Political ethics

Political ethics

From Rakyat Merdeka

Cases are piling up in our country. Policies have been issued by the Habibie administration one after another, but the people consider them all to be wrong. Some of these policies may in fact be correct, while some others are indeed wrong, like his decision on East Timor:

1. President B.J. Habibie said in a very relaxed manner that 700,000 East Timorese were meaningless compared to the total population of 200 million Indonesians. To Indonesia, losing the East Timorese is just like losing Kebayoran in South Jakarta, he said.

2. According to Australian Prime Minister John Howard, as quoted by CNN, Habibie once told the international community that if the Indonesian government failed to maintain security in East Timor, it would leave the matter up to the United Nations Security Council.

3. At the State Place, Habibie, in one of his addresses, said the Indonesian Military and police performed their duties in East Timor to the best of their abilities, although security in the territory was nonexistent and had to be handed over to the United Nations through its peacekeeping force.

These three items demonstrate that there is something wrong with the leadership of this country, including its inability to maintain the nation's pride and the state's sovereignty. Who is to bear the responsibility for this failure? It is all Indonesians who must bear the brunt. If Habibie had some understanding of political ethics, he would agree that giving up his presidency now would be the noblest action.

HERU LELONO

Jakarta