On concept of guilt

I fully agree with Robert Walker of Karangasem, Bali, that the concept of "guilt" and "selfishness" is not high on our philosophical agenda in Indonesia as mentioned in his letter which appeared in this paper on Oct. 22.

In my opinion this is caused by the fact that most of us fail to assimilate and internalize moral values that are supposed to be the prevailing standard in a modern society.

Indonesia is going through a process of transformation from an agricultural and feudalistic society into a modern industrial society. In that process many moral standards that ought to be dropped and left behind are now still prevailing and referred to as moral guidelines. Take for instance the case of corruption, which is one form of undisciplined behavior. In a feudalistic society, using public status and influence for personal gain by a government official is not immoral. It is a rule. The border between public and private spheres is almost nonexistent.

If such a practice continues to prevail in our present society, it will cause decay. Decay is synonymous with corruption.

In a modern society the legal source of income for government officials should come from a "contract", not status.

The salary received monthly by a government official is the result of such a contract. But the use of influence from public status to profit from lucrative government business contracts is contrary to modern moral standards. In such a situation it is indeed difficult to have a solid concept of guilt. Such a practice is not only caused by greed but mainly caused by ignorance.

Our cultural value system covers solidly and comprehensively the behavior of people in a traditional village and feudalistic society. In a situation other than that, there is no solid cultural value system to reference.

Therefore, it is understandable that most of us Indonesians do not really understand what it means in conceptual terms to spew diesel fumes into the atmosphere, to throw plastic bags out of our car windows, to choke rivers with rubbish or to use the weight of official power for personal gain.

They do things out of ignorance. They do not know what they are doing.

BUSONO SUDARSO

Jakarta