The fiscal distress

Congratulations on bringing attention and clarity to the looming fiscal liquidity crisis in Indonesia in your Nov. 20, 1999, editorial The fiscal distress.

But surely you can be a little harder hitting -- and helpful -- than concluding meekly as you do with an unarticulated "hope for tax reform".

Responsible journalism, especially in a time of economic crisis, requires the exposure of ills and advocacy for desperately needed reform. Would not it serve as an eye-opener to concerned readers if you reported on the actual amount of tax revenues raised in each of the last few years, the number of tax returns filed in those years and, if you could obtain this, the number of members of the People's Consultative Assembly and the new Cabinet that paid no taxes at all last year?

Indonesia's new leaders should not only be accountable but also contributors to the building of a just and responsible society.

Will you follow through on your timid initiative?

DAVE KUCHENBECKER

Jakarta