Save the country from ruin

From Suara Karya

Members of the political elite in responsible positions are holders of a public mandate who should bring about improvements for the nation. Their policies should therefore benefit the interests of the public at large.

The handling of national economic and security issues, however, have caused widespread disappointment so that the public are now skeptical about all policies adopted by the government.

This is because policies tends to favor particular political groupings instead of the majority, while the role of control institutions cannot be relied upon. The members of the political classes are busily doing all they can to ensure the victories of their parties in the 2004 general election.

If things continue like this, general elections, no matter how often they are held, will not be objective or benefit the ordinary people, whose economic situation is worsening. In the meantime, public attempts to seek justice are treated with disdain, or even with repression, by law enforcers.

Yet the public are still pinning their hopes on a number of leaders who loyally defend the nation's integrity despite bitter criticism, and do not want to see the nation continue to be economically dependent on foreign countries and politically divided.

REZA S. Jakarta