Voice of reason

Voice of reason

I have lived and worked in Indonesia for more than 10 years.
This is my home, a place and time to raise a family. Although an
expat, I haven't considered pursuing a life elsewhere because my
wife is from Medan and, besides, I achieve a measure of personal
fulfillment in work and recreation here in Jakarta.

I have relied on The Jakarta Post for my breakfast read for
all this time, but it is, perhaps, only during the last few
months that I, and, no doubt, countless other regular
subscribers, have come to appreciate the wise objectivity of your
editorial stance.

We were under siege for 10 days and we still cannot conjecture
future developments with any certainty, although we may hope that
President Habibie is listening to the continued demands for a
clean and transparent government and early elections. There is a
need for dialog between all sectors of society, the freedom of
dissent is just as vital as concurrence.

The momentum for change has been so rapid that our instant
analyses, formed from TV and our telephone networks, have served
only to demonstrate that we need to have voices of reason
articulating our fears and hopes. The Post has been that voice,
at least in this household. Each morning we have seen rumors
confirmed or denied. Names have been put to faces, events to
their causes and developments to their contexts.

I feel that I am not alone in wishing to express my
appreciation for the efforts of all the staff at the Post and
especially those responsible for the editorials during these
unique times. If any international English language newspaper is
deserving of an award for journalistic integrity, it is
yourselves. May you long be a voice of reason.

TERRY COLLINS

Jakarta