Wearing heavy outfits?
Wearing heavy outfits?
It is difficult to understand why the members of the People's
Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives (MPR and
DPR) prefer to don a complete suit (a jacket, a long-sleeved
shirt and a tie) to go to work, considering that Indonesia is a
tropical country. I wonder whether they do not feel too hot.
We can imagine that they must sweat profusely and be limited
in their movements when they go out in the field to be close to
the people they claim to represent. Obviously, in these heavy
outfits they will feel both reluctant and out of place at a
stuffy and hot traditional market, for example.
Clearly they will think it is only proper for them to work in
an air-conditioned room, travel in an air-conditioned car, stay
in a star-rated hotel or shop in a luxurious shopping center the
class of Sogo.
Wouldn't it be better for them to choose an outfit that suits
not only the climate but also the people they represent. They can
wear, for example, a short-sleeved batik shirt and give the
impression that they really represent the people and not
entrepreneurs or business tycoons, who must put on a complete
suit in the interest of their business.
In Malaysia and the Philippines, for example, House members
prefer to wear their traditional dress. Even in Singapore, which
is much richer than our country, House members are simply
dressed. Only on certain occasions will they wear a complete
suit.
It may well be that our House members opt for a complete suit
out of a helpless inferiority complex, so if they do not don a
complete suit they will lose their self-confidence and fear be
disrespected. Another possibility is that they do not consider
themselves the representatives of the little people, but rather
the representatives of the "big" people.
One sign of this is that some of these House members have at
least one very luxurious automobile -- or perhaps more -- whose
worth exceeds their official salary. Even if they spent their
entire salary for five full years, they still could not afford to
purchase this very luxurious car.
RACHMAT BASOEKI SOEROPRANOTO
Jakarta
It is difficult to understand why the members of the People's
Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives (MPR and
DPR) prefer to don a complete suit (a jacket, a long-sleeved
shirt and a tie) to go to work, considering that Indonesia is a
tropical country. I wonder whether they do not feel too hot.
We can imagine that they must sweat profusely and be limited
in their movements when they go out in the field to be close to
the people they claim to represent. Obviously, in these heavy
outfits they will feel both reluctant and out of place at a
stuffy and hot traditional market, for example.
Clearly they will think it is only proper for them to work in
an air-conditioned room, travel in an air-conditioned car, stay
in a star-rated hotel or shop in a luxurious shopping center the
class of Sogo.
Wouldn't it be better for them to choose an outfit that suits
not only the climate but also the people they represent. They can
wear, for example, a short-sleeved batik shirt and give the
impression that they really represent the people and not
entrepreneurs or business tycoons, who must put on a complete
suit in the interest of their business.
In Malaysia and the Philippines, for example, House members
prefer to wear their traditional dress. Even in Singapore, which
is much richer than our country, House members are simply
dressed. Only on certain occasions will they wear a complete
suit.
It may well be that our House members opt for a complete suit
out of a helpless inferiority complex, so if they do not don a
complete suit they will lose their self-confidence and fear be
disrespected. Another possibility is that they do not consider
themselves the representatives of the little people, but rather
the representatives of the "big" people.
One sign of this is that some of these House members have at
least one very luxurious automobile -- or perhaps more -- whose
worth exceeds their official salary. Even if they spent their
entire salary for five full years, they still could not afford to
purchase this very luxurious car.
RACHMAT BASOEKI SOEROPRANOTO
Jakarta