'God's sense of humor'

With all due respect to Mr. David Wixey's opinion (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 8) on my lack of a sense of humor, I would ask him to peruse my letter dated Aug. 7 in its entirety, and not just part of it.

In my letter I heartily congratulated Denmark's Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen for winning the gold for men's singles badminton at the Olympic Games. Insufficient coverage of this event in the Indonesian news media prompted me do this. Only Indonesian shuttlers and their achievements were mentioned in any detail.

During the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup finals in Jakarta earlier this year badminton players from other countries were clearly feeling harassed and irritated by the raucous exclamations of the audience at Senayan stadium. Some of the spectators mercilessly heckled the players, causing them to lose their concentration at crucial moments. I felt uncomfortable and sorry for the players. Many of my friends shared this feeling.

However, as far as I know, few Indonesians protested against this unseemly behavior: no official did. It was as if all who were intent on keeping the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup in Indonesia agreed that the end perfectly justified the means.

As anyone who reads the local papers, especially Kompas, could testify, many ardent supporters of the Indonesian Olympic team fully expected the Indonesian shuttlers to come back loaded with Olympic golds and silvers, and they were really storming the Heavens with their prayers, fervently requesting the Creator to make their wishes come true!

That Korean shuttler Bang Soo-Hyun finally won against a gallantly battling Mia Audina is, in my opinion, a very clear sign of divine justice as well as an excellent example of God's divine sense of humor. What goes round comes around, you know!

The "setback" the Indonesian Olympic team (especially the shuttlers) suffered offers countless opportunities for new beginnings, as well as for greater maturity for all involved: officials, players and the audience.

I would like to remind Mr. David Wixey that anyone who states that "Bang Soo-Hyun was too clever for Mia and her celestial controller" may have some explaining to do to the attentive and thoughtful reader. At best, the statement may be the beginning of an interesting and mutually beneficial discussion.

But in this country, where many who have been (justly or unjustly, only God knows) accused of blasphemy, hauled into court and awarded stiff jail sentences, the writers of the sentence "Bang Soo-Hyun proved to be too much for Mia and her celestial controller" should be more careful in the future lest they tread on sensitive toes (not necessarily mine!).

TAMI KOESTOMO

Bogor, West Java