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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