Group vs national interests

Group vs national interests

I have lived in Indonesia for 15 years in total, that is for
most of my adult life plus one year while at high school here. I
speak fluent Indonesian and have an Indonesian partner but I am
now very sorry to have to say that I used to love Indonesia.
Reading the paper is depressing. Why should we care when everyone
who does care, when everyone who does the right thing or who has
the national interests at heart is stepped on or cast aside by
the political elite pursuing their own narrow personal or group
interests at the expense of national interests.

Take the recent report in The Jakarta Post that Baihaki Hakim
the reformist president director of Pertamina who has attempted
to improve corporate governance, is now to be replaced by
President Megawati Soekarnoputri. No doubt by someone who will be
more compliant with the financing needs of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan) in the run-up to
the forthcoming 2004 elections.

If Megawati promoted more reformers instead of casting them
aside then perhaps the subsidies on fuel and such like could be
reduced without the need for price rises.

It makes me sick. Until Indonesia can demonstrate that it can
produce national leaders that give a damn about this country and
give a damn about its suffering people instead of busying
themselves with growing fat and lining their own pockets, why
should the rest of us care? It just hurts too much to see this
situation continuing with no hope in sight for change.

DAVID SINCLAIR, Yogyakarta