Text your say: Yogyakarta’s special status

Your comments on the statement made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that the special status of Yogyakarta’s sultanate is not in line with the Constitution and democracy.

Mr. President seems to be distracting us from the main focus of people’s attention.
While people are busy discussing the graft case of Gayus Tambunan, who has received special treatment during his detainment, he bravely blew up the issue of the special status of Yogyakarta.
Why does the word “special” sound special?
Happy Indriyono
Yogyakarta
 
It is another misstep by President SBY. Moving his office to Yogyakarta during the Mount Merapi eruptions was insulting enough.
Hadi
Surabaya

Is the President afraid of losing popularity because a sultan is more admired by people of Yogyakarta? Or maybe he just had a slip of the tongue?
Herlina
Cirebon, West Java
 
I agree with the President that the presence of a sultanate is not in keeping with the spirit of Indonesian democracy. However, a benevolent and beloved monarch is better for the people than the political infighting that the sudden imposition of democracy has often led to.
There should be a gradual transition toward democracy, indeed, but the path must be carefully trodden instead of the sensationalist manner with which Yogyakarta has been thrust into the limelight.
Suhas Bhat
Cikarang, West Java

The Yogyakarta sultanate should not be reformed for whatever reason so long as the sultan remains an exemplary role model of a leader.
Odo Fadloeli
Bandung
 
If there were two leaders in Yogyakarta — the sultan and a governor — there would be a pitiful governor in this special city because he
would never be able to govern the city, the only reason is that Yogyakartans believe in their sultan, not in their governor.
Indro
Jakarta