'Famous to infamous'

Some people just never know when to shut up. Case in point was Angel Ibrahim, host of the "Famous to Famous" program on Friday, Oct. 18.

After expressing her sympathy to the victims and their families of the Bali tragedy, Ms. Ibrahim then made a joke about the bomber having been caught, and it was a Balinese man who had lived in the U.S. His name she said with a smile, was "Made in USA".

Ho, ho -- not funny. It was inappropriate and in poor taste, a real slap in the face to the people who lost family members and woefully cynical after she had just expressed her "sympathy". A human tragedy is a human tragedy, whether it occurs in Bali, at Nunukan (as Ms. Ibrahim's guest, Jay Subiakto, said during the program in arguing that it takes a "bule" to die before Indonesians care about something), Africa or wherever, and to make a joke about it in a public forum is crass.

I have lived in Indonesia for 10 years, my partner is Indonesian, and I know that I am not alone in finding Angel Ibrahim's words to be entirely out of place. And this is not the first time: Ms. Ibrahim is becoming infamous for her slips of the tongue and inappropriate questions, whether it is interviewing Muslim figure A Gymnastiar or the cringe-fest that was her interview with former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin.

Metro TV should realize that Angel Ibrahim is making them -- and her -- not famous, but infamous.

B. JAMES, Jakarta