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