Past jealousies

Past jealousies

I have come to have a high regard for the writing and thinking
of Amir Santoso through The Jakarta Post. He writes clearly,
thoughtfully and courageously. He is willing to criticize
authority when he believes criticism is justified.

Therefore his article in the Dec. 14, 1995 of The Jakarta Post
defending the nature of the new leadership of the Association of
Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals at first puzzled me. He obviously
believes what he says about Moslem people being subjected to
discrimination in Indonesia, even though they account for at
least 85 percent of the population. Furthermore, any listing of
the 10 most wealthy Indonesians will include at least six
Moslems, maybe more. And unless I am mistaken, since the birth of
the nation, the president of Indonesia has been a Moslem.

Then the meaning of his explanation hit me, and my natural
cynicism disappeared. As an engineer, I understand the value of
safety valves. Some of the jealousies of 30 years ago are seen
again today. An excellent article.

GARY GENTRY

Jakarta