Shallow humanitarianism

Shallow humanitarianism

From Prospek

Arswendo Atmowiloto may feel relieved after ending his prison
term. Being a creative and productive writer before Monitor
tabloid's publishing license was revoked, he resumed writing in
the media.

However, I am criticizing Arswendo's article in Tempo a few
weeks ago about a Malaysian citizen named Steven, alias Chan Tin
Chong, who was sentenced to death by the State Court of West
Jakarta for smuggling 420 grams of heroin into Indonesia.

I should have sent this letter to the magazine which published
his article, but it is too late because the magazine has been
banned.

Arswendo concluded his article by saying "It is not the death
that concerns, but the verdict that causes the end of life of a
fellow creature." Correct! Our life and death are in the hands of
God.

But God also teaches us law. And God's law is the most just.
Mankind must obey God's law if one wishes to be safe here and
hereafter. We know that the legal sanctions imposed in Indonesia
are usually light, while Malaysia is very strict in this matter.
A drug smuggler will certainly get the death penalty there.

It seems to me that you show tolerance to uncivilized crimes.
A lot of young people have become victims of drugs or heroin
smuggled into Indonesia. And still many others must suffer from
side effects of the drugs. Rapes, murders and other forms of
violence have threatened the safety of the society.

Should we let our own relatives become victims of such
actions?

Logically speaking, a murderer must be sentenced to death. But
we must examine the case deeper to discover why one human being
kills another. Is the murderer sane or insane, or in a state of
drunkenness?

This is the responsibility of the police. In the case of
Steven, he was sane, not insane, and not drunk. Through the drugs
he smuggled, he indirectly killed thousands of young people.

He might also smuggle similar substances into other countries.
How can we tolerate this?

I appreciate Arswendo's altruism, but I respect the court's
verdict more.

NUNGKY HARTONO

Jakarta