should not delay tackling our problems because we will need
to be able to pay attention to new ones. What people want is for
each and every policy to be based on commonly agreed to
principles -- in other words, all processes must be open, fair
and equally valid for all, without discrimination. The basic
tenet that everybody must be equal before the law is a principle
of democracy that must be respected.

A democratic government is a dynamic government, one that is
open to criticism, willing to make corrections and even initiate
reforms. The opposite, theoretically, reduces a government's
ability to rally public support and, at the very least, brings
about veiled dissatisfaction. Such a situation benefits no one.
On the face of it, the government may appear strong but this can
be illusory.

We are now seeing how hollow our economy really is, though for
years we believed in the slogans proclaiming the strength of our
economic fundamentals. This realization should give us the
strength to reflect on the situation and stop deluding ourselves.

We are confident that the new cabinet will continue to work
sincerely and become even more responsive so that we can harbor
the hope that the crisis will subside and the rupiah strengthen.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta