Editing Tantamount To Vandalism The Jakarta Globe, Thursday, April 23, 2009
My Kartini article on your op-ed page on April 21 was shot through with errors that were added after it left me. It’s an insult to all Indonesians for someone to call Tjoet Nyak Dhien "the so-called Jihad heroine of Aceh" (as the article, as published, did). Every Indonesian learns in school that she was a heroine who fought for independence from the Dutch. And she did not do the Jihad — which means killing oneself in the name of Islam — which, after 9/11, has become a favorite word of Americans. As I wrote, she died in Sumedang in 1908 after being captured by the Dutch. Many other additions, such as the assertion that Kartini’s father was "the equivalent of a mayor," that she was recognized by Sukarno "for becoming an important symbol of Indonesian identity," that "Kartini’s life went along pretty much as expected until she became the 4th wife" etc. etc., and that "a Dutch family" established the Kartini Foundation, were inaccurate. As for "At three universities … that offer Indonesian studies": there are thousands of universities in the world that teach Indonesian studies. I was head of one such department at Deakin University in Melbourne for eight years! My point was that these three universities are the most respected among the many that offer Indonesian studies. This and the many changes and misleading additions in the article led me to be extremely disappointed in the way this article was handled. It was written with good background knowledge — I have an MA in women’s studies from Monash University in Melbourne — and know this subject well. I have also, in the 37 years I lived and worked in Australia, always kept up with my Indonesian roots and knowledge, and am known for spreading Indonesian knowledge to the Australian business and community at large — information which is based on first-hand information, coming home at least five times a year as an Indonesian national. Hence my contribution to the Globe. Vandalism in the editing has done my reputation no good. Roswita Nimpuno Khaiyath Source: THE JAKARTA GLOBE URL: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/letters/article/17424.html Berselancar lebih cepat. Internet Explorer 8 yang dioptimalkan untuk Yahoo! otomatis membuka 2 halaman favorit Anda setiap kali Anda membuka browser. Dapatkan IE8 di sini! http://downloads.yahoo.com/id/internetexplorer ------------------------------------ http://www.SuratPembaca.net Komunitas Surat Pembaca IndonesiaYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/surat-pembaca/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/surat-pembaca/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
