Letter: Privatize airport management

I love my country very much, and sometimes I take it as an insult if someone comments negatively about Indonesia. But, unfortunately, I agree with all the points that Jenal raised about Soekarno-Hatta airport (the Post, Nov. 8).

It is a very sad story and it seems the people who run the airport don't care very much. The terminals are not connected, except by shuttle buses that are not passenger-friendly. It takes a lot of effort to transfer from one terminal to another carrying luggage. The toilets are mostly stinking. I am not going to touch on the other items, they are too many to mention.

On the other hand, if we look at the malls around Jakarta, you would not realize you were still in Indonesia, especially if you had just arrived at Soekarno-Hatta. The situation is so different when you are at one of Jakarta's malls, such as Grand Indonesia.

In fact, we are able to develop nice, clean, modern buildings; so there is no reason Soekarno-Hatta airport cannot do so too. We must be able to build a nice airport that resembles Grand Indonesia, interconnected with trains from one terminal to another.

But as long as the people who run Soekarno-Hatta airport remain the same, we should forget the idea of getting a better airport.

It needs fundamental reform: We need to privatize the management of the airport. As long as the airport is run by a bunch of amateurs, we will never have an airport like those in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, or even Dubai.

Indonesia is a great country, but unfortunately there are too many amateurs around. Please keep this in mind, my fellow citizens.

Ferry Pasaribu
Jakarta