Honesty, the Merpati way

Honesty, the Merpati way

Good news about Indonesia is rare these days and good news
about airlines is even more rare, but I have both to relate.

A guest of mine, Murray Anderson of Lochar, Meigle,
Perthshire, Scotland, arrived on Merpati flight MZ 514 at 1 p.m.
in Palangkaraya on the inauspicious day of April 1 to find his
wallet missing. It contained about US$2,000 in cash, three credit
cards and his driver's license.

He reported it immediately to the Merpati manager at
Palangkaraya airport, Prayana, who promptly had the aircraft
searched. When it was not found there, Prayana contacted Merpati
Jakarta.

By 2 p.m., Faizal of Merpati Jakarta security telephoned back,
reporting that the wallet and its contents had been turned in by
one of their cleaning staff. Faizal said the wallet would be
available for collection on Anderson's return through Jakarta.

This is miraculous! Anywhere else in the world, the best
hoped-for result would be a returned empty wallet and unused
credit cards.

I would like to express Murray Anderson's mighty gratitude to
Prayana and Faizal, and above all, to the Merpati cleaning staff
in Jakarta. You will appreciate that such a loss is not a good
start to any visit anywhere. In Anderson's case, however, it
turned out to be only a slight initial inconvenience that left an
enormously positive impression on my guest about Indonesia and
Merpati's efficiency and honesty.

Keep it up Merpati!

T.C. SCOTT
Citeureup, Bogor
West Java