Put up with small efforts!
Put up with small efforts!
It was good to see Adinda's forceful reply to my initial
letter of Jan. 9, 1999, though I may not agree with all that is
now put forward.
All sections of the public everywhere in Indonesia recognize
that change -- change in most things -- is needed. But change,
just for the sake of change, is by itself not a good idea.
To enact new laws, edicts, decrees and also the methods by
which they are to be made, needs considerable thought, and very
careful wording. This needs time, much to students frustrations.
However much students may distrust the government, and members of
the House of Representatives (DPR), they are presently the only
legal bodies to deal with. They are both busy making changes, but
not wide enough to your liking.
However, your points have not gone unheard by political
parties, of which we have now 100 or more. To me, at this time,
the leaders are the people you should be concentrating on.
Elections are now only five months away, and they will take
place. You will then have an entirely new set of DPR, and
ministers all with reform foremost in their minds. It is they who
should enact or amend the law in line with the aims and
aspirations of all Indonesians.
So, be patient. Put up with the small efforts now. You have
made your points many times all over Indonesia. Help, rather than
hinder new party leaders.
Demonstrations do more than temporarily upset Jakarta's daily
life, and it is the small men who suffer more than the coat-and-
tie businessmen. I can tell you, you would not get many votes
from taxi drivers, or from small shop owners or food stalls
around town.
It got to the stage, as you must well know, that in December
at the whiff of a rumor of a coming demonstration, whole sections
of Jakarta closed up, not by the police, by fear of what was to
follow -- not by the student groups, but by the hangers-on
looking for trouble at the slightest chance. Their rampages undid
all that the students tried for.
Apart from political matters, students must remember that
Indonesia lives on trade, on selling its products, on providing a
solid base for investment not just by foreigners, but also by
local investors. An air of instability, caused by demonstrations
and worse, does not help in reviving Indonesia as a nation worth
investing in.
So, once again may I recommend no more demonstrations. Have
your group cooperate with new national political leaders, and in
that way ensure that the future of Indonesia is in safe, secure
hands.
DEREK C. SEAGROVE
Jakarta