Open letter to the President

From Warta Kota

To President Megawati Soekarnoputri: Please accept belated congratulations for your appointment as Indonesia's fifth president from an avid supporter and admirer.

As a member of the public, I hold high hopes of your performance and efforts to alleviate public suffering and getting us out of the economic crisis.

The rupiah has started to gain strength since your swearing in and now the names of the ministers announced on Aug. 9 have also received a positive response from the market.

As a common person, I would only like to underline one of your promises as Chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which was concerned with eradicating corruption.

As corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) is unfortunately believed to be embedded in our culture, top-down eradication would be most effective, starting with the president, followed by firm and undiscriminating action against those involved in such divisive behavior.

Your statement claiming that your family would never be allowed to be involved in KKN would be supported by many.

Besides general KKN campaigns, I hope that anti-corruption laws could be immediately put into effect. In the rules and regulations of administrative bodies there should be a built-in disciplinary system so as to minimize any possible corruption.

Development on islands outside Java should also be considered, because these islands are rich in natural resources but poor in infrastructure. Rather than migrating to Java, the people on these outer islands should be given an equal opportunity for their own betterment.

Finally, I hope the government you are leading, along with Hamzah Haz, will fulfill the aspirations of the Indonesian people.

ROBERT

Karawaci, Banten