A

s I leave here for my country, India, please allow me the indulgence of expressing some thoughts.

My first exposure to Indonesia was when leaders of the three countries, Indonesia, India and Egypt propounded the theory of Pancasila in Bandung. My long cherished desire of seeing Bandung materialized during this visit: It was well worth it.

I have been lucky enough to be in Indonesia during last two presidential elections. Both the elections have been open, orderly and accepted generally by the losing candidates. That's great. I was, however, amused by mandatory medical checkup and more so by the proviso of abstinence before the checkup.

Now SBY has officially been declared elected, he has to start work at full speed, more so after the unfortunate bombings. Some hard and bold decisions will have to be taken in the best interests of the country. I remember our former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was severely criticized for introducing the study of computers in schools, but the move paid off, as is well-known.

A few days ago, there was a report in your newspapers about the need to appoint more English teachers. I have often thought along those lines, that slightly more exposure to English will stand the country in good stead.

Visitors to the country often feel lost as they cannot go out and be independent unless they know Indonesian; a smattering of English would be of great help to visitors

I simply love this country, the smile and simplicity of the people, which is reflected in the language, particularly its pronunciation - what could be simpler than calling juice "jus."