Kalla's democracy and Golkar ...

Democracy

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, also the general chairman of the country’s largest political party, Golkar, made another controversial statement recently when he said, democracy is a tool and not an objective in itself.

And as a tool, it can be put aside or even replaced, he said before members and leaders of Golkar when referring to efforts to improve people’s welfare.

In less than 24 hours the statement drew a lot of reactions, mostly regretting his simplistic point of view because—to many political analysts, observers and activists in the country—democracy is something they were fighting for so many years. It was not until about 10 years ago that Indonesia managed to call itself one of the biggest democracies in the world.

Therefore, to them, democracy is not just a tool, not even a mere “noun”. It implies leadership, courage, creativity, open-mindedness and ability to see an opportunity (and eventually power)—for the welfare of the majority of the people.

Therefore, it was rather surprising that Kalla described democracy simply as a tool in his capacity as the general chairman of Golkar, a political party which might not have survived the tumultuous late 90s if it was not because of the eagerness of the country’s political elites to support the basic principles of democracy.

However, we can also try to understand his statement. It was uttered amidst the country’s continuous political bickering that many parties simply forget their noble tasks of improving the welfare of the people (or at least those who have been supporting them)—a situation which actually has prompted many people to also say that Indonesian democracy is still “low” in terms of quality.

So probably it was something said out of Kalla’s frustration.

But frustration or not, at least Kalla had urged us—as a nation—to have a look again at “our democracy” especially because in a matter of months we are going to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of our reform era.

We believe it is high time we have a very close look at our tool again because even a tool sometimes needs fine-tuning just like a knife which needs to be regularly sharpened.

As one wise man said: Our biggest challenge actually is not how to promote democracy, but how to check it.

ASEAN and a load of old crap (again!)

Of benefit to all?

The ASEAN Charter will be of benefit to all members, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore on Tuesday.

He, of course, was only echoing what had long been known as ASEAN’s tradition of upholding consensus. From the very beginning hardly anyone would expect the 40 year old organization to make statements containing strong messages towards Myanmar and its repressive military junta.

Therefore, it was anticipated already that in the last minutes the ASEAN Charter would undergo major changes and everything related to punitive measures on any member abusing human rights were taken out.

We can only hope that what was decided at the summit does not further highlight the fact that—as many critics say—ASEAN is an elitist organization. Everything discussed and decided by the organization only served the interests of the leaders, not the people.

That’s why when Yudhoyono said that the ASEAN Charter would be “of benefit to all members” it was not really clear whether the word “all” also referred to the people throughout the ASEAN region, in Myanmar in particular.

For ordinary observers like us, it was strange actually how a government like the one in Myanmar could take as many as nine other governments “hostage” to its problems.

Things were even more confusing when the nine other governments abruptly agreed to cancel a briefing by a U.N. representative Ibrahim Gambari before the senior officials of the Association on the latest situation in Myanmar.

The reason was nothing but “an objection made by the Myanmar military junta who said that what Gambari was going to talk about was its domestic affairs.”

The cancellation, of course, placed Singapore—the host of the summit—in a very embarrassing situation and, worse, reflected ASEAN’s longstanding weakness and ineffectiveness in handling the bad behavior of its own troublemaker.

It is not known how long, the nine other member countries could tolerate the attitude of Myanmar despite their elites’ economic and business interests in the country.

Well, at this time of the day, probably it’s just enough that we remind all those participants of the 13th ASEAN summit that the mightiest power of all is the power of the people—not of the leaders.

ASEAN and a load of old crap

The summit

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held its 13th summit in Singapore on Monday and Tuesday amid global concerns over the continuous crackdown on human rights activists in one of its member countries: Myanmar.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also attended the event and held meeting with leaders of the nine other member countries.

The summit, obviously was not the first. It fact, in the last several years it had become something routine. It just takes place regularly even though there is no special agenda that needs the common and urgent attention of all the leaders of the 10 countries in the 40 year old grouping.

With probably the signing of the ASEAN Charter as the only exception, actually other issues discussed by the leaders have been, are still being, or will be, discussed in various other international forums.
Such issues include Myanmar which has been deliberated at the United Nations although to this date there seems to be no agreement among the world’s major powers on the best way to deal with the repressive administration in the country.

ASEAN leaders, in the mean time, apparently will stick to their “own way”—meaning punitive sanctions against the country’s military junta are out of the questions.

Another “top agenda” was the climate change. It is yet to be seen whether the Association will come up with a joint stance on the issue prior to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) meeting in December in Bali. Chances are slim that they will because—as many analysts have said—ASEAN actually is still very far from an “integrated” region.

Its membership, for example, ranges from the very poor to the moderately rich, from democracies to monarchies, and from military rules to communist regimes.

Even the so-called “historic” ASEAN Charter looks like it can barely function as a tool to enhance the cohesiveness of one of the world’s oldest regional associations.

The long-overdue Charter is actually aimed at formally turning the organization—which has frequently been derided as a powerless talk shop—into a rule-based legal entity by setting up a human rights agency.

But, the fact that the 10 leaders have finally agreed to take out references to punishing violators again tells us that ASEAN still concentrates its activities on “moral influence”—if nothing else.

Che as seen by The Economist

Why the Che myth is bad for the left

The bearded face—eyes staring defiantly to infinity, the long wavy hair beneath the beret stirred by the Caribbean breeze—has become one of the world's most familiar images. Alberto Korda's photograph of Ernesto “Che” Guevara may be waved aloft by anti-globalization protesters but it has spawned a global brand. It has adorned cigarettes, ice cream and a bikini, and is tattooed on the bodies of footballers.

What explains the extraordinary appeal of Guevara, an Argentine who 40 years ago was captured and shot in Bolivia? Partly the consistency with which he followed his own injunction that “the duty of the revolutionary is to make the revolution”.

A frail asthmatic, he took up arms with Fidel Castro's guerrillas in Cuba's Sierra Maestra. After their victory, Guevara would fight again in the Congo as well as Bolivia. He fought dictators who were backed by the United States in the name of anti-communism when the cold war was at its hottest, and when Guevara's cry to create “two, three...many Vietnams” resonated on university campuses across the world. His renewed popularity in recent years owes much to a revival of anti-Americanism.

But it is semiotics, more than politics, that leads teenagers ignorant of the Sierra Maestra to sport Che T-shirts. Korda's photograph established Guevara as a universal symbol of romantic rebellion. It helps, too, that he died young, at 39: as a member of the Cuban gerontocracy he would hardly have become the James Dean of world politics.

A second picture, that of the bedraggled guerrilla's corpse, staring wide-eyed at the camera, provides another clue. It resembles Andrea Mantegna's portrait of the dead Christ. It fixes Guevara as a modern saint, the man who risked his life twice in countries that were not his own before giving it in a third, and whose invocation of the “new man”, driven by moral rather than material incentives, smacked of St Ignatius Loyola more than Marx.

In Cuba, he is the patron saint: at school, every child must repeat each morning, “We will be like Che.” His supposed relics are the object of official veneration. In 1997, when Cuba was reeling from the collapse of its Soviet ally, Mr Castro organised the excavation of Guevara's skeleton in Bolivia and its reburial in a mausoleum in Cuba. Except that in the tradition of medieval saints, it probably isn't his body at all, according to research by Bertrand de la Grange, a French journalist.

The wider the cult spreads, the further it strays from the man. Rather than a Christian romantic, Guevara was a ruthless and dogmatic Marxist, who stood not for liberation but for a new tyranny. In the Sierra Maestra, he shot those suspected of treachery; in victory, Mr. Castro placed him in charge of the firing squads that executed “counter-revolutionaries”; as minister of industries, Guevara advocated expropriation down to the last farm and shop.

His exhortation to guerrilla warfare, irrespective of political circumstance, lured thousands of idealistic Latin Americans to their deaths, helped to create brutal dictatorships and delayed the achievement of democracy.

Sadly, Guevara's example is invoked not just by teenagers but by some Latin American governments. In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez wants to create the guevarista “new man” , just when Cuba is having second thoughts.

As Jorge Castañeda, one of Guevara's biographers, notes, Che's lingering influence has retarded the emergence of a modern, democratic left in parts of Latin America. Sadly, most of those who buy the T-shirt neither know nor care.

The Economist – Oct. 11, 2007

Being ripped off by doctors!

Down below is something I copied and pasted from “Café Salemba”…
Very interesting, especially after recently I tried to interview Dr.H. Muki Reksoprodjo, SpOG, president director of the MMC Hospital in South Jakarta and he REFUSED.

He said he had nothing to say when it came to “hospital management” and he, after all was, a “bad manager” and that another reason was—despite being a par excellence Javanese—he preferred to speak matter-of-factly about things and this in the end might hurt “the powers-that-be.”

Ah yes, he also mentioned about the fact that his wife was the chair of the Women's International Club and he did not want to make it look like he was up and ready to share his views with the international community especially because the interview would be published in English!

Well, so much so for turning down an interview request. But it’s not that I don’t know about his position with regards to hospital management and more importantly about hospital SERVICES.

Still I’m glad that he was willing to share some of his opinions about the role Health Ministry as the regulator of the country’s hospital industry—off the record!

But, I’ve done my researches and actually—although in a very on-and-off basis—I’ve been virtually following him for probably over 20 years … since he helped me with the birth of my two daughters.

So I think I—more or less—know what he has in mind

I also know that he did make statements which might be very irking in the ears of the authorities. Someday, when I have the time I think I will share them with some people … Not now…

In the mean time, have a look at this piece written by “rizal” from Café Salemba …

How many of you are damn sure that whenever you go to those fancy hospitals and health clinics in Jakarta, without medical insurance in hand, you are not ripped off by those, favorite, doctors? That, somehow, you feel that your headache is not that bad, but then you find yourself ended up into unecessary expensive procedures as well as pricey medicines? That you are sure that caesarean section is indeed in dire need, and not the way obstetricians make extra money off you? And—this is is the worst—that they really know what's going on inside your body?

But since you have no expertise in medical science, the only option for you is to shut your mouth up, and let the experts decide your fate. Worse still, they are the one who not only diagnose, but also will be paid for further treatment.

The same thing goes for laptop repair, or car mechanics. And this guy, Henry Schneider of Cornell, took the challenge to prove whether car mechanics, in 40 Connecticut garages, don't swindle their costumers. The result: only 20 percent pass the test.

I hope somebody's gonna hire economists to do the same undercover research for health services here in Jakarta, or Indonesia, instead of relying on anecdotal evidences and finger-pointing game on doctor's malpractices. Schneider's paper and model is not technically too complicated to replicate for our case.

I am looking forward to it.

Musharraf's Pakistan

Dictatorship

What is dictatorship? When dictatorship relates to a mode of governing in modern states, it labels the unrestricted power of one person (or a group of individuals). Or a government in which political power is exercised by a single individual whose rule is considered illegitimate. Or a system of government in which a country is ruled by a single person with absolute power.

Pervez Musharraf’s administraton in Pakistan fits all the above-mentioned definition as he recently removed all pretence of a transition to democracy by conducting what was in effect yet another extra-constitutional coup.

The world, obviously, was surprised by his “bold” move. Even Pakistan’s closest ally, the United States, immediately urged him to prepare the roadmap to democracy and abandon extra-constitutional policy.

But the biggest pressure apparently has come from the Pakistani people themselves because demonstrations have continued to take place across the country.

They launched massive protests over the fact that opposition party members, lawyers, judges, human rights advocates and journalists were rounded up by the police without charge and the press was constrained.

The Pakistani people apparently are fully aware that although it is dangerous to stand up to a military dictatorship, but more dangerous not to. It is yet to be seen what Musharraf will do about the large-scale protests but so far, it looks like, even the United States still has difficulties to convince him to restore the “normal” system of governance in the country.

If a country which has given aid of more than US$10 billion since 2001 still cannot convince Musharraf to abandon his dictatorship, then it is for sure that it cannot ask him to fight—let alone defeat—the Taliban or Al Qaida.

Therefore, probably, it is high time that the U.S. as well as its western allies stop pinning their hopes on the effectiveness of financial aid in urging Pakistan to help fight international terrorism network.

The only way to contain terrorism—or any kind of extremism—is to continuously promote democracy.

In the case of Pakistan, it means that they must tell Musharraf that martial law is not acceptable and that a free, fair, impartial and internationally-monitored elections must be conducted soon. Otherwise, he may have to face the possibility of international isolation.

On being poor

Poor

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when commemorating the National Health Day on Wednesday revealed two interesting data. The first is about the life expectancy in this country which has increased from 66.2 years three years ago to 69.4 years this year.

The second was about the poverty rate. He acknowledged that Indonesia’s poor today still totaled no less than 37.1 million, a high rate indeed by any standard.

The president was clearly proud when he talked about the increasing life expectancy, saying that it reflected the improvement of the health and nutrition status of the population especially because at the same time infant mortality rate (IMR) also decreased from 36/1,000 live births in 2003 to 32/1,000 live births in 2006.

Unlike when he talked about the life expectancy and the IMR, he was clearly defensive when talking about the poverty problem.

He even blamed some analysts who said that the number of poor people in the country today totaled 76.4 million, saying that the figure apparently was based on the number of people covered by the health insurance scheme known as the Askeskin.

Askeskin, he said, was not aimed at providing basic health services and treatments to the poor only. It was also aimed at those belonging to the category of “almost poor” and “less-privileged.” Together with those categorized as poor, the almost poor and the less-privileged indeed totaled 76.4 million.

For us—and we believe also for the government—actually it does not really matter whether the 76.4 million people are the poor, the almost poor or the less-privileged because they all must have access to the necessary supports to lead decent life.

The sooner they get them, the better because the success of the Yudhoyono administration will mostly be measured by its ability to improve the welfare of these 76.4 million people.

Surely it cannot stop at making new definitions only, otherwise the future will remain bleak for many Indonesians.

For the record: poverty, according to the government, is less money than is needed to afford a diet of 2,100 calories a day or Rp152,847 (US$16.80) a month, an amount which is well below the more widely used benchmark of US$1 a day.

On Myanmar -- The only country that made me cry

Sudarsono says elections in Myanmar wouldn’t reduce Army’s role


JAKARTA, Bloomberg
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said forcing Myanmar to hold elections wouldn't reduce the role of the military, even as the United Nations asked the ruling junta to agree to a timetable for political change.

The world can't force a system “that is alien to the local culture,” Sudarsono, 65, said in an interview in Jakarta. “For all its faults, the military at the moment remains the unifying force and covers most of the levers of power, political, economic and also cultural.”

International pressure on Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has increased after General Than Shwe's regime cracked down on the biggest anti-government demonstrations in almost 20 years in September, resulting in more than 100 deaths, according to the UN. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, has refused to impose sanctions on the military, which has been shunned by western nations over its human rights record.

“I don't think ASEAN is very serious about addressing the issue of Myanmar,” said Hiro Katsumata, an analyst at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

In the interview, Sudarsono said that elections in Burma could be one way of moving toward democracy. “But it must be followed by (the new government) having the levers of power, political, administrative as well as economic,” Sudarsono said.

ASEAN is keen to keep Myanmar in its fold and avoid allowing China to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean, Katsumata said.

“If Myanmar is spurned by ASEAN and looks toward China ASEAN will loose out in its geopolitical interest and influence,'' Katsumata said.

Myanmar, which has been ruled by the junta for 45 years, shares its border with China, India and ASEAN members such as Thailand. The nation walked out of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1979 and only returned when Indonesia took over chairmanship of the organization in 1992.

“We have been engaging Myanmar persuasively and quietly to implement its own road to democracy as distinct from the west's sanctions,'' said Ali Alatas, an adviser to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and a former foreign minister. Still, “both the sanctions approach as well as the ASEAN approach have failed to move the Myanmar government.''

Myanmar has been under international sanctions since it rejected the results of elections in 1990 won by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. Suu Kyi, 62, has spent 12 years detention since then.

“There is a need for a transition period in which, in some way, the military would play a power-sharing role and gradually get out of the picture, as happened in Indonesia,'' said Alatas, who was the UN's special envoy to Myanmar in 2005. Indonesia was controlled by its military from 1965 to 1998.

Lawmakers from seven countries urged ASEAN to impose sanctions on Myanmar and also called on the group to adopt a strong charter at its summit in Singapore this month to better deal with Myanmar.

A draft of the charter obtained by Bloomberg News calls for an extension of ASEAN's four-decade-old policy of decision by consensus and non-interference in individual country's affairs.

November 15, 2007

Prof. Dr. Azrul Azwar, MPH

Mantan Dirjen Binkesmas, Depkes, ini memang a fascinating guy. Menurut Antara, ia "menyerahkan begitu saja" tanah milik Pramuka--gerakan yang kini cuma sayup-sayup terdengar kiprahnya tapi konon punya anggota tak kurang dari 21 juta di seluruh Indonesia--kepada LIPI menyusul pertikaian berlarut-larut atas tanah seluas lebih dari 8,000 meter persegi di Cibodas antara Pramuka dan LIPI.

"Anggap saja ini pengorbanan Pramuka," katanya sebagaimana dikutip kantor berita yang usianya lebih tua dari republik ini.

Bukan Azrul memang jika tak berani "tampil beda". Dalam banyak hal memang ia masih kerap membawa semangat para aktivis, mungkin karena sejak masa sekolah pun ia sudah aktif berorganisasi.

Tapi lepas dari kebiasaannya untuk kerap tampil beda, Azrul yang ketua Kwarnas Pramuka itu, is, by any standard, a really smart guy.

Dia bisa memetakan persoalan yang begitu rumit menjadi sangat mudah dipahami dan sangat workable ketika menjabat sebagai Dirjen Binkesmas.

Dalam beberapa kesempatan aku sempat berinteraksi agak intensif dengan "Pak Azrul" dan aku mesti bilang: GilaaaK...Nih orang asyiikkk betul!

Makanya ketika pada 2005 (atau waktu ity 2006?) aku dengar dia terkena serangan jantung, aku jadi ikutan cemas juga, jangan-jangan negeri ini akan lagi-lagi kehilangan "aset"-nya secara terlalu dini.

Alhamdulillah itu tidak terjadi.

Terus berkiprah ya prof.!

This nation needs you still!

Gus Dur: In His Own Words

My Islam, Your Islam, Our Islam, Their Islam


By K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid


As may be obvious to readers of this forum, a wide variety of opinions exists as to the nature and teachings of Islam, even among those widely regarded as experts. Rather than view Islam and its teachings as a single monolithic entity, it is more accurate to recognize and acknowledge the de facto plurality of opinions that have always existed as to what Islam is, and what it “compels” you, me or us to do.

The personal experiences of any one human being can never be exactly identical with those of anyone else. These experiences invariably color the understanding and perceptions of those who have them, within the context of their respective religious traditions. I myself have undergone a continual process of transformation regarding my personal understanding of Islam from the time of earliest childhood until today.

From this I conclude that the Islam which I conceive and experience is unique to me, and may rightly be termed, “My Islam.” The character of My Islam is the outgrowth of my cumulative personal experience, which it may be appropriate to share, but never to force upon others. Should I try to force my personal understanding of Islam and its teachings upon others, the result will inevitably be a serious “dislocation” for those so affected, annihilating the perceived beauty and joy of their own respective opinions.

A vast diversity of opinions about Islam are held by my fellow Muslims, which they are free, in turn, to share with me. I may or may not agree with them, but the result of such interaction invariably becomes another element of my own personal understanding and experience, and of theirs. For example, those wishing to “purify” Islam from so-called bid’a, or innovation, may reject the use of a drum to issue the call to prayer, reverence of saints, or even the use of a rosary while reciting the names of God.

Thus we may refer to others’ personal experience and understanding of Islam as “Your Islam,” and go through life adopting or politely refusing to adopt any given element thereof.

Muslims refer to this process of mutual visitation, sharing and growth by its Arabic term, silaturrahim, which means “to relate in an attitude of mutual affection.” Such sharing of views may or may not produce what we might call “Our Islam,” dependent on the respective understanding and experiences of those involved, but at least it fosters mutual respect and tolerance of differences.

Unfortunately, the Muslim world today is afflicted by a crisis in which the tradition of silaturrahim is being replaced by attempts to force one’s own views of Islam onto others. For me personally, “Their Islam” is a fair term to describe the views of those who would annihilate the great beauty and diversity of traditional Islam in the name of an artificial and enforced conformity to their own rigid opinions. For such people, Our Islam is a misnomer, for in fact they seek to enforce – through intimidation and violence – a colorless, monolithic uniformity that does not and has never existed in the long history of Islam.

The desire for Our Islam appears to be inherent in the nature of most Muslims. Yet the only realistic way to establish such a phenomenon is for My Islam and Your Islam to peacefully coexist in mutual respect and toleration, without trying to annihilate our differences.

Rather than seek to repress or destroy the nearly infinite, beautiful variety of God’s creation, we would be better advised to pursue al-jihad al-akbar and annihilate our own egos, so that we may unite in a common spiritual apprehension of the One—which gives rise to inner peace and a joyful tolerance of differences here on earth.

However, those who care about the future of Our Islam on this earthly plane would be well advised to unite in rejecting the use of Islam as an ideology, or a weapon to violate the sanctity of Your Islam and mine.

MMC

It was not until recently that I decided to go to MMC not because somebody I knew was hospitalized there. I came to the hospital because I needed to. I didn't know where else I could reach Muki Reksoprodjo, the only obsgyn I could--actually "can" is the better word--feel comfortable with.

So, for the very first time, I registered myself at MMC, was given a card that cost me Rp25,000 or something and, was finally "allowed" to see Dr. Reksoprodjo. The whole process cost almost half a million rupiah, quite a large amount by my standard today.

Gee, how I hate hospitals! Even if it is called MMC where some of my friends have undergone treatments as in-patients.

I know quite a lot of very important people have been treated--or have died--there. Still, a hospital is a hospital, something I will always try to avoid "to the best of my ability."

You can imagine how relieved I'm when finally Dr. Reksoprodjo said that the only thing I needed to do (unless of course I felt something "very unusual" with "that" particular part of my body) was to have a regular check-up.

Well, at least one of my sources of headache is gone, at least for now.

But still it cannot erase the facts that there are still so many things that I must do ... and I better be hurry in finishing them because what has happened in the last 10 months did remind me of "mortality"--kefanaan.

Something I found on my recent internet journey...

... that probably reflects the company my friends and I are desperately trying to keep floating!

good ship

we shall build a good ship here
at a profit if we can
at a loss if we must
but ... always a good ship

Respects

We were a bit startled when we read a news report by a major national daily quoting the president as saying that senior military leaders should respect their juniors.

The statement came several days after some retired high-ranking military officers, led by former commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces and vice president, Try Sutrisno, criticized President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his apparent lack of focus in carrying out his tasks as the country’s top executive.

Such a criticism actually has been aired and quoted by the media on several occasions before. In fact, it was not only the senior military leaders who criticized the president because some academics, politicians, analysts had also done the same thing.

Therefore, it was not really clear why the president specifically asked the senior military leaders to respect their juniors—something which must be read as those with military background and today still hold public offices—but did not ask the same thing from others.

We were confused because, in our humble opinion, Yudhoyono could have just treated the criticisms by his senior as the normal political exercises in today’s democratic Indonesia. Therefore, he could have just listened and digested whether there was any truth in them. If not, he could simply ignore them. If there was, he should do something about it.

Everything became even more confusing because the president could also be seen as somebody who asked for respects while we believe that respects are something that he must win, not ask.

Respects can easily come for government officials—especially Yudhoyono who won the presidency by popular supports—if they work hard to fulfill their promises, if they stay on track to reach the commonly agreed objectives, and if they can continue to listen to people’s aspirations.

Yudhoyono, we believe, has the capacity to win all the respects he wants because he is an intellectual and is known to be a die-hard supporter of democratic principles and he surely can make bold decisions—if he wants to.

He still has at least 1.5 years to go to further boost the spirit to fulfill his promises and reach the set objectives.

Of course, 1.5 years is not a very long period but it will be enough for him to meet most of people’s expectations before he enters another battle field: the 2009 presidential race.

Tuanku Imam Bonjol -- REVISITED

ABOUT HERO, HEROISM, HUMAN IMPERFECTNESS AND HISTORICAL INTEPRETATION .... (IN BAHASA INDONESIA)!

Imam Bonjol, Dikenang Sekaligus Digugat

Oleh Suryadi

Selama 62 tahun Indonesia merdeka, nama Tuanku Imam Bonjol hadir di ruang publik bangsa: sebagai nama jalan, nama stadion, nama universitas, bahkan di lembaran Rp5.000 keluaran Bank Indonesia 6 November 2001.

Tuanku Imam Bonjol (TIB) (1722-1864), yang diangkat sebagai pahlawan nasional berdasarkam SK Presiden RI Nomor 087/TK/Tahun 1973, 6 November 1973, adalah pemimpin utama Perang Paderi di Sumatera Barat (1803-1837) yang gigih melawan Belanda.

Namun, baru-baru ini muncul petisi, menggugat gelar kepahlawanannya. TIB dituduh melanggar HAM karena pasukan Paderi menginvasi Tanah Batak (1816-1833) yang menewaskan "jutaan" orang di daerah itu (http://www.petitiononline.com/bonjol/petition.html).

Kekejaman Paderi disorot dengan diterbitkannya buku MO Parlindungan, Pongkinangolngolan Sinamabela Gelar Tuanku Rao: Teror Agama Islam Mazhab Hambali di Tanah Batak, 1816-1833 (2006) (Edisi pertama terbit 1964, yang telah dikritisi Hamka, 1974), kemudian menyusul karya Basyral Hamidy Harahap, Greget Tuanku Rao (2007).

Kedua penulisnya, kebetulan dari Tanah Batak, menceritakan penderitaan nenek moyangnya dan orang Batak umumnya selama serangan tentara Paderi 1816-1833 di daerah Mandailing, Bakkara, dan sekitarnya (Tempo, Oktober 2007).

Munculnya koreksi terhadap wacana sejarah Indonesia belakangan ini mencuatkan kritisisme terhadap konsep pahlawan nasional. Kaum intelektual dan akademis, khususnya sejarawan, adalah pihak yang paling bertanggung jawab jika evaluasi wacana historis itu hanya mengakibatkan munculnya friksi di tingkat dasar yang berpotensi
memecah belah bangsa ini.

Ujung pena kaum akademis harus tajam, tetapi teks-teks hasil torehannya seyogianya tidak mengandung "hawa panas". Itu sebabnya dalam tradisi akademis, kata-kata bernuansa subyektif dalam teks ilmiah harus disingkirkan si penulis.

Setiap generasi berhak menafsirkan sejarah (bangsa)-nya sendiri. Namun, generasi baru bangsa ini-yang hidup dalam imaji globalisme-harus menyadari, negara-bangsa apa pun di dunia memerlukan mitos-mitos pengukuhan. Mitos pengukuhan itu tidak buruk. Ia adalah unsur penting yang di-ada-kan sebagai "perekat" bangsa. Sosok pahlawan nasional, seperti Pangeran Diponegoro, Sultan Hasanuddin, Sisingamangaraja XII, juga TIB, dan lainnya adalah bagian dari mitos pengukuhan bangsa Indonesia.

Jeffrey Hadler dalam "An History of Violence and Secular State in Indonesia: Tuanku Imam Bondjol and Uses of History" (akan terbit dalam Journal of Asian Studies, 2008) menunjukkan, kepahlawanan TIB telah dibentuk sejak awal kemerdekaan hingga zaman Orde Baru, setidaknya terkait tiga kepentingan.

Pertama, menciptakan mitos tokoh hero yang gigih melawan Belanda sebagai bagian wacana historis pemersatu bangsa.

Kedua, mengeliminasi wacana radikalisme Islam dalam upaya menciptakan negara-bangsa yang toleran terhadap keragaman agama dan budaya.

Ketiga, "merangkul" kembali etnis Minang ke haribaan Indonesia yang telah mendapat stigma negatif dalam pandangan pusat akibat peristiwa PRRI.

Kita tak yakin, sudah adakah biji zarah keindonesiaan di zaman perjuangan TIB dan tokoh lokal lain yang hidup sezaman dengannya, yang kini dikenal sebagai pahlawan nasional.

Kita juga tahu pada zaman itu perbudakan adalah bagian sistem sosial dan beberapa kerajaan tradisional Nusantara melakukan ekspansi teritorial dengan menyerang beberapa kerajaan tetangga. Para pemimpin lokal berperang melawan Belanda karena didorong semangat kedaerahan, bahkan mungkin dilatarbelakangi keinginan untuk mempertahankan hegemoni sebagai penguasa yang mendapat saingan akibat kedatangan bangsa Barat. Namun, mereka akhirnya menjadi pahlawan nasional karena bangsa memerlukan mitos pemersatu.

Tak dapat dimungkiri, Perang Paderi meninggalkan kenangan heroik sekaligus traumatis dalam memori bangsa. Selama sekitar 20 tahun pertama perang itu (1803-1821) praktis yang berbunuhan adalah sesama orang Minangkabau dan Mandailing atau Batak umumnya.

Campur tangan Belanda dalam perang itu ditandai dengan penyerangan Simawang dan Sulit Air oleh pasukan Kapten Goffinet dan Kapten Dienema awal April 1821 atas perintah Residen James du Puy di Padang. Kompeni melibatkan diri dalam perang itu karena "diundang" kaum Adat.

Pada 21 Februari 1821 mereka resmi menyerahkan wilayah darek (pedalaman Minangkabau) kepada Kompeni dalam perjanjian yang diteken di Padang, sebagai kompensasi kepada Belanda yang bersedia membantu melawan kaum Paderi. Ikut "mengundang" sisa keluarga Dinasti Pagaruyung di bawah pimpinan Sultan Muningsyah yang selamat dari pembunuhan oleh pasukan Paderi yang dipimpin Tuanku Pasaman di Koto Tangah, dekat Batu Sangkar, pada 1815 (bukan 1803 seperti disebut Parlindungan, 2007:136-41).

Namun, sejak awal 1833 perang berubah menjadi perang antara kaum Adat dan kaum Agama melawan Belanda. Memorie Tuanku Imam Bonjol (MTIB)- transliterasinya oleh Sjafnir Aboe Nain (Padang: PPIM, 2004), sebuah sumber pribumi yang penting tentang Perang Paderi yang cenderung diabaikan sejarawan selama ini-mencatat, bagaimana kedua pihak bahu-membahu melawan Belanda.

Pihak-pihak yang semula bertentangan akhirnya bersatu melawan Belanda. Di ujung penyesalan muncul kesadaran, mengundang Belanda dalam konflik justru menyengsarakan masyarakat Minangkabau sendiri.

Dalam MTIB, terefleksi rasa penyesalan TIB atas tindakan kaum Paderi atas sesama orang Minang dan Mandailing. TIB sadar, perjuangannya sudah melenceng dari ajaran agama. "Adapun hukum Kitabullah banyaklah yang terlampau dek oleh kita. Bagaimana pikiran kita?" (Adapun banyak hukum Kitabullah yang sudah terlangkahi oleh kita. Bagaimana pikiran kalian?), tulis TIB dalam MTIB (hal 39).

Penyesalan dan perjuangan heroik TIB bersama pengikutnya melawan Belanda yang mengepung Bonjol dari segala jurusan selama sekitar enam bulan (16 Maret-17 Agustus 1837)-seperti rinci dilaporkan De Salis dalam Het einde Padri Oorlog: Het beleg en de vermeestering van Bondjol 1834-1837: Een bronnenpublicatie [Akhir Perang Paderi: Pengepungan dan Perampasan Bonjol 1834-1837; Sebuah Publikasi Sumber] (2004):
59-183-mungkin dapat dijadikan pertimbangan untuk memberi maaf bagi kesalahan dan kekhilafan yang telah diperbuat TIB.

Kini bangsa inilah yang harus menentukan, apakah TIB akan tetap ditempatkan atau diturunkan dari "tandu kepahlawanan nasional" yang telah "diarak" oleh generasi terdahulu bangsa ini dalam kolektif memori mereka.

Suryadi Dosen dan Peneliti pada Opleiding Talen en Culturen van Zuidoost-Azië en Oceanië, Universiteit Leiden, Belanda

Kompas - 10 November 2007

Pheeeww....

Seharian ini aku merasa luar biasa mual. Entah karena apa...mungkin diathermy-ku, mungkin obat-obatan yg harus kuminum, mungkin juga "suasana hati"-ku secara keseluruhan....

Bahkan rasanya aku harus berjuang ekstra keras hanya untuk menuliskan dua editorial untuk edisi esok. Hingga pukul 19.00 aku baru menyelesaikan satu di antaranya. Even then, it was not something that I could be proud of...

Oh ya, hari ini rupanya Muki gak praktek...Something that has made me slightly relieved...paling gak, kalo aku hrs nunggu dua, tiga hari lagi, aku akan merasa lebih "siap"...

Melihat newsroom, aku gak tau apa aku hrs kasihan atau hrs luar biasa bangga pada teman-teman (termasuk mereka yg di unit art dan paginasi) for sticking with us despite all the uncertainties that are still looming in the air....

Tampaknya tak seorangpun bisa memprediksi hari-hari yg akan kita lalui ke depan. Apakah "semangat" saja cukup memadai? Rasanya koq gak adil juga kalo meminta semua utk terus menjaga semangat dlm suasana seperti ini....

Aku mungkin tdk punya pilihan lain krn ini kan 'a mixture of everything': business, passion, idealims, hobby, the only thing we professionally know and care about, ego...you name it, laahh...

OK, It's almost 11 now. Time to pack things up and go home. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Paling tidak rasa mual-ku yg luar biasa bisa agak berkurang dan aku bisa tidur agak lelap.

Nite everybody!

Waakkkk....Gotta see M.R. tomorrow

Waak....time to see Muki Reksoprodjo tomorrow...Meaning I have to get up early in the morning, get ready, and get myself off to MMC in Kuningan....

If only I still worked for the European Union's SCHS Project, a trip to MMC would have been easier....

Now that I'm stupid enough to try to keep my latest venture floating, reaching MMC from my home, or even my office, is already a struggle in itself...

Gee, I don't know what's he's gonna say tomorrow. I can only hope--or pray?--that nothing is "very wrong" with me.

Meantime, I still have two diathermy to go...

Loans

We have continued to receive loans to alleviate poverty in this country. The latest one was from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which provided no less than US$400 million to cover health and education programs for the poor.

What does the loan mean? That an institution like ADB still trust us? Or that we have really been unsuccessful in eradicating poverty that we must continue to rely on ADB and others?

According to the Statistics Agency, BPS, there are no less than 36 million people who must be included in the category of poor in Indonesia today. Other sources have put the figure at as high as 71 million.

If the authorities cannot agree on the number of poor people in this country, probably it is too much to expect them to be able to take care of the poverty alleviation programs.

On one occasion they even admitted that their target, a poverty level of 8.2% by 2009, is unattainable. The current economic growth rate of around 5%-6% is insufficient to provide all new job-seekers with employment, let alone dent Indonesia's huge unemployment tally.

For the record: the government's definition of poverty—less money than is needed to afford a diet of 2,100 calories a day—is Rp152,847 (US$16.80) a month. This measure is well below the more-widely used benchmark of US$1 a day.

While ADB has its “noble” objectives, we must also underscore the fact that what the institution gave us was a loan, not a grant, something that we must, in the end, repay.

If we don’t properly manage the ADB loan—as well as those from other donor countries or agencies—we may end up having more difficulties instead of solutions in the future.

One thing ironic was while we, on one hand, always say that we are short of funds to handle poverty eradication programs, on the other we seem to have so many—some even say unlimited—fund sources for political activities like gubernatorial or district head elections.

Even the newly sworn-in KPU members already requested for budget of almost Rp48 trillion to run the 2009 General Elections. An exorbitant elections budget indeed for a country with a large number of poor people!

The more, the merrier?

The 2009 general elections are still about 1.5 years away but the events look sure to be “merry” because so far no less than 79 political parties have registered themselves to take part in them.

The chairman of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Abdul Hafiz Anshary said of the 79, it seemed that at least 50 would be able to fulfill all the legal requirements, thus would be able to contest both the legislative and presidential elections.

In the 2004 general elections, “only” 24 parties took part. But even then, many people already said that the number was too big.

They must have made very good observation over the parties because it was proven later that out of the 24 parties, only seven could find their way to the 550 seats at the House of Representatives (DPR) and it was the seven which later were used as political vehicles by some candidates to try to grab the top executive seat in this country.

We could understand that there was an eagerness to set up political parties in the early days of the reform era. However, today, almost ten years have passed since we toppled an authoritarian regime. The euphoria, in our opinion, should have ended.

Today, we should have been able to see clearly that too many political parties will only lead to unnecessary fragmentation in the society although of course the parties can also be seen as the “representatives” of the country’s democratic system.

But democracy actually is just a tool, not an objective in itself. Therefore, if in the last nine years we already learned that there was hardly any compatibility in the multi-party legislature and the presidential system of governance, we should at least refrain ourselves from having too many parties.

After all, we have always been so fond of talking about quality instead of quantity. If our objective is to turn out quality—instead of “merry”—general elections, the first step that we must adopt obviously is to “limit”, through the existing legal system, the number of participants.

We must do it now, before the 2009 general elections. There is no need to wait any longer because it seems only the parties, and their activists, which benefit the most from their presence.

A recent survey clearly showed that the general public do not feel that the parties can channel—let alone fight for—their aspirations.

In retrospect

... a.k.a. Kilas balik

Tanpa terasa sdh lebih 20 tahun berlalu sejak aku kerap berurusan dgn obsgyn. Dua puluh tahun tanpa kunjungan reguler, artinya tanpa check-up apapun. Sampai baru-baru ini aku merasa perlu melakukannya lagi, kala usia menginjak paruh kedua dr era "40s"-ku dan anak-anakku sdh memasuki usia 20-an mereka.

Agak terkejut jg menyaksikan bgmana my obsgyn has aged. Dan kemudian sadar bahwa kalau aku saja sdh di babak 40s, tentunya dia jg dia sdh di babak 60s. Usia yg cukup senior utk ukuran Indonesia.

Tiba-tiba saja ini jg menyadarkanku--lagi--tentang kefanaan, mortalitas, sesuatu yg sebenarnya sdh mulai terpikir secara sangat serius ketika aku menginjak usia pertengahan 30s.

Kunjungan terkiniku mengantarkanku pd sederet proses pengobatan yg sampai hal ini kutulis masih berlangsung.

Dlm proses ini pula aku menyadari adanya perubahan di kalangan pasien--dan perawat rumah sakit--di mana obsgynku berpraktek. Banyaknya kaum yg kuistilahkan sebagai "the jilbabers".

Duapuluh tahun lalu--dan aku sgt pasti akan hal ini--tak satupun pasien obsgynku (yg konon salah satu obsgyn paling laris en terkenal di negeri ini)--mengenakan jilbab, apalagi para perawatnya.

Skrg, plg tidak separuh dr pengunjung tetapnya adalah para "jilbabers" sementara satu, dua perawat yg umumnya sdh senior adalah pemakai jilbab juga. Pemandangan yg sungguh membuatku bertanya-tanya: What has actually happened in the last 20 years in terms of spirituality of the Indonesian people?

Kilas balik apa yg hrs kulakukan utk memahami fenomena ini?