In response to your editorial of Feb. 27, poverty exists everywhere and its root causes are ingrained in our human psyche.
The Indonesian style of poverty is endemic to all tropical-based cultures. For thousands of years or more, tropical inhabitants had everything they needed for basic survival.
On the contrary, in most of the Northern hemisphere, the situation was totally different. People were forced to manage their lives wisely, because for some months there was not enough food and, as well as building a shelter for the freezing winter, they were forced to prepare, during summer, enough heating material for all the winter months too. (By Ronen Skaletzky, Medan)
Your comments:
How absolutely true: Hopefully lots of Indonesians, especially the young ones will read and understand this.
Edi Rey
Switzerland
Thanks Ronen for your heartfelt sympathy. We should find a wise solution for this lingering and deteriorating problem.
I agree with the idea put forward by Ciputra, one of the conglomerates in Indonesia.
He said we must build and teach entrepreneurship mentality in schools and society.
We can learn from developed countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
As entrepreneurs, we can create jobs for people. When the number of entrepreneurs increases, let say 5 percent of the total population, the welfare of the people can improve too.
The fortunate relatives should help the less fortunate ones. But remember when we hire people as our employees, we must consider the currently feasible standard of living, at least three times higher than the current minimum regional allowance, US$90, so it means $270 or more in a month., otherwise we just create a massive poverty and terrorism movements that trigger social upheavals and incur higher social costs.
Rudyanto
Denpasar
Apparently, according to Skaletzky, poverty is the consequence of a swampy tropical culture.
Others, however, are of a very different opinion about the roots of poverty.
The countries and continents Skaletzky reckons to be rich are also the ones who have the highest burdens of taxation per capita.
The so-called wealth these countries display to the "naked eye" are the result of this tax burden their subjects are more or less willing to sustain.
When Indonesia will be willing and capable to enforce on it's subjects the same tax burden as in the countries as mentioned, I am sure it will start looking a lot more like a "rich" country.
The question is therefore if Indonesia should exchange its swampy tropical culture for the rigid and demanding societies of those "rich" countries.
Personally, I doubt its possibility. And to be sure I am not really sad about it.
Indonesia should remain Indonesia and not become a clone of some "wealthy country".
A.R.Tauran
Jakarta
