J

uly 15, p. 6

I don’t usually remember the content of Friday sermons, but somehow this particular sermon during Friday prayers in the bustling city of Bandung was different.

The preacher was lecturing about the virtue of honesty and asked a question that has lingered in my mind up to this day. His question was, “Can ill-gotten wealth be considered good fortune (rezeki)?”

As the preacher continued with his sermon, my mind drifted back to the days when I was a high school student. I remembered one evening, it was nearing 8 p.m. and I was heading toward the bus station in Blok M, South Jakarta.

I remember seeing a rubbish cart on the pavement but something next to it made me stop dead in my tracks. Beside the cart, sheltered from the cold night wind, I saw a mother feeding her two young children. (By Indra Soebagjo, Jakarta)

Your comments:

It is heartwarming to read this article. I came back to Jakarta because I wanted to make a difference in this country. The older generation failed in making this country a better place, It’s now up to us.

I don’t know how much I can do, or how well I can give back to Indonesia. But at least one of us who has the same heart, a heart that longs for change in this nation, will succeed in doing so.

I pray that God gives us strength to make it through and changes this nation for the better!

Jon
Jakarta

I hope your article opens the hearts of many Indonesians, especially younger ones, because the older generation seems to have already given up hope in changing the mindset of the bureaucrats.

Life is abstract but it can be adjusted, depending on what Indonesians want, through a strong leadership that should dedicate itself without reward.

We love our country very much and we should do something in our own environment. Start with ourselves and expand. I like what Mas Indra did by writing his article, a gentle reminder. Bravo!

Prihatini
Jakarta