National repentance

National repentance

From Forum Keadilan

A series of calamities has bedeviled our country in recent
months, the impact of which is well beyond our comprehension. The
nation may now have to go through a period of collective
introspection.

Three catastrophes rocked Indonesia in 1997 and tarnished the
country's reputation with the rest of the world. First, sporadic
rioting caused damage to property and claimed numerous lives.

Second, fires, made worse by prolonged drought, destroyed
thousands of hectares of forest and sent a pall of smoke across
large parts of Indonesia and neighboring countries. Coping with
the fire disaster required the assistance of foreign teams,
including a team from the United Nations. The drought is also
thought to be the prime cause of famine suffered in some parts of
this country.

Third is the current economic crisis, marked by the
liquidation of 16 poorly managed private banks, price hikes and a
plunge in the value of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar. Not
even aid packages from the IMF and other sources were capable of
stabilizing Indonesia's economy. Experts, who used to proclaim
possible solutions, now say this crisis is beyond our competence.
In other words, they too are incapable of predicting what will
happen next.

Now, in examining these catastrophes, we must ask ourselves if
they occurred almost simultaneously by accident. Of extraordinary
magnitude and mysterious nature, these disasters have come when
Indonesia, as a developing country, has begun to show its face in
the world community.

I support Amien Rais in his call for national repentance,
because all that has happened might be nothing short of an act of
God. Only by submitting to God, and trusting Him to present the
right solution, will He bestow His grace of a restored and stable
economic life. Is not this world, and all that exists in it, the
result of His creation in the first place?

D. MAMUSUNG

Batam, Riau