The hot issues of the week
I was surprised by the comments expressed by Laurie Pierce in The Jakarta Post of June 2. She invites readers to comment on two questions concerning current issues.
First: Why should the U.S. President's plea with the Singaporean government for clemency over the caning sentence for Michael Fay be considered as Western imperialist intervention?
Second: On the other hand, a veiled diplomatic threat wielded by Indonesia in order to stop a non-governmental body from holding a legal meeting in the Philippine is regarded as "just friendly advice?"
In my opinion the two issues can or may be evaluated as follows:
1. The U.S. President, being head of state and the administration, feels obligated to protect his citizens everywhere and is responsible for doing everything necessary for his countrymen, in the broad sense of the word. The President's plea to the Singaporean government for clemency cannot and may not be considered as intervention in Singapore's domestic affairs. It is extreme to call such a plea Western imperialist intervention. I do not however agree that the caning punishment by Singapore must be regarded as barbaric and inhuman. We must remember that Singapore, being a sovereign country has the fullest right to choose whatever methods are used to prevent and reduce crime in its country.
Caning is not against human rights, the more if we compare with other kinds of punishment like: the electric chair, cutting fingers or hands, hanging, stoning and other cruel death penalties, applied by certain nations. Caning may have left some damage to Michael Fay, but not permanent, because the wounds will soon heal.
Caning is nothing compared with the electric chair or other death penalties. This system of punishment imposed by Singapore turns out to be very effective, considering that peace, order and cleanliness always prevail in this country. By undergoing the death penalty, the punished person will never have the chance to recover or to rehabilitate, as she or he is dead. That is perhaps why certain circles urge that the death penalty has to be abolished. It is in fact against the general (good) intention of many world governments to principally rehabilitate or correct criminals or other rules violators.
The word "jail" or penjara has been formally or informally changed into Socialization Institution or Lembaga Pemasyarakatan. It means that there is a general consensus that nations want to see that criminals and other rules violators become good citizens again and be acceptable in the community.
The case of Michael Fay is just an example of how the Singaporean government tries to prevent other vandalism that could lead to bigger crimes. And how do we judge Michael Fay himself? Is he a criminal, a victim for just a naughty boy? If I may describe this young American, he is just a naughty boy, who is a victim of circumstances, but that made him a criminal, if not timely and necessarily prevented.
2. It is on the other hand not fair to call the Indonesian government's appeal to stop the conference on East Timor to be held in the Philippines as "a veiled diplomatic threat." The Philippines as a neighbor of Indonesia and more importantly a co- member in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, did not realize that allowing such a conference might have affected the existing good relationship between the two countries. Indonesia in this case cannot be considered as intervening in the Philippines' domestic affairs. It is just a diplomatic step that had to be taken by Indonesia. Whether the step must be considered to be friendly or not, it depends on how we look at the matter.
As a matter of fact, such conferences will surely not affect the condition and situation of East Timor, as since 1975 East Timor had decided to integrate with Indonesia. It is not to be denied that a small percentage of the people are against the integration. It is not surprising that such a case exists.
ALOYSIUS HARYONO
Jakarta