Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono accused Singapore on Thursday of not signing an extradition pact with Indonesia out of fear it would be obliged to return money stashed away by corrupt fugitives who fled to the city state during the 1998-2001 financial crisis.

The Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), also negotiated along with the extradition agreement, seems to have collapsed as well. "They *agreements* are frozen," he told the Post.

Your comments:

If Indonesia was serious about forcing Singapore to sign the extradition pact, then all it would need to do is sanction Singapore.

They could ban all goods going through Singapore, finding alternative shipping routes or ports for all goods imported and exported by Indonesia.

Singapore's requests are unreasonable, especially considering they wish to open a military base on Indonesian soil.

There are many lopsided terms; Singapore expects special treatment and many favors in exchange for the treaty.

Besides, most of the so-called corrupt and illegal funds in Singapore have already moved to Hong Kong and other banking centers, or, if not, are already poised to move minutes from the signing the treaty, if it ever happens.

David K.

Jakarta

Shining on *Forbes' billionaire list

March 13, p. 1

Everybody is affected by the present global financial crisis. But not Indonesians Michael Hartono and brother R. Budi Hartono, owners of the country's second-largest cigarette company, who made it into the annual list of billionaires, as published by Forbes magazine.

Though the wealth of the Hartono brothers was trimmed from US$2 billion in 2008 to $1.7 billion in 2009 due to the global financial crisis, they jumped to 430th position on the 2009 Forbes World's Billionaires list from 605 last year.

Your comments:

I suggest those wealthy cigarette makers donate of a chunk of their fortune to help alleviate the suffering of those who get lung and bladder cancer because of smoking (not only those who actively smoke, but also their relatives who do not).

I suggest those who have amassed fortunes through the paper and palm oil industries should be taxed 100 percent so the primary forests they have destroyed may be replanted. Deforestation is one of the great problems of Indonesia.

It has very serious consequences to the resilience of ecosystems; it affects water catchment, leading to erosion and hyper-sedimentation, which in turn affects rivers, coastal waters, coral reefs and all the services provided to mankind by these ecosystems.

As one reader said, one should not take pride in such a situation. Some of the people in the top 500 should be despised, rather than praised, by The Jakarta Post because they are destroying our precious environment. They are eco-criminals.

P. Borsa

Lights out for

Earth Hour

March 20, p. 9

Areas in the heart of the capital will be in darkness following the city administration's commitment to turn off its lights for an hour to raise awareness about climate change. The Earth Hour 2009 campaign, endorsed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), will take place on March 28, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30p.m.

This is the first time the city will participate in Earth Hour. Rizal Malik, a member of WWF-Indonesia's Board of Trustees, said Thursday that some government offices and private companies in Jakarta's main business districts had declared their commitment to Earth Hour.

Your comments:

I cannot say how much I agree with this gesture. Man has raped this planet for too long. We must take responsibility for our actions and ensure our children have something to live on. Let's not stop there, let's look at the pollution caused by traffic and the waste of energy in each and every household. Energy management would save everyone money and it would reduce man's dependence on fossil fuels. Reducing pollution would make everyone healthier. Please join in next Saturday and show the world that each and every one of us is committed to saving the planet for our children.

Willie Gallacher

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