Individual self-sufficiency

We would like to ask our leaders to think carefully where they are going to take us in the coming years. Are we going to be a society reliant on the government to do everything for us or are we going to be a society of self-sufficient individuals?

People's trust in government institutions and programs has decreased worldwide. Societies have come to expect government institutions to handle all their basic needs but governments are not really equipped to do this. For many governments it has become a very expensive exercises. Social fabrics have lost their priorities of community spirit, family values, religion and self- sufficiency. Are we also to follow down this path?

We realize that our leaders are facing an overwhelming burden to decide not only on national strategies but crisis strategies and globalization strategies to take this nation forward.

People no longer want to be just spectators but they want greater participation in and commitment to the strategy making. For us to know our problems, constructive criticism should be part of this participation and the leaders should benefit from this synergy and focus it back to the people to come up with constructive solutions. The government should have a more trusting attitude in the people by communicating more with us and openly discussing programs before they are implemented.

JOYCE HARYONO

Jakarta