Fantastic price of paper

While holidaying in Bali in early August I became very frustrated at the price and availability of The Jakarta Post. The boys in the street would ask for 35,000 rupiah with a cheeky smile when 4,000 rupiah was the convenience store price.

The stores never had your paper, saying delivery was between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. but delivery was unreliable and quickly absorbed. The Herald Tribune was an alternative as were the Australian papers for Rp 20,000 to 30,000.

Question: What can you do to improve delivery time and circulation and do you give credit for unsold papers. I realize that foreign criticism from a non-Asian country is not appreciated, as my lack of Asian vision (blindness to corruption and human rights) might accidentally expose some corrupt behavior.

Since the Bali bomb, demand for your paper is increasing with the return of Westerners. Please look at improving supply, it might require a visit to Bali by at least 10 staff to do a field survey.

DENNIS NELSON, Sydney, Australia

Note; Thank you for your letter. We will do our best to make a follow-up investigation about the matter. Meanwhile, we urge you and all our readers to only buy our paper direct from legal outlets.

-- Editor