That's the headline in a recent ad in the Jakarta Post.
I think there's something patronising in this. There may certainly be something funny in our daily encounters, but only because humour, certainly of the slapstick kind, is universal.I still remember occasioning great mirth. On the evening of October 16th 1996, I walked home past the hospital where, unknown to me, Our Kid was entering this world. There was no choice as there had been a massive storm in Jakarta that day, uprooting trees, flooding streets, and causing a general power cut. When I reached my road junction, I promptly fell into an uncovered drainage. In their mirth, the ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers on the corner nearly fell off their bikes. I presume they'd still be laughing if I'd drowned.
Strangely, I'm not sure that Indonesians are happy at laughing at themselves. Some things are taken much too seriously.
Take the crime of blasphemy. In a country whose founding doctrine of Pancasila has five pillars, one of which is Ketuhanan, monotheism expressed as belief in one and only God but not necessarily exclusive of any particular religion, yet accepts Hinduism, religious nuts are imprisoned.
Take the case of cult leader Lia Aminuddin, better known as Lia Eden. She has been Lia began proselytizing her religion, called Salamullah, since 1997, writing songs, poetry and books. She has also called herself the Virgin Mary and her son Ahmad Mukti, Jesus Christ. Her religion has drawn attention because not only does she require her acolytes to dress in white from top to toe, but they must also wear white plastic halos on their heads.Although she has declared all religions truthful, she has been sentenced to two and a half years. If a religion is a matter of faith and does not advocate physical harm, the surely one is entitled to accept it as a personal truth.
In another recent case, Agus Imam Solihin, leader of a cult known as Satria Piningit Weteng Buwono, claimed to his followers that he was the manifestation of God after he received spiritual guidance from the country’s first president, Sukarno, in a dream in 1999.
He was accused of inciting hatred and committing blasphemous acts against one of the religions observed in Indonesia, Islam.
His cult had 35 followers, including five couples and their children.
Then there's the leader of the Sion City of Allah Christian sect and his (just!) six followers currently being detained in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
All these cultists have been accused of deviancy from the precepts of the accepted religions. Should we ignore the fact that Islam in Indonesia incorporates elements of Javanese mysticism and Hinduism, whilst the state categorises Christianity and Catholicism as two separate religions?
These are certainly funny stories, funny peculiar that is.
