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