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