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strong>May 12, p5

A number of disturbing developments this week indicated that we are in dire need of a big dose of common sense.

Take the raids on suspected terrorists in West Java, Central Java and Banten. We are relieved that the police's Densus 88 counterterrorism unit continues to root out the suspected terrorists. But it also means that terrorist networks have no problem finding fresh pools of recruits to replace arrested or convicted core members.

Leading preachers have appealed to parents, the late Zainuddin MZ implored 'don't let your children be so gullible [that they accept] promises of instant heaven through violence against any branded kafir [infidel]'. Words of warning, such as these, may be few and far between and are unable to catch all those seeking material or divine rewards. (By Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta)

Your comments:

Books are great and promote positive learning. However, this will not solve the issue of poor leadership, (unless of course our beloved President and his ministers suddenly take up reading).

It is a sad fact that this country has no real role models nowadays, as all levels of society are tainted with corruption and inaction. There must be a decent politician somewhere who is unafraid and will speak out often and loudly about the suffering of the minorities in society here, but I will not hold my breath waiting!

Bruce Canardly

I always hope that every year someone writes about the May 1998 tragedy to keep the flame burning ' it seems that you've taken this task for this year.

I've written once or twice on May 1998 and so far I have nothing more say. I hope (a big hope) that more people take up this task, especially Chinese Indonesians themselves. I really like Ati Nurbaiti's article that contrasts the remembrance of May 12 (the Trisakti shootings) with what happened in the next two days.

Australian scholars usually say (as Nurbaiti writes) that both the perished urban poor and the raped Chinese Indonesian women do not fit into the category of 'the reformation hero' sought by the media ' they have to be heroic men, the students and activists. Maybe that's why even in the Boston bombings more attention was given to the bombers rather than the victims.

I studied the Holocaust to try to find answers on May 1998. What we experienced was similar to the Night of the Broken Glass and luckily, no more than that.

It took about 20-25 years before Jewish Americans started to talk about the Holocaust.

Will it be the same time period before Chinese Indonesians start talking about May 1998? I appreciate Indonesians who talk about it, but we have to start the discussion ourselves, and I am not the strongest person to do it.

Mario Rustan

What is on the minds of so many of us very concerned Indonesians who really desire the best for our country for present and future generations? It is a lack of role models.

Take religious education, where people are compelled to learn parts of the Holy Koran by heart while not having past and present role models to look up to and emulate.

This kind of education will be as empty as a library robbed of its books and as dry as dust, having no positive impact whatsoever.

Those among us who, in our younger years, were lucky to have almost unlimited access to quality reading material, such as Western literature and local classics such as The Ramayana and The Mahabharata, and who acquired a love of reading good books at a very early age, had no trouble at all in finding role models in books.

From these role models, we learned what sterling character traits such as integrity, loyalty, good morals, courage, honesty and real love actually were ' even if our parents, by their very words and actions, weren't good role models already in our eyes.

To save our own sanity and that of the younger generation, I would like to suggest that we seek refuge in good literature (many excellent books can be found online and can be downloaded for free) and quality films that we can purchase.

What almost all local TV stations now mostly show is pure garbage that effectively destroys the minds of viewers, except for some excellent cartoons and programs.

We should remember that the saying: 'Garbage in, garbage out' doesn't only apply to computers.

Tami