The hot issues of the week

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