0 Your letters: Don’t be so quick to judge

In respect of the article entitled “Police say ‘VVIP’ hospital, no arrest for minister’s son is OK,” (The Jakarta Post, Jan. 4), people are so fixated with one thing only — that the son of a minister is to blame and his family are crooks, period. We are so quick to judge one party but forget that others bear responsibility as well. This, in my opinion, is simplistic thinking as it only reveals part of the truth. With all the brouhaha about special treatment of the family, we cannot ignore the fact that the minister and his son are actually taking responsibility. 

The son has talked to the police, although his condition is perhaps still unstable. The family has repeatedly expressed deep remorse and sadness and will pay for all the costs concerned. The minister repeatedly says that he will comply with the law. “I hereby surrender my son to comply with the nation’s laws, although he is still in an unstable condition,” he said. Is this not responsible behavior? The accusations and stories that he is trying to circumvent the law is something that we all expect to happen given our corrupt culture. 

The media likes to report on this. And then, there’s another glaring issue about circumventing safety that we have overlooked in this incident. The fact that the Luxio minivan was modified, which led to the safety issue, is never part of the discussion. The passengers would not had been thrown out of the car after the crash happened if the car had kept in its original design. This could have prevented death. So many Indonesians like to ignore safety codes. 

It happens a lot in our daily life, from airlines cutting corners to motorcyclists going in the wrong direction without wearing helmets. The people who modified the minivan should also be brought to justice. And let’s not forget the minivan driver who kept on driving the car instead of stopping to help the victims. It’s ironic that we have never addressed this fact. Let’s put this case in perspective and not be quick to judge and condemn until we have checked all the facts and evidence. After all, it was a pure accident that arose out of drowsiness. No one wanted it to happen in the first place. It could easily happen to other beloved sons too.

Henry Pribadi
Jakarta
source : the jakarta post