One of the most boring of subjects in Indonesia is the saga of

One of the most boring of subjects in Indonesia is the saga of
Akbar Tandjung which must go down in history as the biggest drag
of the millennium. The number of times the House and all its
carnival members have debated, discussed, argued, considered,
deliberated, examined, sifted, voted and digested this apparent
dilemma must be a world record that will never be surpassed. It
has honestly reached a stage where his presence has such little
credibility that he may as well sit there all day and do the
crossword so that everyone else can get on with the work and just
ignore him.

Why the House members must go through this extreme waste of
time debating over whether Akbar should stay or go is totally
irrelevant, as the House is unable and therefore unwilling to
remove him. That means that the "sheep" that support the shepherd
have no need for bleating, and they have no need to pull the wool
over the eyes of anyone, because the plain truth of the matter
is, that there are no morals or integrity in the building, so why
pretend there is.

His status as a convicted embezzler does not in any way
discredit the House, as within the institution there are many who
are the same, with the only difference being that Akbar got
exposed. The saying "There but for the Grace of God go I" means
that every legislator should simply look at Akbar and just accept
that his only crime was in being caught. The only way this
particular saga is going to shake off its boring tag is for the
money trail to be exposed, and as that is not going to happen
(the Supreme Court will probably forget to ask that one) then
better to forget the whole thing and support the lad for the
presidency, and then he can pardon himself."

DAVID WALLIS, Medan, North Sumatra