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