On skipping meal

I would like to hail the letters of Ritu Sud (July 16), Zatni Arbi (July 18), and Dorhailay in relation to my article about fasting to save rice (July 19). All letters show concern about the food crisis we are experiencing.

I absolutely agree that skipping one meal a day is no joke. But what Ritu Sud has in mind is totally different from fasting on Mondays and Thursdays (I am doing that, too, thank-you-very much) as appealed by the president. As a non-Moslem, she might know that, when we do the fasting, we begin it by reading nawaitu (meaning intention, without which our fasting is not acceptable). This kind of fasting, as clearly declared in the nawaitu, is a purely religious thing that should not be done for any other reason.

What I am trying to say is, we must not do religious things for economic (or political) purposes. Skipping one or two meals a weak and saving the money, purely for the purpose of helping the needy, is a great deed. Let's do just that, with genuine sincerity to help the needy, no strings attached.

As for a quick fix on a leaky boat, however critical the leak is, we still have to do the fixing properly, otherwise the boat will sink before you know it. Some quick fixes (such as providing free meals for the terminated workers by the previous minister of social affairs and the governor's permission for the operation of the long-forgotten pedicabs in Jakarta) still leave a bitter taste in our mouths. Where have those quick fixes taken our "boat"?

CARL CHAIRUL

Jakarta