Not in my backyard

We all want reform, but we don't always want it to happen too close to home. The recently formed National Dialog Forum comprises some of the most credible reform-minded persons in the country. Their reformist credentials and dedication cannot be doubted. But like the herds of visiting U.S. Members of Congress on their Indonesian fact-finding trips, to hold their first forum the reformers headed for -- where else? -- Bali.

Why is it that so many important seminars are held either in Bali or in the grand hotels of Jakarta? Why did the National Dialog Forum select Bali? Most key participants seem to be affiliated with organizations in Jakarta or other cities of Java. So Bali wasn't selected for its convenience. Bali hotels might have offered great package deals; but it seems unlikely that equally good deals might not have been found in cities more starved for tourist/convention income. I know that hotels around Lake Toba would have bent over backwards for the privilege of hosting this group, if a small island ambience were so important.

Careful use of resources is one of the most basic imperatives for most Indonesians these days, and one of the most urgent responsibilities of the government. If prominent reform leaders project insensitivity to this issue, how deep into the community will their influence as reformers reach? Reform cannot be thought of as macro-level matter only. An organization like the National Dialog Forum needs to be not just a symbol but a sacrament of reform, by its own operations effectuating the reforms that it espouses. If it becomes just another organization whose members meet in Bali hotels or Jakarta four-star restaurants and issue position papers, while the group's leaders enjoy the usual bureaucratic perks, it will lose its reform bearings quickly.

I for one wish that some of the group's Bali budget might have been used to set up a special fax number and e-mail address and to publish them via newspaper ads. Then the National Dialog Forum could receive input from the broadest range of community groups and individuals. And a letter like this could have been addressed directly to the proper recipients.

DONNA K. WOODWARD

Medan, North Sumatra