Honesty is the best policy
Honesty is the best policy
From Merdeka
An article in Merdeka (May 25) and in Gatra (May 31), quoted businessman Probosutedjo as saying that a minister or official who makes a mistake should resign, because their act would result in the suffering of the people and the nation.
He also said President Soeharto would never dismiss his ministers, so the minister concerned must introspect and submit a letter of resignation. The President would certainly not object. And according to Probosutedjo, if the minister did not resign he would take pity on the President.
It is worth noting Japan in this viewpoint. The top authorities do not have to become involved in the case of a minister/official doing something wrong. The guilty minister/official will submit their resignation.
If we followed the Japanese way of life, Indonesia would have developed and progressed more than Japan. Indonesia could have become more prosperous than Japan because our country is much richer in terms of natural resources.
But Japan has not become what it is overnight. Its ancient history tells us that Japan had wise but cruel emperors. They meted out capital punishment to ministers/officials who were guilty of crimes that brought about suffering and misery for the people.
This system worked through the generations and in due course the Japanese people were ashamed of committing these crimes. It was common practice that the guilty person committed suicide before the execution, an act considered to be gentlemanly, and thus left his family's reputation clean.
Clearly, this kind of attitude should begin at a higher level of bureaucracy. It must be forcefully done. An ancient Greek statesman said: "Power is sweet." This can be interpreted as "power can be a source of money". Therefore, it is almost impossible to expect somebody holding power to transfer the power despite the evident mistake being committed. Demonstrations launched against the guilty person do not work and only fall on deaf ears. We are a forgiving nation, a characteristic inherited from our ancestors.
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