Inter-religious leaders announced today they are to write to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono criticizing his failure to meet an election promise to fight widespread corruption in the country. The open letter will be sent to the president on October 18, two days before he enters the second year of his second term of office. “We will question his commitment to combating corruption in Indonesia, which has not met the expectations of the people or us inter-religious leaders,” said Capuchin Bishop Martinus Dogma Situmorang of Padang, chairman of the bishops’ conference. The open letter will cite many examples where the president’s efforts have fallen flat. “We want to encourage the president to be more serious [in dealing with graft and law enforcement],” the prelate maintained, saying that many people have lost their trust in him. Bishop Situmorang said the decision to write the letter was made at a multi-faith meeting yesterday. “We organized the meeting because we are deeply concerned about the current situation in this nation,” he said. Other religious leaders at the meeting included the former chairman of Muhammadiyah (Indonesia’s largest Islamic social organization), Ahmad Syafii Maarif, and Reverend Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe, chairman of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia. Related reports: Religious leaders to tackle corruptionCorruption is ‘part of culture’
