True colors of reform Indonesia

As officially announced to achieve a total reformed Indonesia, three important milestones have been scheduled by the government and seemingly agreed upon by the whole nation: the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in November, the general election in May 1999 and the MPR Special Session in December 1999.

To ensure a fair general election in May, all eligible parties should have administratively and politically equal status. Using a color metaphor to represent this equality, all contestants should be the same color intensity, say, of a similar "gray". Since there are only about six months from the MPR session to the general election, it is questionable if the time is sufficient to ensure the equality between the presently established and governmentally-acknowledged parties -- of, for argument's sake, a "dark black" color -- and so many newly announced parties ("pure white").

This is due to the unpredictable situation in which the "black" will keep steadily, surely moving and protecting itself from "graying". Meanwhile, the "white" will unsteadily try to keep from being "blackened" in the quest to achieve the appropriate "gray" color.

Concerning constitutional issues, the November MPR session will be the best and proper occasion for the MPR to work for a totally reformed Indonesia which is ready to enter a new millennium.

ATTILA RAHAYOE

Bekasi, West Java