Letter: Malnutrition and corruption

That malnutrition still exists after more than six decades of independence is plain incompetence. That malnutrition is rising due simply to government corruption.

Each village chief should be made responsible for the people of his village to ensure no one gets hungry or sick unnecessarily. With the presence of hand phones it is really unforgivable for a village chief to be ignorant about what is going on among the residents of his village.  

However, there is a saying that there are no stupid pupils; there are only lazy or indifferent teachers, in this case the government.

The Jakarta Post on Jan. 19 carried the title “Govt takes action as malnutrition rises” on its poverty column in its front page.

We would not have to read this sad and degrading news again if we were smart enough to introduce rules and regulations to curb or at least to limit corruption.

 With the right people in the right places and the word “corruption” a thing of the past, the occurrence of malnutrition would be a grave crime for any government official.


M. Adikoesoemo
Jakarta