On skipping meal

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