Let us be the way we were

Let us be the way we were

From Rakyat Merdeka

Until a few years ago Indonesians have been known to be warm
and friendly people, always willing to help each other and to
uphold justice. We hate to see the changes this era of reform has
made. We hate to hear other nations call us a barbaric nation
where brutal killings go unpunished.

I therefore would like to call on all Indonesians to strife to
be how we were before, when we all loved our country, loved our
people, and upheld unity, for the sake of maintaining the unitary
state of the Republic of Indonesia which we have inherited from
our founding fathers.

I am calling on you because from my observation of the current
political condition of our country, we, particularly the
political elite, continue to fight each other and fight for our
individual groups' interests rather than for the interests of the
nation simply because we have not been able to accept and respect
other ideas, opinion, political stance, races, religions, or
backgrounds. Actually those differences have made us rich as a
nation and for which we have to be grateful. The present
condition is so bad that it has weakened us as a nation and our
country has become disorganized and whose future is uncertain.

Let us unite and insist that the rule of law is properly
implemented in our country without any discrimination with
regards to race, skin color, or social, political, or economic
status. Let's uphold the present constitution and establish a
good administration. This way I am sure we will all survive.

SUHARNO

Jakarta