Now or never!

Now or never!

Hard as one may try to welcome New Year 2004 with a smile, the
month of December has brought to many Indonesians, if I may speak
on their behalf, pessimistic sentiments. Even the prospect of the
new-style general elections, with new breed of national
leaders and legislators in sight, has failed to clear the mind.
Two burning issues will stay at the forefront in the coming year
as leftovers of the present upheavals: The combats against
terrorism and corruption.

The most enigmatic human behavior is that the terrorizing of
others seems, among some Indonesians, to have become a way of
thinking to achieve their aims. And it looks as though that trend
is here to stay, despite an intensive campaign by religious
leaders.

This country may in the coming year succeed in ridding itself
forever of a heavy foreign debt burden. However, a major
contribution to the internal suppression of terrorist tendencies
is the removal of poverty and social injustice, unlikely to be
achieved effectively during the next regime of Indonesian
leaders, mainly due to a lack of fresh thinking and an old-
fashioned mind-set.

The worst prospect is the combat against corruption. It seems
that only the naive believe that those responsible for the Rp 1.7
trillion BNI scam will ever get what they deserve, although the
swift police investigation into the affair is commendable.

The national anticorruption commission is faced with an
impossible mission in removing a contagious disease from which
almost everybody is suffering -- the disease of stealing from and
not serving the community. Crucial to its success is integrity,
political honesty, consistency and courage in dealing with the
task. Remember, the warning bell rings only twice: Now or never!

GANDHI SUKARDI
Jakarta