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Letter: The key is education

This is a comment on an article titled "Between free sex and local wisdom", (the Post, June 21, p

The Jakarta Post
Sat, June 26, 2010

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Letter: The key is education

This is a comment on an article titled "Between free sex and local wisdom", (the Post, June 21, p. 7).

I tend to think that the problem in Indonesian society lies not in the conflict between conservative versus liberal values, but rather in the curiosity of the youngsters that stems from a lack of access to quality education.

The varying values that exist in Indonesian society are actually caused by big gaps in terms of access to quality education. Once quality education is standardized, people will begin to accept the ultimate truth that in democratic countries individual rights are to be respected (including the right to have intercourse when one is of age) I think it is perfectly possible for religion and the right to have intercourse to co-exist.

Prohibitions and unnecessary regulations will only invite more curiosity, especially when the education sector is as helpless as it is and when the foreign media and influence are so readily available.

Democracy is a whole package and that it entails the practice of respecting individual rights.

It is inescapable but true that Asian society today is more conservative regarding free sex than Western society, but that is no reason to produce regulations that halts progress toward the practice of real democracy!

Indonesian society may not demand it now, but it's only because quality education is not widespread enough, but restraining regulations will not solve this existing curiosity either!

Indra Ardiansyah
Jakarta

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