Moral and monetary crisis
Moral and monetary crisis
From Pikiran Rakyat
It's correct what H. Toto Tasmara, president director of PT Karya Bisa Jakarta, said: the monetary crisis inflicting our country is not the main cause of our economic collapse. Its main cause is our moral crisis.
Almost all leaders of this country have big personal ambitions; government officials like to betray the public, are corrupt and practice tyranny. So people get angry and uncontrolled. Almost every day demonstrations rage everywhere. At almost all institutions people with brutal faces lead wild lives. Is this what is called reform and democracy? It's quite ironic!
Indonesia, a notedly rich country with its fertile land and abundant waters has collapsed. Many people are starving which is just like the Indonesian proverb which says: "Fowls are starving in a rice barn". What will become of our country?
In this country there are a great number of people claiming to be political elites and intellectuals with their titles : masters, doctors, professors, economists, scientists and so forth. As a layman, I wonder and just can't understand why they fail to overcome the flaming economic and monetary crises.
Could it possibly be a curse to the Indonesian people who discard their original identity so they no longer have any? Why do they become "blind" in recognizing truth? Why are they now narrow-minded and have no sense of justice?
Currently, Indonesia is like a country under "Drestarata" (fraudulent) administration whose people fight against each other or just like an evil kingdom under "Dajal" (Lucifer), running with its devilish system and populated by devils. Reform is only lip service; it has never been implemented. Freedom is only an illusion, a fatamorgana that can be seen but can't be felt by the people.
What's the use of physical freedom without mental freedom? If things go on like this, an eternal freedom will never eventuate. The country will wither on its way to development and it will never reap prosperity. We all have experienced this. We were physically colonized and our minds suffered, so we became a stupid and dull-witted nation. Our energy was exploited. Only one was happy but millions suffered. That was 'capital colonialism'.
How much longer will this nation undergo these grievances? We don't want to live, but neither will we die. Leaders only seek their own comforts, officials only betray the people. They forget to materialize the people's message and never care for the coming generations.
All is left to the nation's components. What will they do with this country?
UJANG HERYADIN
Bandung