The late President John F. Kennedy, in his eloquent inaugural speech, calls on all societies around the globe to promote justice among their citizens. He made the well-known solemn call, "If a free society can not help the many who are poor, it can not save the few who are rich."
He meant to say that the society and the government must try seriously to bridge the wide gap between the poor majority and the rich minority. The earth was created for all human beings and therefore is neither a place for people who are extremely poor or a place for those who are extremely rich.
Indonesia is today facing this imbalance among its citizens. So many of its people are very poor, living under the poverty line, and so few are very rich, living above it.
So many displaced (street children), street beggars and aged women have to work from dawn to dusk just to get meager earnings for their families. The irony is that the country's Constitution, articles 33 and 34 (as amended) state the obligation of the state to develop welfare and a just economic system.
It is also imperative to the state to take care of its citizens who are poor and helpless; orphans and nobody's children. Indonesia has been ranked a free nation for almost 65 years, and yet the number of poor people continues to increase. Corruption is one thing responsible for this bad condition.
Thus, people around the globe, let us unite, hand in hand, to fight corruption, an extraordinary crime against humanity. Let us begin now.
Cornelis A. Boeky
Jakarta
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