Tale of two daughters
Sure, destiny is God's secret. I am referring to two daughters of two presidents and, in order not to sound distasteful to certain quarters, I cannot afford to mention names. Besides, this is on everybody's lips, if not on everybody's mind.
How contrasting are their fates in later life; one has been alleviated to the rank of minister, rightly or wrongly, and the other has been declared an outcast, rightly or wrongly.
Constitutionally, they enjoy the same birthrights, at least in theory. Politically, one clearly enjoys greater favor from the rulers while the other lives almost like a destitute or pariah, in the political sense, that is.
By virtue of great merits, each in his own way and in his own time, the two leaders do not deserve to have children with contrasting fates.
The overriding argument has been that the first president, while an undisputed hero at the beginning of his career, was later declared incapable of leading further and was tragically "impeached", again rightly or wrongly I should add.
The leader of the new garrison, who initially drew international respect for his clean records and modest living, later began to falter and showed cracks and stains. This only shows that no human being is infallible. The message to those in power is that they should give others, outside their own circle, equal opportunities and rights for advancement.
We should not forget, that the Pancasila state philosophy serves as a sacred source in that every citizen has the fundamental right to aim for any office under the Indonesian sun.
How heart-rendering it is to witness that a (former) president's daughter, aspiring to follow the footsteps of her father, has been violently denied that right.
Furthermore, there is no sadder tiding than that of the sister of this daughter who, for about 20 years, has not been given a permit to set up a university named after one of the founding fathers of this nation, while foreigners are allowed to open universities here. Hopefully time has now changed.
GANDHI SUKARDI
Jakarta