Jakartass
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
A False Dawn?
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.
Albert Einstein
Last Saturday was one of those non lie-in days when you get to pity the teachers who have to impart the sad tidings to parents about the non-achievements of their offspring.
Thankfully, the report on Our Kid wasn't as bad as I feared. Out of the 28 in his grade 8 class, only 5 achieved the passing grade of 65% in Maths and Physics. So he's in the bottom 82% in those two subjects. That he's more or less top in English and Computer is to be expected. After all, his dad is renowned for the splendour of his native tongue and his presence in hyperspace. Our Kid is also pretty good in Art and Music, so I'm pleased at that.
His class teacher is also the Physics teacher and I emphasised in our discussion that I don't blame her for his low scores. After all, teachers are duty bound to teach the national syllabus, which is then tested with standard multi-choice questions set by the Department of Education. There is no time available for creativity and experiment.
However, I have no intention of reiterating what I wrote a year ago here other than to say that national exams (ujian nasional) are held for years 6, 9, and 12. After the final school exam (year 12), students wishing to enter an Indonesian state university have to take the State Universities Entrance Tests (known as SNMPTN), as well, possibly, as Interest and Talent-based tests for individual universities.
In spite of the ongoing social upheaval, which lead me to put this post on hold, there may be some encouraging news emanating from SBY's new cabinet. Several ministers are trying to impress all and sundry, and probably SBY in particular, by embarking on 100 Day Programmes. Although these generally smack of the endemic myopic short-termism, the new Education Minister, Muhammed Nuh, has declared that he intended to do away with the SNMPTN.
His reason is blindingly obvious to all but those who actually set the tests. If students can only 'graduate' from elementary school (SD) (year 6) into junior high (SMP), and from there at the end of year 9 into senior high (SMA) by 'passing' each ujian nasional with a predetermined average score in a limited number of subjects, why add the pressure of an extra exam at the end of year 12? Surely 'passing' the final exam with sufficiently high scores in the relevant subjects should be sufficient.
There is, however; a significant problem with this. Such is the competitive nature of the exams, with dire consequences for schools with a significant 'failure rate' and even worse problems for those students who are irredeemably marked as failures for the rest of their lives, that answers to the exams are regularly leaked beforehand, for a fee naturally.
So I hereby offer Pak Nuh half-hearted congratulations. They'll be wholehearted when he drastically overhauls the national curriculum so that it reflects individual talents and interests of students rather than the mentality of bureaucrats in thrall to prestige and competition.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.
Albert Einstein
Last Saturday was one of those non lie-in days when you get to pity the teachers who have to impart the sad tidings to parents about the non-achievements of their offspring.
Thankfully, the report on Our Kid wasn't as bad as I feared. Out of the 28 in his grade 8 class, only 5 achieved the passing grade of 65% in Maths and Physics. So he's in the bottom 82% in those two subjects. That he's more or less top in English and Computer is to be expected. After all, his dad is renowned for the splendour of his native tongue and his presence in hyperspace. Our Kid is also pretty good in Art and Music, so I'm pleased at that.
His class teacher is also the Physics teacher and I emphasised in our discussion that I don't blame her for his low scores. After all, teachers are duty bound to teach the national syllabus, which is then tested with standard multi-choice questions set by the Department of Education. There is no time available for creativity and experiment.
However, I have no intention of reiterating what I wrote a year ago here other than to say that national exams (ujian nasional) are held for years 6, 9, and 12. After the final school exam (year 12), students wishing to enter an Indonesian state university have to take the State Universities Entrance Tests (known as SNMPTN), as well, possibly, as Interest and Talent-based tests for individual universities.
In spite of the ongoing social upheaval, which lead me to put this post on hold, there may be some encouraging news emanating from SBY's new cabinet. Several ministers are trying to impress all and sundry, and probably SBY in particular, by embarking on 100 Day Programmes. Although these generally smack of the endemic myopic short-termism, the new Education Minister, Muhammed Nuh, has declared that he intended to do away with the SNMPTN.
His reason is blindingly obvious to all but those who actually set the tests. If students can only 'graduate' from elementary school (SD) (year 6) into junior high (SMP), and from there at the end of year 9 into senior high (SMA) by 'passing' each ujian nasional with a predetermined average score in a limited number of subjects, why add the pressure of an extra exam at the end of year 12? Surely 'passing' the final exam with sufficiently high scores in the relevant subjects should be sufficient.
There is, however; a significant problem with this. Such is the competitive nature of the exams, with dire consequences for schools with a significant 'failure rate' and even worse problems for those students who are irredeemably marked as failures for the rest of their lives, that answers to the exams are regularly leaked beforehand, for a fee naturally.
So I hereby offer Pak Nuh half-hearted congratulations. They'll be wholehearted when he drastically overhauls the national curriculum so that it reflects individual talents and interests of students rather than the mentality of bureaucrats in thrall to prestige and competition.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
The Revolusi Is Being Televised
I came home to find all my tribe clustered around their TV listening to the recordings of the nigh on 70 wiretaps which SBY has ordered the Costitutional Court to investigate as to their veracity. These are recordings of conversations between Anggoro and his brother Anggodo with high-ranking prosecutors and police officers discussing in July a plot to frame KPK leaders, recording leaked to the media in the past week. We listened along with their Courtships and, presumably, almost the entire population of Indonesia as the proceedings were relayed by the majority of the terrestrial channels.
The recordings appear to demonstrate a conspiracy to implicate the two deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, who were detained on Thursday on allegations of abuse of power, bribery and extortion involving businessman Anggoro Widjojo. He is alleged to have bribed Chandra and Bibit through middlemen Ari Muladi and Edi Soemarsono. Ari has since retracted his statement concerning the accusation.
There is a suggestion that SBY wrote a letter to Anggoro Widjojo, who, as I type this is chainsmoking and prevaricating live on TVone.
The chief of detectives, Comr. Susno Duadji, met Anggoro in Singapore whilst he was being sought by the KPK which was investigating his company, PT Masaro Radiokom, which is the regular telecommunications contractor for the police, the military and the intelligence agencies - rent seekers all.
The KPK has been outstandingly successful in prosecuting politicians, senior bureaucrats, including prosecutors and bankers such as the father-in-law of SBY's son and businessmen. No less than 152 politicians have been implicated in graft.
Another, frightening, suggestion is that Chandra would be killed if he were sent to prison - he is currently held in the Police HQ. SBY has instructed the National Police Chief to ensure his safety and that of Bibit.
The rakyat (public) are angry, very angry, with demonstrations throughout the country and expressions of support coming from many legislators, both past and present, media folk, celebrities, students and every twitterer and blogger with an opinion about the just society they (we) want to be part of.
Yep, this is a veritable shitstorm
Hopefully this is the lancing of a massive boil, the release of all those poisons which have put reformasi in jeopardy. The notion of impunity because of societal rank can no longer be allowed. The people have voted and now they are ready to articulate what they want their representatives to do, and how they want it done.
Personally, I do hope that this affair isn't going to be SBY's Watergate. That, like Nixon, he has just won re-election by a landslide should not be taken as an omen.
Amen.
....................
Timeline
....................
I leave the daily details of what the left and right hands are doing to the Post and Globe.
....................................................
I came home to find all my tribe clustered around their TV listening to the recordings of the nigh on 70 wiretaps which SBY has ordered the Costitutional Court to investigate as to their veracity. These are recordings of conversations between Anggoro and his brother Anggodo with high-ranking prosecutors and police officers discussing in July a plot to frame KPK leaders, recording leaked to the media in the past week. We listened along with their Courtships and, presumably, almost the entire population of Indonesia as the proceedings were relayed by the majority of the terrestrial channels.The recordings appear to demonstrate a conspiracy to implicate the two deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, who were detained on Thursday on allegations of abuse of power, bribery and extortion involving businessman Anggoro Widjojo. He is alleged to have bribed Chandra and Bibit through middlemen Ari Muladi and Edi Soemarsono. Ari has since retracted his statement concerning the accusation.
There is a suggestion that SBY wrote a letter to Anggoro Widjojo, who, as I type this is chainsmoking and prevaricating live on TVone.
The chief of detectives, Comr. Susno Duadji, met Anggoro in Singapore whilst he was being sought by the KPK which was investigating his company, PT Masaro Radiokom, which is the regular telecommunications contractor for the police, the military and the intelligence agencies - rent seekers all.
The KPK has been outstandingly successful in prosecuting politicians, senior bureaucrats, including prosecutors and bankers such as the father-in-law of SBY's son and businessmen. No less than 152 politicians have been implicated in graft.
Another, frightening, suggestion is that Chandra would be killed if he were sent to prison - he is currently held in the Police HQ. SBY has instructed the National Police Chief to ensure his safety and that of Bibit.
The rakyat (public) are angry, very angry, with demonstrations throughout the country and expressions of support coming from many legislators, both past and present, media folk, celebrities, students and every twitterer and blogger with an opinion about the just society they (we) want to be part of.
Yep, this is a veritable shitstorm
Hopefully this is the lancing of a massive boil, the release of all those poisons which have put reformasi in jeopardy. The notion of impunity because of societal rank can no longer be allowed. The people have voted and now they are ready to articulate what they want their representatives to do, and how they want it done.
Personally, I do hope that this affair isn't going to be SBY's Watergate. That, like Nixon, he has just won re-election by a landslide should not be taken as an omen.
Amen.
....................
Timeline
....................
I leave the daily details of what the left and right hands are doing to the Post and Globe.
UPDATE - later that same evening
Hurrah for People Power?
Following the hours of broadcast, Bibit and Chandra have been released and Anggodo Widjojo, brother of corruption suspect Anggoro Widjojo, has been arrested.
Next day
Read Yosef Ardi for more background and what the next steps should be.
Monday, November 02, 2009
SBY & KPK - It's All Too Much
For a long time, I've wanted to write about the engrossing story of skullduggery in high places - perjury, money laundering and absconding business men, bribery, wiretaps, sex and murder, it's all there - but trying to reduce it into a blog post is nigh on impossible.
However, I've just come across an idea which might work.
I could Tweet. After all, attention spans nowadays barely last longer than the time it takes to rd 140 k'ters. WTF, a?. Others have tried it, successfully, albeit in snack-sized bytes, and possibly unsuccessfully. However, this luddite needs to get up to speed on the various acronyms and slackerisms and social-networking slang that (would) litter the text. And frankly if you have to look these things up you might prefer a real book.
Pause for thought: The above is 138 words long, but tweeting is all about characters and there are 794 with spaces, so that won’t do.
I think this might though.
SBY & KPK - a tale of skullduggery, corruption, sex and murder in high places
That's 79 characters with spaces.
Gud, a?
But if you want proper posts, ones I wish I'd written but like fellow blogger Treespotter - "the whole thing is taking an airport novel proportion in their big made up mess. It reads worse than fiction" - couldn't, then check out Rob Baiton. He has followed the story from the beginning, a story that has now lead to an avalanche of public support for the deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi / KPK) imprisoned for expressing their opinions. This affaire d'état pits the national police against those of us who wonder about their motivation in attempting to sabotage the KPK, the most successful law enforcement agency in Indonesia.
SBY has become embroiled for both exceeding his presidential authority in directly appointing replacement deputy chairmen yet saying that that he can't interfere in due legal process.
Agreeing with Tree, I commented on Rob's most recent post, there's a massive tome to written on this real life scandal, one that is threatening to diminish SBY's popularity and his avowed intent to see the eradication of the culture of corruption.
The public at large, of which I am but one voice, wants a speedy, transparent and just resolution to the matter. Without it, distrust of all authority can only grow.
I'm with the cicak (KPK supporters) v the crocodiles (the police etc)
For a long time, I've wanted to write about the engrossing story of skullduggery in high places - perjury, money laundering and absconding business men, bribery, wiretaps, sex and murder, it's all there - but trying to reduce it into a blog post is nigh on impossible.
However, I've just come across an idea which might work.
I could Tweet. After all, attention spans nowadays barely last longer than the time it takes to rd 140 k'ters. WTF, a?. Others have tried it, successfully, albeit in snack-sized bytes, and possibly unsuccessfully. However, this luddite needs to get up to speed on the various acronyms and slackerisms and social-networking slang that (would) litter the text. And frankly if you have to look these things up you might prefer a real book.
Pause for thought: The above is 138 words long, but tweeting is all about characters and there are 794 with spaces, so that won’t do.
I think this might though.
SBY & KPK - a tale of skullduggery, corruption, sex and murder in high places
That's 79 characters with spaces.
Gud, a?
But if you want proper posts, ones I wish I'd written but like fellow blogger Treespotter - "the whole thing is taking an airport novel proportion in their big made up mess. It reads worse than fiction" - couldn't, then check out Rob Baiton. He has followed the story from the beginning, a story that has now lead to an avalanche of public support for the deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi / KPK) imprisoned for expressing their opinions. This affaire d'état pits the national police against those of us who wonder about their motivation in attempting to sabotage the KPK, the most successful law enforcement agency in Indonesia.
SBY has become embroiled for both exceeding his presidential authority in directly appointing replacement deputy chairmen yet saying that that he can't interfere in due legal process.
Agreeing with Tree, I commented on Rob's most recent post, there's a massive tome to written on this real life scandal, one that is threatening to diminish SBY's popularity and his avowed intent to see the eradication of the culture of corruption.
The public at large, of which I am but one voice, wants a speedy, transparent and just resolution to the matter. Without it, distrust of all authority can only grow.
I'm with the cicak (KPK supporters) v the crocodiles (the police etc)Sunday, November 01, 2009
I Am Lead To Believe
I have recently learned that Facebook members are urged to give 25 Random Facts or perhaps that should be 25 Random Facts That Might Not Be.
The following are random in that it's a list of not totally original thoughts jotted down as they've floated across the blank screen of my mind.
1. Son No.1 tells me that in spite of my ranting I do have a Facebook account.
2. I joined Friends Reunited several years ago. I haven't contacted anyone and no-one has contacted me.
3. I'd like to hear the world's first mobile phone orchestra. Perhaps someone can lend me an iPhone.
4. The local Carrefour hypermarket has little economic nous. Why else sell 6 disposable Gillette razors which have handles, swivelling heads, soap strips, double blades - the complete works, at two-thirds of the price of a pack of five heads without the complete works?
5. Those who can - do.
----Those who can't - teach.
----Those who can't teach - manage schools.
6. Television is the opium of the masses.
7. Most folk can't see beyond their noses.
8. Pinocchio was long-sighted.
9. The kids who are growing up surrounded by (cyber) technology will have better hand-eye co-ordination than their parents, but shorter attention spans. They will be better at holding many things in their heads at once, but worse at remembering them afterwards.
fr. Review of Cyburbia - The Dangerous Idea That's Changing How We Live And Who We Are
by James Harkin. pub. Little, Brown 2009.
10. As a vegetarian I instinctively flinch when offered a meal with 'artificial' - looks like, tastes like - meat.
11. There's nowt wrong with alternative protein sources, such as tempeh, a miracle food.
12. You don't need to understand how a pencil is made in order to use it.
13. I wish I knew more about how to 'tweak' the template of this blog.
14. Most religions have tolerance at their core and are inherently good for us.
15. Most religions have hard-core followers who are inherently bad for us.
16. Hard-core followers are not radical, in the sense of seeking positive change. The word is an oxymoron and they are morons.
17. Keeping a diary makes you happier, it says here.
I'm not sure about that, but putting Jakartass together is somewhat fulfilling.
18. The rain inSpain Jakarta stays mainly on the plain.
19. I'm not so much put off cycling as I'm put off drivers.
20. Few films are as rewarding as the books on which they're based. Atonement is a notable exception. (Watch Vanessa Redgrave's face as she closes the account - an astonishing performance.)
21. Dolores Hart's claim to fame was that she gave Elvis Presley his first screen kiss. And then, on the brink of a dazzling film career, she gave it all up to become a Benedictine nun. She still prays for Elvis who's now living on the dark side of the moon..
22. Indonesia has 1,087 endangered species, second only in number to the USA.
23. In the matter of broadband provision, Indonesia ranks 63rd out of 66 countries surveyed and out of 242 cities 'tested', Jakarta is ranked at 230 and Surabaya at 233.
24. Like Our Kid doesn't now, I didn't, and still don't, understand the mathematics I was taught at school. I've used very little of it since.
25. There are times when I can't think of anything to write. Hence no.25.
I have recently learned that Facebook members are urged to give 25 Random Facts or perhaps that should be 25 Random Facts That Might Not Be.
The following are random in that it's a list of not totally original thoughts jotted down as they've floated across the blank screen of my mind.
1. Son No.1 tells me that in spite of my ranting I do have a Facebook account.
2. I joined Friends Reunited several years ago. I haven't contacted anyone and no-one has contacted me.
3. I'd like to hear the world's first mobile phone orchestra. Perhaps someone can lend me an iPhone.
4. The local Carrefour hypermarket has little economic nous. Why else sell 6 disposable Gillette razors which have handles, swivelling heads, soap strips, double blades - the complete works, at two-thirds of the price of a pack of five heads without the complete works?
5. Those who can - do.
----Those who can't - teach.
----Those who can't teach - manage schools.
6. Television is the opium of the masses.
7. Most folk can't see beyond their noses.
8. Pinocchio was long-sighted.
9. The kids who are growing up surrounded by (cyber) technology will have better hand-eye co-ordination than their parents, but shorter attention spans. They will be better at holding many things in their heads at once, but worse at remembering them afterwards.
fr. Review of Cyburbia - The Dangerous Idea That's Changing How We Live And Who We Are
by James Harkin. pub. Little, Brown 2009.
10. As a vegetarian I instinctively flinch when offered a meal with 'artificial' - looks like, tastes like - meat.
11. There's nowt wrong with alternative protein sources, such as tempeh, a miracle food.
12. You don't need to understand how a pencil is made in order to use it.
13. I wish I knew more about how to 'tweak' the template of this blog.
14. Most religions have tolerance at their core and are inherently good for us.
15. Most religions have hard-core followers who are inherently bad for us.
16. Hard-core followers are not radical, in the sense of seeking positive change. The word is an oxymoron and they are morons.
17. Keeping a diary makes you happier, it says here.
I'm not sure about that, but putting Jakartass together is somewhat fulfilling.
18. The rain in
19. I'm not so much put off cycling as I'm put off drivers.
20. Few films are as rewarding as the books on which they're based. Atonement is a notable exception. (Watch Vanessa Redgrave's face as she closes the account - an astonishing performance.)
21. Dolores Hart's claim to fame was that she gave Elvis Presley his first screen kiss. And then, on the brink of a dazzling film career, she gave it all up to become a Benedictine nun. She still prays for Elvis who's now living on the dark side of the moon..
22. Indonesia has 1,087 endangered species, second only in number to the USA.
23. In the matter of broadband provision, Indonesia ranks 63rd out of 66 countries surveyed and out of 242 cities 'tested', Jakarta is ranked at 230 and Surabaya at 233.
24. Like Our Kid doesn't now, I didn't, and still don't, understand the mathematics I was taught at school. I've used very little of it since.
25. There are times when I can't think of anything to write. Hence no.25.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Religious Ties That Bind
Subscribers to the Jakarta Post receive a monthly colour magazine called the Weekender; mine generally arrives on a Tuesday or Thursday. Ignoring the lexical timewarps implicit in that sentence, apart from those pages which extol lifestyles way beyond the means of the scavengers who collect our waste paper for recycling, I read it from cover to cover.
Most of the articles are of general interest and sometimes coincide with people, issues and activities I've already written about. There are also a couple of letters which are generally full of praise, rather than enlightening and praiseworthy.
One of the latter sort, which I can't find online, raises a fundamental issue for those of us who have adopted an Indonesian lifestyle by marrying a local.
Nigh on 20 years ago I jumped through linguistic hoops as I 'converted' to Islam in order to legally marry 'Er Indoors. It was our understanding that folk of different religious faiths or, as in my case, a lack of belief in the people-designated rituals followed by the multifarious religions, could only enter into a legally binding marriage in Indonesia if they followed the same behavioural rules.
Under Suharto's 'guided democracy', based on his interpretation of Pancasila and backed up by various laws, just five religions were then acceptable, all of which (including Hinduism!) share a belief in one god - Allah be His name? Confucianism has now been added to the list.
According to the letter from Gita Darmawan, a legal counsel, according to Article 7 of the 1974 Marriage Law a marriage is valid if it is conducted in accordance with each religion and faith. It does not state that the couple must be of the same religion.
That each partner must have a religious belief is not mentioned in her letter, nor that religious affiliations are written on Indonesians' ID cards. There is as yet no right to not have such a belief. Thus Indonesian atheists continue to lack public acceptance. However, thanks to online social networks they are now able to peek out from their closets.
I fear they will have a long wait for public acceptance. Atheism is still equated with communism and deep communal scars, guilt even, remain from the pogrom of 65/66.
A major worry for some is that SBY's new cabinet indicates that creeping Islamisation is part of his agenda.
Several ministers in his recently announced cabinet have, in their previous public roles, indicated a blinkered sharia-type mindset. The new Home Affairs Minister, Gamawan Fauzi, for example, was the Governor of West Sumatra which during his just ended tenure was the first Province to enact sharia-type regulations. Thus the mayor of Bukittinggi cancelled the traditional New Year celebrations at the clock tower on the grounds that boys and girls might be observed kissing in public.
Then there's the chairman of the inaptly named Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Tifatul Sembiring, who has been appointed Communication and Information Minister. PKS controls the local government in the neighbouring township of Depok. Its mayor has banned the building of a church on the grounds that it would cause public disturbances, quite unlike the calls to prayer from mosques. More recently, he has ordered the closure of karaoke parlours. This was not because of the discordant sounds within but because, he no doubt says from personal observation, they are dens of prostitution.
In a supposedly pluralistic country in which each established religion has its synod or council to issue edicts to guide (control?) its adherents, there is surely no need for a Religious Affairs Ministry, especially one which condones polygamy. The new Minister is Suryadharma Ali, the chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), one of the three parties 'approved' by Suharto. Ali is best known for suggesting that the Islamic sect, Ahmadiyah, known for its peaceful ways rather than its extremism, be banned.
It's early days so we still live in hope that SBY will consolidate the perceived progress made since 97/98. In spite of, or perhaps due to, the machinations of the military in league with the political and business elites back then and since, reformasi has continued to be the rallying call of the rakyat (citizenry). Their continued participation in the democratic process which guarantees freedom of speech and the right to those rights laid down in the many United Nations Conventions which Indonesia is a signatory to is absolutely necessary .
God only knows whether SBY is on the right track because, sure as hell, it's hard to tell at the moment.
Subscribers to the Jakarta Post receive a monthly colour magazine called the Weekender; mine generally arrives on a Tuesday or Thursday. Ignoring the lexical timewarps implicit in that sentence, apart from those pages which extol lifestyles way beyond the means of the scavengers who collect our waste paper for recycling, I read it from cover to cover.
Most of the articles are of general interest and sometimes coincide with people, issues and activities I've already written about. There are also a couple of letters which are generally full of praise, rather than enlightening and praiseworthy.
One of the latter sort, which I can't find online, raises a fundamental issue for those of us who have adopted an Indonesian lifestyle by marrying a local.
Nigh on 20 years ago I jumped through linguistic hoops as I 'converted' to Islam in order to legally marry 'Er Indoors. It was our understanding that folk of different religious faiths or, as in my case, a lack of belief in the people-designated rituals followed by the multifarious religions, could only enter into a legally binding marriage in Indonesia if they followed the same behavioural rules.
Under Suharto's 'guided democracy', based on his interpretation of Pancasila and backed up by various laws, just five religions were then acceptable, all of which (including Hinduism!) share a belief in one god - Allah be His name? Confucianism has now been added to the list.
According to the letter from Gita Darmawan, a legal counsel, according to Article 7 of the 1974 Marriage Law a marriage is valid if it is conducted in accordance with each religion and faith. It does not state that the couple must be of the same religion.
That each partner must have a religious belief is not mentioned in her letter, nor that religious affiliations are written on Indonesians' ID cards. There is as yet no right to not have such a belief. Thus Indonesian atheists continue to lack public acceptance. However, thanks to online social networks they are now able to peek out from their closets.
I fear they will have a long wait for public acceptance. Atheism is still equated with communism and deep communal scars, guilt even, remain from the pogrom of 65/66.
A major worry for some is that SBY's new cabinet indicates that creeping Islamisation is part of his agenda.
Several ministers in his recently announced cabinet have, in their previous public roles, indicated a blinkered sharia-type mindset. The new Home Affairs Minister, Gamawan Fauzi, for example, was the Governor of West Sumatra which during his just ended tenure was the first Province to enact sharia-type regulations. Thus the mayor of Bukittinggi cancelled the traditional New Year celebrations at the clock tower on the grounds that boys and girls might be observed kissing in public.
Then there's the chairman of the inaptly named Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Tifatul Sembiring, who has been appointed Communication and Information Minister. PKS controls the local government in the neighbouring township of Depok. Its mayor has banned the building of a church on the grounds that it would cause public disturbances, quite unlike the calls to prayer from mosques. More recently, he has ordered the closure of karaoke parlours. This was not because of the discordant sounds within but because, he no doubt says from personal observation, they are dens of prostitution.
In a supposedly pluralistic country in which each established religion has its synod or council to issue edicts to guide (control?) its adherents, there is surely no need for a Religious Affairs Ministry, especially one which condones polygamy. The new Minister is Suryadharma Ali, the chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), one of the three parties 'approved' by Suharto. Ali is best known for suggesting that the Islamic sect, Ahmadiyah, known for its peaceful ways rather than its extremism, be banned.
It's early days so we still live in hope that SBY will consolidate the perceived progress made since 97/98. In spite of, or perhaps due to, the machinations of the military in league with the political and business elites back then and since, reformasi has continued to be the rallying call of the rakyat (citizenry). Their continued participation in the democratic process which guarantees freedom of speech and the right to those rights laid down in the many United Nations Conventions which Indonesia is a signatory to is absolutely necessary .
God only knows whether SBY is on the right track because, sure as hell, it's hard to tell at the moment.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
No Nobs, No Bananas = No Sense?
Dear Mariella
I am more interested in bees and reading about beekeeping than in having sex, and it is affecting my marriage. I have read a great deal of books on the subject and have yet to determine just why I am so fascinated by this most peculiar hobby – though I do quite enjoy watching beekeepers remove the honeycomb frame from an apiary, as I find it quite relaxing. It has got to the point where it is affecting my marriage, as my partner is entirely unsympathetic to what she describes as an "obsession". I tend to spend most evenings reading apiarist manuals and commenting on beekeeping forums on the net, to the detriment of our sex life. I am interested in sex, but at this point I am more interested in bees. Is this kind of relationship normal? How can I bring my partner round to enjoying my interest in beekeeping with me?
Her answer: I'm sure there is some psychiatric label for your condition, though whether it rates worse than being an overweight couch potato who can't get enough of the Olympics I'm not sure. Aren't you a bit embarrassed to be such a lightweight of the all-talk, no-action variety? What baffles me is how you can put so much effort and time into developing your expertise but never put any of it into practice. Without participating, you're engaged in a dysfunctional form of foreplay that guarantees frustration all round. Surfing internet pornography while leading a moribund sex life is the closest equivalent I can come up with.
My answer: Encourage her to take up ornithology so that together you'll know something about the birds and the bees.
Spotted in (in)aptly named Bangkok............................................
BTW I don't think Anong is referring to the above!
Dear Mariella
I am more interested in bees and reading about beekeeping than in having sex, and it is affecting my marriage. I have read a great deal of books on the subject and have yet to determine just why I am so fascinated by this most peculiar hobby – though I do quite enjoy watching beekeepers remove the honeycomb frame from an apiary, as I find it quite relaxing. It has got to the point where it is affecting my marriage, as my partner is entirely unsympathetic to what she describes as an "obsession". I tend to spend most evenings reading apiarist manuals and commenting on beekeeping forums on the net, to the detriment of our sex life. I am interested in sex, but at this point I am more interested in bees. Is this kind of relationship normal? How can I bring my partner round to enjoying my interest in beekeeping with me?
Her answer: I'm sure there is some psychiatric label for your condition, though whether it rates worse than being an overweight couch potato who can't get enough of the Olympics I'm not sure. Aren't you a bit embarrassed to be such a lightweight of the all-talk, no-action variety? What baffles me is how you can put so much effort and time into developing your expertise but never put any of it into practice. Without participating, you're engaged in a dysfunctional form of foreplay that guarantees frustration all round. Surfing internet pornography while leading a moribund sex life is the closest equivalent I can come up with.
My answer: Encourage her to take up ornithology so that together you'll know something about the birds and the bees.
............................................
Spotted in (in)aptly named BangkokBTW I don't think Anong is referring to the above!
A Picture Tells You A Lot
Son No.1 sent me an email:
I had reason to be looking at Makassar Airport official website and came to the upcoming event 19 August 2009 - sadly I missed it. (Really?)
Was it advertising an upcoming plane crash?
Son No.1 sent me an email:
I had reason to be looking at Makassar Airport official website and came to the upcoming event 19 August 2009 - sadly I missed it. (Really?)
Was it advertising an upcoming plane crash?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Spouting Hot Air?
Now, it's just possible that you weren't aware that cars, buses and other vehicles with internal combustion engines tend to emit noxious exhaust fumes, but if you really didn't know that then you've never visited Jakarta.
Those of us who live in Jakarta breathe easier on Sundays and public holidays, because there are fewer cars. Sundays are the preferred option of Jakarta's Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) to hold car-free days presumably because it's that much easier to divert traffic away from closed roads.
They certainly prove popular with residents along these streets.
The car-free event on Jl. Pemuda comprised cycling and walking activities, music and a bazaar, while children ran around playing soccer on the empty streets.
Mind you, I would have thought a park which is open all week long would prove a greater attraction, but I digress.
As for the beneficial reduction in air-borne pollutants, the BPLHD gave the following 'results' yesterday: the amount of dust particles had decreased by 34 percent, Carbon Monoxide (CO) by 68 percent, and Nitrogen Monoxide (NO) by 80 percent during the last car-free day (held a couple of weeks ago).
Wow, whoopie do. Don't you just love facts and figures?
And the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has actually praised City Hall for this?
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, here on behalf of Barack Obama for SBY's reinauguration, praised the Jakarta administration Wednesday for its environmental protection and green transportation programs. She said she was impressed by the way the city of Jakarta and Governor Fauzi Bowo dealt with economic growth without having to sacrifice environmental issues.
“Growth in the economy, for him to have investment in mass transit, car-free day, and further efforts to address air pollution, I think is quite laudable.”
Fauzi said he told Jackson during the meeting about various environmental problems facing the city, including air and water pollution, waste management problems in North Jakarta Bay and the rise in sea level which, according to the British Meteorological Office Hadley Centre (and Jakartass) is a doomsday scenario.
Fuzzy also said the city issued many regulations to protect the environment, but their implementation remained a problem.
And within that last bit lies the key - piecemeal implementation indicates indecision caused by ... 'political' considerations? brown envelopes? hidebound bureaucratic procedures and competence?
Take the matter of ensuring that from next month vehicles have to pass an annual emissions test verified by the display of a sticker.
Ridwan Panjaitan, head of the BPLHD's law enforcement unit, said a couple of weeks ago that the enforcement, stipulated in a 2005 bylaw on air pollution, had been delayed because the administration needed time to educate the public and prepare the garage and mechanics needed for the tests.
Four years?!?
He added there were 238 garage and 568 mechanics across the city certified to carry out the tests.
Rudy Iman, a service supervisor at a garage in Cilandak, South Jakarta, certified to hold emissions tests told the Post his garage did not have the stickers.
“We only have the emissions stickers from last year,” he said.
Rudy said he had ordered a batch of new stickers through the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) and PT Global, the distributor, at the end of 2008.
“But we haven’t got them even now,” he said.
In addition, the Association of Auto Repair Shop Owners (Asbekindo) chairman Yayat Ruhiyat said garage owners would meet Oct. 29 over the plan.
“We haven’t been able to meet sooner because the information about the emissions test is so vague,” he said. “Plus, the printing cost for the stickers and cards is quite expensive, so the certified garages haven’t ordered a lot.”
Meanwhile, the BPLHD is planning to spend Rp.17 billion (US$1.8 million) on two air-quality monitoring stations next year since only two out of the five existing devices, previously donated by foreign donors, were working.
How much?!?
That amount of tax payers' money would buy loads of buses to replace the clapped out rust buckets which pass for public transport. As for measuring the air pollution, enough surveys have been done and articles written over the years for the talking to stop and action to begin.
If you enjoy kowtowing to American 'experts', Fuzzy, then do please get on with it.
And preferably before the city is totally submerged
Now, it's just possible that you weren't aware that cars, buses and other vehicles with internal combustion engines tend to emit noxious exhaust fumes, but if you really didn't know that then you've never visited Jakarta.
Those of us who live in Jakarta breathe easier on Sundays and public holidays, because there are fewer cars. Sundays are the preferred option of Jakarta's Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) to hold car-free days presumably because it's that much easier to divert traffic away from closed roads.They certainly prove popular with residents along these streets.
The car-free event on Jl. Pemuda comprised cycling and walking activities, music and a bazaar, while children ran around playing soccer on the empty streets.
Mind you, I would have thought a park which is open all week long would prove a greater attraction, but I digress.
As for the beneficial reduction in air-borne pollutants, the BPLHD gave the following 'results' yesterday: the amount of dust particles had decreased by 34 percent, Carbon Monoxide (CO) by 68 percent, and Nitrogen Monoxide (NO) by 80 percent during the last car-free day (held a couple of weeks ago).
Wow, whoopie do. Don't you just love facts and figures?
And the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has actually praised City Hall for this?
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, here on behalf of Barack Obama for SBY's reinauguration, praised the Jakarta administration Wednesday for its environmental protection and green transportation programs. She said she was impressed by the way the city of Jakarta and Governor Fauzi Bowo dealt with economic growth without having to sacrifice environmental issues.
“Growth in the economy, for him to have investment in mass transit, car-free day, and further efforts to address air pollution, I think is quite laudable.”
Fauzi said he told Jackson during the meeting about various environmental problems facing the city, including air and water pollution, waste management problems in North Jakarta Bay and the rise in sea level which, according to the British Meteorological Office Hadley Centre (and Jakartass) is a doomsday scenario.
Fuzzy also said the city issued many regulations to protect the environment, but their implementation remained a problem.
And within that last bit lies the key - piecemeal implementation indicates indecision caused by ... 'political' considerations? brown envelopes? hidebound bureaucratic procedures and competence?
Take the matter of ensuring that from next month vehicles have to pass an annual emissions test verified by the display of a sticker.
Ridwan Panjaitan, head of the BPLHD's law enforcement unit, said a couple of weeks ago that the enforcement, stipulated in a 2005 bylaw on air pollution, had been delayed because the administration needed time to educate the public and prepare the garage and mechanics needed for the tests.
Four years?!?
He added there were 238 garage and 568 mechanics across the city certified to carry out the tests.
Rudy Iman, a service supervisor at a garage in Cilandak, South Jakarta, certified to hold emissions tests told the Post his garage did not have the stickers.
“We only have the emissions stickers from last year,” he said.
Rudy said he had ordered a batch of new stickers through the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) and PT Global, the distributor, at the end of 2008.
“But we haven’t got them even now,” he said.
In addition, the Association of Auto Repair Shop Owners (Asbekindo) chairman Yayat Ruhiyat said garage owners would meet Oct. 29 over the plan.
“We haven’t been able to meet sooner because the information about the emissions test is so vague,” he said. “Plus, the printing cost for the stickers and cards is quite expensive, so the certified garages haven’t ordered a lot.”
Meanwhile, the BPLHD is planning to spend Rp.17 billion (US$1.8 million) on two air-quality monitoring stations next year since only two out of the five existing devices, previously donated by foreign donors, were working.
How much?!?
That amount of tax payers' money would buy loads of buses to replace the clapped out rust buckets which pass for public transport. As for measuring the air pollution, enough surveys have been done and articles written over the years for the talking to stop and action to begin.
If you enjoy kowtowing to American 'experts', Fuzzy, then do please get on with it.
And preferably before the city is totally submerged
