A Message by George Carlin

(picture(*)

Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate.

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways ,but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don't send this to at least 8 people....Who cares?

George Carlin

----
Picture is taken from http://www.lesliehawes.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/george-carlin.jpg

Ibu Kita Kartini

Most Indonesian women know that today, 21 April 2008, is the most historical day for women in Indonesia. The date rekindled the history of a Javanese woman named Kartini. Kartini was born in Jepara 21 April 1879 into an aristocratic Javanese family. Her father, Raden Mas Sosroningrat, was Jepara regent who had a moderat way of thought. As a noble woman, Kartini was privileged to enjoy royal education. She was believed to be the first Javanese women who attempted to crush the rigid oppressive Javanese tradition against women. She believed that education for women was a means to liberate and empower Indonesian women. Be that as it may, the court wall of Javanese values seemed too powerful. Kartini could do no more except succumbed before her destiny. She was secluded waiting for her future husband.

Due to his deep affection to her ailing father, she agreed to marry to the regent of Rembang, Raden Adipati Joyodiningrat, on 12 November 1903 although this meant that she had to be the fourth wife of the regent. This was against Kartini's aspiration to empower Indonesian women. She was not able to deplete the sprawling tradition as she would like to appease her most beloved father. Kartini passed away not long after she delivered her only son. She died on 17 September 1904 at the age of 25. She was known as a hero for women although she failed to defend herself against women oppression. She became a "kusuma negara" (country heroine) whose birthday is always celebrated in Indonesia.

Some decades ago, many schools celebrated the Kartini's day by conducting fashion shows or carnivals. Female students from elementary to upper secondary schools were requested to wear traditional dress. Nowadays, such celebration is no longer deemed important. Many argue that artificial and ceremonial celebration is meaningless. They believe that Indonesian women must go beyond traditional and obsolete traditions. However, I trust that symbols of cultures are still important as part of educational efforts. We have to hand down symbols and their meanings to the future generations. Don't let them forget their own cultural heritage. To be modern women does not mean that all excellent traditions must be burnt down. Let's remember the song that is always performed on this joyous occassion, namely "Ibu Kartini" composed by Wage Rudolf Supratman.

"ibu kita Kartini, putri sejati
putri Indonesia, harum namanya

ibu kita Kartini, pendekar bangsa
pendekar kaumnya untuk merdeka

wahai ibu kita Kartini
putri yang mulia
sungguh besar cita-citanya
bagi Indonesia"





Ciputat, 21 April 2008

Self Confidence

Many academicians are looking forward to the realization of a fledgling institution to become a world class one. It was oddly enough when a national newspaper showed a picture of a new school building with a pompous banner. The ad said, "We are proudly to bring an International standard school to you. With British curricula and expatriate teachers, we will bring you children to gain a great achievement" I was not interested by such a bombastic ad. I was wondering about how a newly established school has already claimed to be an international standard school? Unashamedly, it also stated that the school hires expatriates as teachers. Does it mean that the school does not have self-confidence for and reliance on the local teachers? It seems that the manager of the school needs to ensure people that a school with expatriate teachers is a great school and a truly global school: the main gate of the future. As a matter of fact, this phenomenon reflects the basic layer of our social desease that is the loss of national self-confidence.

It is more likely that this nation does not remember about how our founding fathers having shown great self-confidence when they declared the birth of this country. Soekarno, the first Indonesian president, called on the people to "berdikari". Berdikari, an acronym stands for "berdiri di atas kaki sendiri" (standing on our own feet). Unfortunately, this slogan has dissapeared and been burried somewhere since the demise of Soekarno. Soeharto, the second president of Indonesia, always gave an example of being nationalist. He always wore black cap and batik when he happened to meet his guests. He also spoke Indonesian language in every occassion. In addition to that, Soeharto proudly presented Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Beautiful Indonesian Miniature Park) to show the world that Indonesia is the Archipelagic country with thousands of islands and diverse traditions. But, this did not last longer, since the country was developed on the ground of foreign debt.

The behavior of this nation is appalling. Many people seem to be too proud of being vacationers who are strolling around foreign lands. They are in a great joy when they are praising the world spots they have visited. Pathetically, they do not know that there are many beautiful places in their own backyards. Realizing this fact, the government of Indonesia, through the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism Affairs, has launched a Visit Indonesia Year 2008. Some mass-media and local travel agents try to attract tourits to visit some hidden beauty of Indonesia. Clips on Indonesian tourism are also available in Youtube.com.

The endeavor above is to boost the visit of international tourists to Indonesia. I don’t know if many travel agents around the world display leaflets of Indonesia as a whole, or just of Bali? I also do not find the biggest national flight company, Garuda showing a film about Indonesian tourism during Garuda’s flight or at least screening a ten minute film prior to the taking off time. Sometimes ago, if flied with Garuda, I always heard an Indonesian traditional music was played. However, this music has been changed to something that I am not familiar with. The government has to realize that people come to Indonesia because they want to see the uniqueness of Indonesia, to enjoy an Indonesian save haven, and to breathe in a fresh air of friendship shown by the people of Indonesia. In contrast, many tourism objects are modified on the basis of foreign templates. As a result, they lost their uniqueness and their own characteristics.

We are seemingly still engaged in the battle of words. We are too prolific to produce friendly statements while we ignore their prerequisite. We have to educate our people about the importance of keeping clean and beauty. We have to reinforce the security law to ensure tourists’ comfortablity when they need to stroll around the chain of emeralds, the Indonesian archipelago. Look at our neighboring countries that have been able to assure their welcoming atmosphere. They are able to build supporting infrastructures and spread the echo of their countries through their representatives abroad. The elites must show their sincere love to Indonesia first should they want tourists to visit Indonesia. Otherwise, Indonesia will be vanished from the world map if there is no serious attempt to escalate sense of nationalism.






Ciputat, 17/04/2008

God and Man at Notre Dame

Religion and social institutions are highly interconnected. As a set of values of the sacred, religion is able to permeate into all layers of society through the tunnels of education. Schools with religious flavors are established to contrive the way ensuring a group identity. Catholic schools and higher education institutions are seeking support from the seemingly reluctant public interest. Pope Benedict holds the mandate from God that religious identity will perish without the active roles of such institutions. America, a country under the secular canopy, looks to be standing on the grey are where religion is still playing around the public arena, while most people keep the religion under their feet. Hence, a total secularism has yet to reach its final line as long as God is still needed.



By KENNETH L. WOODWARD
Published in New York Times: April 16, 2008

POPE BENEDICT XVI will give several speeches during his visit to the United States, but the most consequential for American Catholics may be his address to the presidents of Catholic colleges and universities tomorrow.

Benedict has shown himself concerned about preserving the specifically Roman Catholic identity of all Catholic institutions, particularly those in higher education. His predecessor, John Paul II, tried to do this by insisting that Catholic theology professors sign a document called a mandatum affirming their fidelity to the papal teaching. Conservative Catholics are counting on Benedict to enforce this approach.

Yet, because Benedict is at heart a professor, I hope that he recognizes that fidelity to church teachings cannot be coerced.

No question, a Catholic university should be identifiably Catholic. But the problem of institutional identity goes far beyond litmus tests for theologians.

Arguments over the “identity crisis” on Catholic campuses have been going on for 50 years — long enough to realize that there is no single thing that makes a Catholic university Catholic. Indeed, the question of Catholic identity has as much to do with the changes in Catholic students and their parents as it does with faculty members and administrations.

In the early 1960s, half of all Catholic children attended Catholic grade and high schools. The 10 percent or so who went on to college had some 300 Catholic colleges and universities to choose from — more, in fact, than in the rest of the world combined. Catholics were expected to attend one of these; those who wanted to attend, say, an Ivy League college often had to get permission from their pastor.

Today few Catholic students or parents are likely to choose a Catholic university if Princeton or Stanford is an option. A Catholic higher education, in other words, is less prized by many Catholic parents — including complaining conservatives — than the name on the college diploma.

Another difference is this: Well into the 1960s, Catholic college freshmen arrived with a knowledge of the basics of their religion — enough, at least, to question the answers they were given as children or, among the brighter students, to be challenged in theology classes toward a more mature grasp of their faith.

Most of today’s Catholic students, however, have no such grounding. Even the graduates of Catholic high schools, theology professors complain, have to be taught the fundamentals. As one Methodist theologian at Notre Dame wryly put it, “Before I teach my course on marriage I have to tell them first what their own church has to say on the subject.”

No question, Catholic colleges were more “Catholic” then than they are today. Most were small campuses with a liberal-arts curriculum, making it easy to weave theology into the classroom mix. Most teachers were Catholic and many were priests and nuns.

The ’60s changed all that. In 1966, the American Council on Education issued a study that failed to uncover a single Catholic university with a “distinguished or even strong” graduate department. This prompted Msgr. John Tracy Ellis, a leading American Catholic historian, to suggest a radical consolidation: American Catholics should support no more than three Catholic universities, one on each coast and one in between.

Ellis knew it would never happen, given the independence of each university. Yet his pronouncement prompted a contest among Catholic universities in the hope of surviving the final cut. The rush was on to upgrade faculty and facilities, which meant competing for the best teachers and students regardless of religion. Then there was the Second Vatican Council’s urging Catholics to embrace the modern world. This prompted many priests and nuns to abandon Catholic institutions to work “in the world,” further accelerating the need for lay faculty members. Faculty strikes over academic freedom at Catholic universities led many to turn control over to lay-dominated boards of trustees.

Led by the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, the longtime president of Notre Dame, Catholic educators redefined the relationship between church and university. As Father Hesburgh adroitly put it, a Catholic university is the place “where the church does its thinking.” Learning, in other words, is not indoctrination.

Since those transformative years, the number of Catholic colleges and universities has declined by a third. Some secularized, cutting all ties to the church, in order to survive. Others, especially those for women, closed their doors for lack of applicants. Many more grew through compromise: though nominally Catholic, they offered theology as not much more than a series of selections in a menu of course options.

America can still boast of a monopoly of the world’s best Catholic educational institutions. Some are small liberal-arts colleges that have preserved or reinvented classical Catholic humanism. Others are more sectarian, fashioned in reaction to the demand for orthodoxy by John Paul II. A few universities like Notre Dame (my alma mater) have attained elite status while remaining manifestly Catholic.

I hope Pope Benedict will keep this diversity in mind when tomorrow he discusses the issue of institutional identity. I hope, too, that someone in his entourage will point out that there are more Catholic students at many of the big public universities in the Midwest than at any Catholic college. They are there by choice, their own or that of their parents.

What these students and their teachers need is a vision of what it means to be an educated Catholic, not just a lecture on preserving Catholic institutional identity. If Benedict can manage that, his words will be worth remembering.

Kenneth L. Woodward, a contributing editor at Newsweek, is writing a book about religion and American culture since 1950.

China’s Loyal Youth

By MATTHEW FORNEY
Published in New York Times: April 13, 2008

MANY sympathetic Westerners view Chinese society along the lines of what they saw in the waning days of the Soviet Union: a repressive government backed by old hard-liners losing its grip to a new generation of well-educated, liberal-leaning sophisticates. As pleasant as this outlook may be, it’s naïve. Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record, rank among the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people you’ll meet.

As is clear to anyone who lives here, most young ethnic Chinese strongly support their government’s suppression of the recent Tibetan uprising. One Chinese friend who has a degree from a European university described the conflict to me as “a clash between the commercial world and an old aboriginal society.” She even praised her government for treating Tibetans better than New World settlers treated Native Americans.

It’s a rare person in China who considers the desires of the Tibetans themselves. “Young Chinese have no sympathy for Tibet,” a Beijing human-rights lawyer named Teng Biao told me. Mr. Teng — a Han Chinese who has offered to defend Tibetan monks caught up in police dragnets — feels very alone these days. Most people in their 20s, he says, “believe the Dalai Lama is trying to split China.”

Educated young people are usually the best positioned in society to bridge cultures, so it’s important to examine the thinking of those in China. The most striking thing is that, almost without exception, they feel rightfully proud of their country’s accomplishments in the three decades since economic reforms began. And their pride and patriotism often find expression in an unquestioning support of their government, especially regarding Tibet.

The most obvious explanation for this is the education system, which can accurately be described as indoctrination. Textbooks dwell on China’s humiliations at the hands of foreign powers in the 19th century as if they took place yesterday, yet skim over the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s as if it were ancient history. Students learn the neat calculation that Chairman Mao’s tyranny was “30 percent wrong,” then the subject is declared closed. The uprising in Tibet in the late 1950s, and the invasion that quashed it, are discussed just long enough to lay blame on the “Dalai clique,” a pejorative reference to the circle of advisers around Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Then there’s life experience — or the lack of it — that might otherwise help young Chinese to gain a perspective outside the government’s viewpoint. Young urban Chinese study hard and that’s pretty much it. Volunteer work, sports, church groups, debate teams, musical skills and other extracurricular activities don’t factor into college admission, so few participate. And the government’s control of society means there aren’t many non-state-run groups to join anyway. Even the most basic American introduction to real life — the summer job — rarely exists for urban students in China.

Recent Chinese college graduates are an optimistic group. And why not? The economy has grown at a double-digit rate for as long as they can remember. Those who speak English are guaranteed good jobs. Their families own homes. They’ll soon own one themselves, and probably a car too. A cellphone, an iPod, holidays — no problem. Small wonder the Pew Research Center in Washington described the Chinese in 2005 as “world leaders in optimism.”

As for political repression, few young Chinese experience it. Most are too young to remember the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 and probably nobody has told them stories. China doesn’t feel like a police state, and the people young Chinese read about who do suffer injustices tend to be poor — those who lost homes to government-linked property developers without fair compensation or whose crops failed when state-supported factories polluted their fields.

Educated young Chinese are therefore the biggest beneficiaries of policies that have brought China more peace and prosperity than at any time in the past thousand years. They can’t imagine why Tibetans would turn up their noses at rising incomes and the promise of a more prosperous future. The loss of a homeland just doesn’t compute as a valid concern.

Of course, the nationalism of young Chinese may soften over time. As college graduates enter the work force and experience their country’s corruption and inefficiency, they often grow more critical. It is received wisdom in China that people in their 40s are the most willing to challenge their government, and the Tibet crisis bears out that observation. Of the 29 ethnic-Chinese intellectuals who last month signed a widely publicized petition urging the government to show restraint in the crackdown, not one was under 30.

Barring major changes in China’s education system or economy, Westerners are not going to find allies among the vast majority of Chinese on key issues like Tibet, Darfur and the environment for some time. If the debate over Tibet turns this summer’s contests in Beijing into the Human Rights Games, as seems inevitable, Western ticket-holders expecting to find Chinese angry at their government will instead find Chinese angry at them.

Matthew Forney, a former Beijing bureau chief for Time, is writing a book about raising his family in China.

Rainy Day

Jakarta has been pounded by the downpours lately. It seems to be easily foretold that Jakarta is going to enjoy a heavy downpour every afternoon around 3pm. It causes much chaos for the travelers and those living along the river banks. The streets in Jakarta are swamped by filthy rubbish and dirty water due to bad drainages, and many people are clogged in evenly awful traffic jams. What has made me amazed by Jakarta is that its perennial traffic congestion. A trip in the city during peak hours might be trammeled because of road conditions, reckless attitudes, and the overcrowding numbers of vehicles. During the rainy season the condition is getting worse which force people to take everything into account. I reckon God the Almighty seems to remind all Jakartans to keep their environments clean. No littering and all rubbish must go to the rubbish bins.

Nevertheless, Jakarta is also facing its own problems. The ditches along the road are never cleaned regularly. The local authorities tend to close their eyes that the water tunnels are bottlenecked by the enormous amount of human rubbish. When a flood occurs, many parties blame one another. The Jakarta’s politicians argue that there is a “package” of massive water from Bogor, a hilly neigbouring region, Southern part of Jakarta. Within only a two hour torrential rain, some parts of Jakarta is inundated by muddy water that flows freely into many residential areas and offices. Jakarta is paralyzed. The flood can burst the river banks and sweep all the inhabitants away. Many people are drifted to homeless. Flood is like an annual ritual which people only remember when it comes, then when it goes away they forget about every misery during its presence. People begin throwing all rubbish everywhere, and rivers function as the longest rubbish bin and lavatory. When a heavy downpour comes, people pathetically celebrate their annual rite.

The less fortunate who live in a shanty area are forced to leave their homes. They become homeless and need serious concern from the government. The fortunate groups can go to the 5 star hotels and pay their stay in luxury. They can take refuge in these sorts of places, while many have-nots have to stay in refugees' camps or in some public facilities. I remember back then that there was a landlord who ordered his three maidens to stay at his partially flooded homes in the midst of heavy downpours. Selfishly, the landlord and his family took refuge to a five-star hotel in the downtown. He did not think that his home was submerged by the flood, left his three maidens in there. Luckily, the rescue team came to help them. The television channels captured this terrible accurence where an egoistic person couldn't take others' fate into sincere consideration. Well, we have to learn more wisdoms from the mother-nature. We should not destroy our earth on which we have been living and enjoying its love.

Ciputat, 10/04/2008

The prohibition of disseminating Fitna

Last night, I got a text from my best friend, Imam. He said that Pengajian's website (www.menebarhikmah.multiply.com) is suddenly blocked in Indonesia due to the spread of Fitna in the Internet world. He also told me that whoever disseminates the film to public domains will be charged for the blasphemy against religion. Those who committed this crime will be sentenced in jail for a maximum of 5 years. Having read the following news from Kompas, my heart started beating more intensely, since I have already put the film in this blog! Gosh, there is a danger of ignorance. How people know that I spread the film to incure bad images of Islam, while my intention is actually to encourage people to judge that the film is no more than cheap propaganda against Islam.

Thanks to Imam that I have read the article on Kompas. I quote an argument below from the newspapers that has caused me trapped in the sudden blow of trembling:

"Untuk para penyebar film Fitna ini, karena masuk dalam kategori pidana umum, maka penyidikan dilakukan oleh Kepolisian. Kejaksaan, nantinya hanya bertugas sebagai penuntut. "Sampai hari ini belum ada laporan (penyebar disidik polisi)".

[Trans: For those who disseminates the film, Fitna. Since the action is regarded as civil offence, the investigation will be conducted by the police. The attorney, later, will only act as a prosecutor. Up to now there is yet a report about (the offender being investigated by the police)].

Today, I had to drop off the content of the film from my blog although I suffered from a pang of sadness. I don't expect that someone will misunderstand my basic intention to gain proporsional perspectives on viewing Islam. I need to stimulate people's knowledge about the true face of Islam. Is Islam a religion of peace or a religion of fascism? Then, I also checked the pengajian's website on which I often surf to update the pictures of Indonesian Muslims in Melbourne. I was surprised and shocked that the website couldn't be accessed as usual.

I questioned myself as to why this webpage denied to be accessed. The web provides information on the discussion of two classical Arabic books which are full of moderate values: tanbih al-Ghafilin and Nasha'ih al-Ibad. Pengajian is a kind of Islamic discussion circle attended by Indonesian Muslims to learn from rudimentary materials up to advanced subjects of Islam. Our discussion is by and large around the beauty of Islam and how Indonesian diaspora is represented nicely in the foreign land. I believe, Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the world recently.

Below are two news about the ban of some websites and the legal consequence of whomever disseminating the film. The former is an announcement from Telkom (State telecomunication agency), and the latter is a brief article from Kompas (Indonesian newspapers). Both articles are written in the Bahasa:
===========================================================================

(1) 08 April 2008 09:10:28 ( Sys Admin TSDC )

Mohon maaf, untuk saat ini situs-situs dan blog yang memuat Film Fitna kami blokir atas permintaan Menteri Komunikasi dan Informasi No.84/M.KOMINFO/ 04/08 tanggal 2 April 2008.
Situs dan blog yang ditutup:
* Youtube
* MySpace
* Metacafe
* Rapidshare
* Multiply
* Liveleak
* Themoviefitna. com

Situs-situs dan blog tersebut tidak akan bisa diakses hingga ada pemberitahuan lebih lanjut. Mohon maaf atas ketidaknyamanan ini.

Terimakasih
PT Telkom Indonesia Tbk.5:33 PM
===============================================================================

Penyebar Film Fitna Dikenakan Pasal Penodaan Agama
Selasa, 8 April 2008 | 20:58 WIB
JAKARTA, SELASA - Hati-hati bagi anda yang masih nekat menyebarkan film Fitna. Kejaksaaan dan Kepolisian telah mempersiapkan jerat hukum bagi penyebar film Fitna. Tak tanggung-tanggung, pasal yang bakal dikenakan adalah pasal penodaan atau penistaan agama. Yakni pasal 156a KUHP dengan ancaman maksimal 5 tahun penjara.

"Untuk yang menyebarkan film Fitna, bisa dikenakan pasal 156a KUHP. Termasuk penistaan agama," tegas Jaksa Agung Muda Intelijen (Jamintel) Wisnu Subroto seusai menjadi pembicara dalam seminar yang dilaksanakan Pusat Pendidikan dan Latihan (Pusdiklat) Kejagung di Ragunan, Jakarta, Selasa (8/4).

Penegasan serupa juga telah disampaikan Wakil Jaksa Agung Muchtar Arifin. Menurut Muchtar, film Fitna tersebut bisa mengancam kententraman dan ketertiban masyarakat. Dalihnya, mayoritas warga Indonesia adalah Muslim. "Bisa dikenakan pasal penodaan agama," terang Muchtar.

Dijelaskan Wisnu, pemerintah telah meminta Departemen Komunikasi dan Informasi (Depkominfo) untuk melakukan pemblokiran terhadap akses internet yang menjadi media penyebaran film yang dibuat oleh anggota parlemen Belanda Geert Wilders.

Untuk para penyebar film Fitna ini, karena masuk dalam kategori pidana umum, maka penyidikan dilakukan oleh Kepolisian. Kejaksaan, nantinya hanya bertugas sebagai penuntut. "Sampai hari ini belum ada laporan (penyebar disidik polisi)," ujar Wisnu. (Persda Network/yls)
[Source: http://kompas.com/index.php/read/xml/2008/04/08/20581610/penyebar.film.fitna.dikenakan.pasal.penodaan.agama]
===========================================================================
Ciputat, 9/8/2008

Passive smooking

This morning, as used to be, I went to the campus by a public transport. I was surprised the road was not that packed by the vehicles. My trip went smoothly. Only one thing that really annoyed me, that was a smoker sitting next to me. I couldn't believe how a person could stand in the crowd without having feeling of empathy. He seemed to ignore how disturbing he was with a stick of smoky cigarette. Even he enjoyed inhaling and exhaling smoke as if he was living alone with nobody around. A smooth trip seemed so distressful by such a show of puff. Yes, I do not smoke, and I never try to taste the elegance of smoking. An advertisement says that “pria punya selera” (a man has desire) referring to male-smokers who know how to choose the best tobacco quality. I am not impressed by this whatsoever. However, I never detest those who like smoking. I just want them to smoke at the right time and in the right place.

The Jakarta government launched a smoking bylaw couple years ago. The regulation stated that those who commit infringement would be fined up to Rp 50 million. The government established an anti-smoking body that swept smokers in some public areas including public transports. I happened to watch the news on a television channel about its implementaion, I saw local officers in uniform requested smokers in no-smoking areas to butt off the cigerette and gave up their ID cards. Many refused to do so. They argued that they were not criminals and there was no reason to put them in prison or pay unrealistic fine. For sometimes, the numbers of smokers in no-smoking areas dicreased. I did not see many smokers litting their cigarettes inside the malls or public buildings.

Unfortunately, such a regulation gleamingly ceased and it was seen as merely a lip-service campaign. The funniest part of the regulation was that the fine fee which was unlikely practical. Many people were pessimistic and many more mocked this mumbo-jumbo regulation. Many pointed their fingers at some people working at the parliament house where they used to smoke in the air-con rooms. During seminal meetings, people representatives ignorantly showed their ghastly attitudes, such as having chat, sleeping, sending texts, reading newspapers, and smoking!!! Eventually, people started forgetting the bylaw and began returning to their uncivilized habits. This is a matter of who is giving a good example. Is there no an exemplary person in this republic to show respect to the values of humanity?

As a passive smoker, I felt much annoyed and oppressed. I believed that I could not pass on my personal grievance to a government body. Better to keep it in my personal world. Believe it or not, sometimes ago, in 2003, there was research conducted by two researchers from the University of California and the State University of New York. They investigated hundred thousands of nonsmoker adults who were married to active smokers. The data were taken from the American Cancer Society (ACS). They found out that those who were passive smokers living with active smokers were not at high risk of heart attack and lung cancer. They argued that passive smoking is not a perilous.

According to their analysis of this group, passive smoking (by inhaling a spouse's cigarette smoke) wasn't significantly associated with an increased risk of death from coronary heart disease or lung cancer at any time or at any level of exposure. From this finding, the researchers suggested that passive smoking could not generate the 30 per cent increased risk of coronary heart disease. Instead, they were of the opinion that the passive smoking might cause a much smaller effect. But the American Cancer Society (ACS) - the organisation whose data was used - has strongly disapproved the finding. They criticized the fact that the study was funded by the tobacco industry and supported by the now defunct Centre for Indoor Air Research (CIAR) - a group funded and founded by cigarette companies.

Again I would not condemn the smokers. Instead, I would like to call on them to pay attention to the people around them. Smoking is very much annoying if they can feel how the passive smokers feel. I believe tobacco industries have contributed billions of rupiahs to the government and have absorbed hundred thousands of workers. Closing them down is not a wise solution. The best action might be taken is through the implementation of regulation seriously. Educating the smokers through law enforcement sounds a good idea. More importantly, the regulation must hammer all offenders equally if they are found guilty for infringing the ban of smoking in the designated areas. I was astonished by the fact that many Indonesian heavy smoking friends in Australia obeyed the ban of smoking in no-smoking areas. I had to thumb up for their good attitude towards the regulation. However, such attitudes just went with the wind when they got back to Indonesia. Back to their "nature", they enjoyed a great freedom for smokers. Then, welcome to the smoking country whose big cities are full of air pollution.

It seems somewhat cliche to hope people behave themselves. Anyway, I am looking forward to enjoying clean air and comfortable atmosphere whereever I go. The underlying question is WHEN?

Ciputat, 8/4/08

The World in Irony

“Apapun bisa happening, “Towards a World Class University”, Towards a Cyber Campus, or “English Speaking Islamic Kindergarten” are among texts ubiquitous in every corner of many growing cities in Indonesia. This phenomenon seems obvious that internationalization means “Englishation” in all utterances. All eye-catching brands are created to entice people’s appetite to taste the products. My curiosity emerges when I see all product offers are written and advertised in English or at least uses a mixed language. Parents are very proud to encourage their children to study at a school that uses English as their daily language. A mother of a toddler who is studying at an Islamic kindergarten told that his son is a great student, as he is able to speak English. Ironically, many parents are not concerned about the degree to which their children behave emotionally and spiritually. These two capacities are seemingly not among the most pivotal concern for a modern education. Parents put weight on the development of intellectual domain instead.

“Yang penting English”, everything but English has become a modern maxim to promote a modern life style. A person will be judged on the basis of his or her English proficiency. He or she will be seen as a “gaul” person, an all-around person, who is accepted in wider communal interactions. Someone with lack of English ability will not be regarded as a member of the globalized world. This seems unfair and pitiless. Six years ago, back then, I was doubt about a possible emergence of language imperialism. In my opinion, imperialism had to be tangible and involved oppression against the people of a colony. However, this mindset has proved me wrong. Imperialism also engages a great deal of language functions. A language bears multifaceted dimensions including ethics, values, norms, cultures, beliefs, and social attitudes. The domination of English seems overwhelming in Indonesia. Sooner or later, we are going to witness the death of many local languages, even the loss of national language. Obviously, there is a hegemonical process involved in the spread of English as a world-wide icon.

Language imperialism "involves the transfer of a dominant language to other peoples. The transfer is essentially a demonstration of power--traditionally military power but also in the modern world economic power--and aspects of the dominant culture are usually transferred along with the language" [source]. Language imperialism is one kind of cultural imperialism that is the practice of promoting, distinguishing, separating, or artificially injecting the culture or language of one nation into another. It is usually the case that the former is a large, economically or militarily powerful nation and the latter is a smaller, less important one. Cultural imperialism can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude. The term is usually used in a pejorative sense, usually in conjunction with a call to reject foreign influence [source]. People all around the world are dragged into a uniformity of cultures. For example, they way people wear clothes is uniformed through world fashion which definitely has banished the appearance of local-traditional clothes. Young generations in many underdeveloped countries prefer junk food to traditional one. Having lunch at Warteg ( a kind of local food stall) is deemed out-of-date. This phenomenon seems to be cultural imperialism. Imperialism necessitates two inequal entities. The former is powerful, dominant, and advanced equipping themselves with technology and power over the world. While the latter is weak, recepient, and permissive. The use of new information technology pacilitates the inability of a superior culture to surpress the weak culture. I think the demis of many local dialects and languages in Indonesia due to the introduction of the Bahasa is also a kind of language imperialism.


Powerful cultures along with their ambission to conquer the world impose their values and norms including the language into the conquered. No wonder, many Muslim scholars during the Dutch time, rejected to learn, to speak, and let alone to support their educational institutions to teach English or Dutch. They argued that if someone emulated performance of a certain group, he or she would automatically become a member of this group. They were afraid that the new Muslim generation would be washed out by Dutch traditions. This thought gripped deeply in the Indonesian-Muslim’s mindset for decades. Even today, there are still few pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) avoid teaching secular sciences and foreign languages other than Arabic. The fallacy is developed through the imposition of English in many under developed countries. Among fallacies that are often heard are English is the best language, English is the language of advanced nations, and so on. For further discussion about imperialism and hegemony, we can read Galtung's and Gramsci's books.

Be that as it may, today’s lives have been engrossed into an era where the world has no physical border anymore. Any country or nation hardly attempts to shut down its ideological gate to prevent the influence of many new cultural and ideological players. The influx of information, services, and goods, be that positive or negative, is the reality that we cannot easily oppose or select. The most effective screening device used to opt for good and suitable choices to the nation’s characters is the community itself. The more knowledgeable the community, the more aware they are in selecting good materials for the sake of national character building. As long as a community submit themselves to the local wisdom for the best of their communal identity, they will be able to discern between the real goat and the wolf, and determine which is good for their future. It is imperative that all members of the community understand the goal of their life. Unfortunately, as a nation, Indonesia has yet to recognize its own ultimate goal. Many crooks tend to abort every good will that is dedicated to promoting the quality and the welfare of the nation.

With copious natural and human resources, oddly enough Indonesia is like a dwarf among the giants. Some politicians sometimes entertain the people by saying that Indonesia is the big country, the rich archipelago, and the great place for a great nation. Nevertheless, we cannot manage all this blessing wisely. Some neighboring countries and advanced nations suck up the treasure of this nation and leave it as a bare island with empty-handed people. There are many illustrations that push us to feel a great poignancy, such as illegal loggings, corruption, collusion, and nepotism. These practices have caused a structural poverty where many deprived and marginalized people live even in more desperation while rich minorities enjoy their extravagant privilege. An irony is also found when a maid stole Rp 16 billion or a servant assisted by his girl friend who happened to be a maid stole Rp 500 million from their master. The second culprit was caught by the police and admitted that he stole the jewelry and the money because he needed the money for the wedding party they planned. Such an irony might occur because many poor force themselves to adopt an alien life style that satisfies their imagination. They are already bored by a prolonged and miserable poverty and hunger. They need a shortcut to create their dreams. By daydreaming to be a rich is excruciatingly painful when realizing much injustice is so palpable before our eyes. The world is indeed full of irony.

Ciputat, 8/4/08

Muslim's reaction

As it has already been predicted, Fitna, a film by Geert Wilders has inticed a blaze of anger among many people, specially Muslims. The film has successfully provoked a wide furore and public reaction against the freedom of expression which denigrate the holiness of Islam. I personally do agree that every individual must have freedom as long as their freedom does not transgress the rules of game in the social life. We can do whatever we like and get whatever we want. Nonetheless, this must not be done by destroying others' rights.

We live in a global village in which all nations in the world are interconnected. An occurence that might happen in a remote island in this globe will not be missed out from our ears and eyes due to the most advanced technology. Information is instantly disseminated throughout every tunnel of the world. The world is becoming shrinking and distance becomes so relative. There is no physical barrier as such to get instant information.

Wilders' ten minute film has caused an excruciating hurt in the bottom of many pious Muslim. However, for the most pious, this film and any kind of harsh insult against their religion is only a test befalling them from Allah. A test that measures the degree of patience and integrity. As Muslims, we must be pissed off and feel insulted by this depiction. However, our anger must not be reflected through imprudent ways and childish actions.

This repeats a bit similar film "Submission" made by Theo van Gogh, who was murdered by Mohammed Bouyeri on 2 November 2004. Working from a script written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, van Gogh created the 10-minute movie Submission. The movie deals with the topic of violence against women in Islamic societies; telling the stories of four abused Muslim women. The title itself, "Submission", is a translation of the word "Islam" into English. In the film, women's naked bodies are veiled with semi-transparent shrouds as they kneel in prayer, telling their stories as if they are speaking to Allah. Qur'anic verses unfavourable to women are projected onto their bodies in Arabic. In August 2004, after the movie's broadcast on Dutch public TV, newspaper De Volkskrant reported on claims of plagiarism against Hirsi Ali and Van Gogh, made by internet journalist Francisco van Jole.

Van Jole said the duo had "aped" the ideas of Iranian-American video artist Shirin Neshat. Neshat's work, which made abundant use of Arabic text projected onto bodies, had been shown in the Netherlands in 1997 and 2000. After the broadcast of Submission, Van Gogh and Hirsi Ali also received death threats. Van Gogh did not take these very seriously and refused any protection, reportedly telling Ayaan Hirsi Ali: "Nobody kills the village idiot", a term he frequently used to refer to himself. He was shot dead and stabbed. The murderer pinned the knife down his throat and left two knives stabbed on his torso. Many believe that he was dead as a martyr for the freedom of expression [Source].

"I hate Islam not Muslims" becomes a seemingly widely accepted sentence when people like Wilders and van Gogh are to describe Islam. They make every attempt to persuade people that the Qur'an is not in tandem with the modern time. It is still locked in the past. All messages in the Qur'an are merely contextual agreeable with the reminiscents of the ancient time. The misunderstanding of Islam is perhaps due to our ignorance about the whole truth of Islam. What Islam has brought to the beauty of human civilization seems to be overlooked.

There is a simple yet a difficult question to be answered about why there are still many people who still misunderstand about Islam? Are they ignorant and stupid people? I don't think so. They are intellectual and renowned for their knowledge and expertise. I suspect that this is because of our own misbehaviour when we have to represent Islam in our daily lives. We tend to show our easily fragmented society through bickering over trivial matters. We ignore the unity of Muslim communities, and we cannot adept the soil on which we stand. We seem to fly and never touch the ground. We also tend to blame others when something wrong happens, but never inwardly look into our own selves. Unity and friendship are the main pillars if we want to introduce Islam along with its "rahmatan lil'alamin" (mercy for the entire universe) character.

Just have a glance at the following film by van Gogh which is based on Hirsi Ali's description about Islam. In her opinion, Islam humiliates the rights of women. God, never listens an oppressed women in the film when she underwent bitter life. In this film, the women is shown dressing a black shroud with a semi-transparent front. She is standing on the prayer mat like doing a prayer while the semi-transparent front expossing her naked body.



Ciputat, 6 April 2008

The Most Prohibited Film

A controversy film by Geert Wilders


After I commented on a film "the Verses of Love" which articulates nicely Islam as a moderate and peaceful religion, there is yet an antagonist film against Islam being distributed widely quite recently. It seems to me that the world is always splitted into two parts. So as the products of human beings. Not only do we have to see a positive picture of this life, but also we have to realize that there are people from different angles see this reality differently.

Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician made a controversy film which illustrates the barbaric and outrageous face of Islam. This film has stirred public dismay among Muslims, as this film has drawn a simplistic view of Islam. We have to know that through the course of history Islam is not a monolithic religion with a single school of thought. By all means it is a blasphemy against Islam as a religion of peace. For many, the religions of Abraham have different Gods. Some believe that God of Islam is barbaric and uncivilized. When President Bush said during a November 2003 press conference. He believed Christians and Muslims "worship the same God," as a result, evangelical leaders reacted strongly, with one leading Southern Baptist figure calling the president "simply mistaken."


As a member of the anti-immigration Freedom Party (PVV), Wilders also proposed the ban of the Qur'an in the Netherlands. He believes that the Qur'an is a book full of atrocious calls against Jews and Christians. In last August 2007, he called upon the prohibition of the Qur'an in the country. Wilders said some of the text's verses teach Muslims "to oppress, persecute or kill Christians, Jews, dissidents and non-believers, to beat and rape women and to establish an Islamic state by force." For him, the Qur'an is a fascist book, a violent book that brings a lot of tensions. It condones crimes against humanity. Therefore, a new moderate Qur'an is needed for today's lives. He opined that the inovation of the New Testament is very good, since it contains more moderate teachings; something that Islam must follow suit.

He foresaw the threats from two directions, the ideology of Islam and the growing number of Muslims. Hence, he urged the halt of Muslim immigration to the Netherlands, since Muslims would live different life to that of the Dutch. The influx of Muslims from any Muslim countries must be stopped, since they tend to escalate the tension of civilizational clash. He referred his opinion to an academic polling result where around 40 percent Moroccan born Dutch in their 20's are against the establishment of democracy. Rather, they support the shari'ah or Islamic law to be implemented in the Netherlands.

He was very worry about the fact that Muslims are the fast-growing population in the Netherlands. According to survey results, Dutch people are aware about the inter-religious situation in their country, where one in every 16 citizens is a member of Islamic faith. Previously, in portraying the increased population of Muslims in the Netherlands, Wilders says:

"Take a walk down the street and see where this is going. You no longer feel like you are living in your own country. There is a battle going on and we have to defend ourselves. Before you know it there will be more mosques than churches!" For further interview, you can see at this link. It has been obvious that Islam runs very fast as a world religion.

The Jakarta Post, March 31, 2008 reported the growing number of Muslims in the world that has outnumbered the Catholics. Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single religious denomination in the world. Monsignor Vittorio Formenti found that Muslims made up 19.2 percent of the world's population and Catholics 17.4 percent. This is the first time in history. Anyway, Wilders seems to be very ignorant about a potential blaze in which communal conflicts are possible if he always positions himself as the crusader against Islam. Blaming Islam as the piece of vilain for every chaos and social unrest is very much foolish. Freedom of expression is good in one way or another, but not all.

Just have a look the most gruesome film below, and let's see whether or not his film is going to be a blockbuster or just a blocked-bastard?: