No action from political elite?

From Suara Karya

If we asked the Indonesian people, "What is, at the moment, the most urgent matter?" what would they answer? Undoubtedly, "Freedom from all difficulties in daily life and freedom from fear."

The facts have borne out that since the economic crisis and the upheavals and riots in many places throughout Indonesia, including Ambon, Aceh, East Timor, Sambas, Irian Jaya, things have gone beyond the government's control.

It is recognized that on the one hand, freedom of speech and freedom to assemble have made some steps forward, on the other hand, frictions and upheavals have occurred frequently. If during the New Order era we often heard the cliche: "Tomorrow must be better than today", the "tomorrow" now turns out to be gloomy and frightening.

Meanwhile, the fights among our ambitious political elite have shown that Indonesia finds it increasingly difficult to overcome its own problems. At present, there is apparently nobody with sufficient authority to solve the nation's complex problems. There is only the reality that it is hard to choose a head of state while the people are plunging deeper into the abyss of day- to-day problems due to an endless crisis. Will the session of the People's Consultative Assembly come with the solution?

DAHLIA SN

Jakarta