We are in a doomed society
We live in a doomed society. I may not have lived in many places to compare, but the abuse of power in our society has reached such heights that we can't seem to be bothered anymore with what's happening around us.
News of children dying from starvation; children committing suicide because they are taunted for not being able to pay monthly school fees of Rp 3000; people killing each other over small change; or just recently, the story of a garbage collector who walked kilometers carrying his dead child (who died from diarrhea) because he didn't have money for an ambulance to transport the body; these stories flash in front of us every day but they don't seem to generate as much attention compared to celebrity gossip.
Come to think of it, we are really living in soap operas more eventful than those of Hollywood. We even have a special institution that apparently writes plots (using state facilities, of course) to murder human rights activists. Or how about the son of an ex-president who is serving time for the murder of a supreme court judge while his ex-girlfriend goes on national TV saying she has had a child with him while being married to another man.
A trigger happy son of a tycoon is on trial for shooting to death an innocent citizen. Affairs, murders, mysticism, treachery, conspiracies; we watch and read these juicy news stories from our so-called "elites" with such gusto that the news of children who have starved to death or committed suicide almost fades into the background and is soon forgotten.
On the other hand, we have a governor whose annual refreshment allowance reaches billions of rupiah. Regarding the 85,000 malnourished Jakarta children, he said without missing a beat that his administration would improve the distribution of nutritious food to children in need given the massive budget (14.01 trillion) they have. The question is, if you have such large funds, why on earth did cases of malnutrition happen in the first place?
To Jakarta's governor Sutiyoso, I say you don't need to outdo the president with a radio program. Just walk through the slum areas more often to see and feel how the less privileged make ends meet, for that, I am sure, is the main task on your job description S. W. TJAHJONO Jakarta