The Power to Forgive
Okay, time for a quiz. You are a citizen of a country whose former president is very old, say, 70-80 years old. He is now in very sick condition. In the past, the former president was corrupted. However, things were very good back then. You can buy everything at reasonable price.
Things are completely different now. Though, corruption is still going on, but the power to buy things are decreasing. Back then, when he still ruled you could buy gas for only Rp.700 per litre. Now, it has gone 7 folds! All in only 8 years.
Now, question: if you are the citizen of the country, would you agree that this former president must be put on trial for the past mistake?
I wouldn’t agree to that.
The current government and the previous one tend to blame the corruption this former president had done in the past. How could they blame him? They have been given 8 years to put what’s wrong into the right order? And what have they done? Corruption is even worse than when the former president still ruled.
The college students are on a strike right now. They are protesting the release of the former president from the trial. What do they now? They are still in junior high school when the former president still ruled. All they know is that this former president had done wrong things in the past. And that he must be put on trial.
Little do they know that there are more worse curropter hanging arround out there. And they have done nothing to chase those rats.
So, my answer is yes. We must release the former president from the trial. We must appreciate for what he had done in the past. He was the one who found the regional organisation in the South East Asian region. He was the one who succeeded to make the market stable. He was the one who made this country respected (unlike now, mind you).
I missed the time when this country was still respected. I guess it takes a lot of power to give someone, huh.
