Learning to be thrifty

Learning to be thrifty

Simple things sometimes become very complicated because of a simple lack of empathy. Here in Indonesia there are many examples of this, the latest being the purchase of a Rp 70 billion mansion to serve as the (official) residence for the head of Indonesia's permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

There is certainly nothing questionable about the purchase, as far as official procedures are concerned. The reason the purchase became official only last month was due to local rules requiring a three-month waiting period for the purchase of property by non- citizens.

The question is not the purchase itself, but the timing.

The burden placed on the state budget has been made publicly known on numerous occasions, the increase in fuel prices being one of the consequences of this burden.

What seems ironic is the timing of the decision to purchase a state "asset" that seems to have very little to do with public interests, while other areas that are more pressing have not been addressed.

Even if the funds already had been allocated for the mansion, the purchase could have been called off. Any fine incurred for canceling the deal would have been nothing compared to the sympathy and support gained by making such a gesture. -- Koran Tempo, Jakarta