The Jakarta Post has yet again remained an informative, interesting and
balanced newspaper throughout this year and is, indeed, a credit to its
owners and staff.
I am one of those people who do not want my
entire life to exist in a hand-held electronic gadget and so the hard
copy of the paper is not only ideal, it is also a godsend.
Another round of applause should go to Indonesia for its encouragement and full support of a free press; in today’s world, that is a rare and precious gift.
Despite all the gripes about this country, most of which are more than justified, it is refreshing to be able to say something complimentary about its undoubted progress.
As for the future, it would be nice to think that someone with common sense could get hold of the situation in Papua, as that is surely a place of guaranteed prosperity. As for reforms within the world of politics, I fear like others that the so-called elites are not true patriots of this country or concerned about its people; therefore, a change of attitude is unlikely unless the people themselves wake up and start voting with their brains.
Police reforms are in much the same dismal state; only yesterday, I read an article about this subject from 2001, and to be honest it could have been written today. It is likely that next year the world will mark time and not produce anything startling, and this will also apply to Indonesia.
We have driven ourselves into a financial rut through stupidity, greed and inefficiency, and a lot of that has stemmed from corruption and thoroughly bad business practices. The banks have much to answer for, and as for property developers, there should be a hunting season on them.
It would be a waste of time trying to point a finger at who is to blame, as most countries have contributed in their own ways.
In a nutshell, we lack good leadership and direction. These two things reflect a world that refuses to recognize and act on common sense because most leaders have their heads permanently buried in the sand.
David Wallis
Medan