Without Love, We Are Nothing

(published in The Jakarta Post on 25 July 2009. Click here)

The bombers of the Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotel at Jakarta last week made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of their faith.

Talking about faith will always bring us to two different perspectives. We could say what the bombers did was wrong, evil, brutal, ferocious and against humanity. We could condemn the attack as well as curse the bombers infuriatingly. But, should the bombers still be alive and we could ask them why they did it, they would firmly say that they did it as exalted act.

They dedicated their whole life to religion or even to God Almighty. They let themselves be killed as martyr because it was a stairway to heaven. Why? Because they believed their faith demanded it as a holy duty.

Who could have told them they followed a deviated path and why they should have turned to the right path, such as ours? Who could have convinced them that what they believed was wrong, and conversely our beliefs were right?

We could have opened any religious books and shared our principles with them, then convinced them that terror was against all religions principles, but believe me that they also had their own principles to which they were wholeheartedly devoted. We could have asked them for repentance but they would have defended their faith at any cost because faith is the highest entity of any religions and people are willing to die for it.

We may have enough faith to move mountains, but if we do not have love, we are nothing. We could give away all of our possessions, even hand over our body to be burned, but without love, we actually gain nothing. These advice came from a man who was initially so vicious but then repented due to the touch of love.

We can practice our faith without love, but love will never be practiced at the same time as hatred. We can practice our faith with selfishness, but love rejects selfishness since love always gives sincerely. We often practice our faith while judging others, but Mother Teresa said: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

The bombers breached the two hotels’ tight security perfectly. They accomplished their holy duty according to their faith for which they deserved a martyrdom status, but was their devoted militancy inspired by love?

They never knew the bomb they detonated would create such deep misery for all the victims. They never knew a baby-boy was born fatherless because his father, Evert Mocodompis, the banquet chef of JW Marriott hotel, had been killed by the bomb at that day.

So whatever we do, whatever our faith requires us to do, should it contradict with principle of love? How could we claim to be practicing the faith while doing violence at the same time? “Non-violence is the article of faith,” said Mohandas Gandhi. It means if faith walks together with violence, it is doubted as the true faith because true faith and love springs from one source, i.e. God who is also love.

Faith, again, can always be seen from two different perspectives, but love only seen from a single perspective because love is universal. We, regardless our religion, will agree that love heals and does not injure, love forgives and does not punish, love revives and does not kill, love creates peace and does not detonate a bomb.

Now the bombers had already gone, gone where we will never know, but the mastermind may be watching TV today with smile and pride because they succeeded in breaching security and killing those who they judged as infidels. Although they continue to spread fears among people, we don’t need to bow down to the terror and being paranoid. Life should go on as usual because our paranoia will grant them victory.

The bombers gained praise as martyrs from their supporters, the victims gained love as ordinary people from their families, relatives and sympathizers. If I could, I would choose to have a love rather than praise, although I am only an ordinary man today, and would die someday still an ordinary man. Why? Because love lasts forever, while praise only until death.

***
Serpong, 22 July 2009
Titus J.

Trust That Leads to SBY Victory

(published in The Jakarta Post on 16 July 2009. Click here)

Deng Xiaoping, the prominent reform leader of China once said: "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice."

These days, our people seem to be applying Deng's principle. It doesn't matter if Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)-Boediono pair carry a neo-liberal economic policies, so long as the people's welfare is improved, poverty is alleviated, unemployment is mitigated, political and security stability is guaranteed, business runs well and the economy remains to grow amid the global economic downturn.

The neo-liberalism accusation itself, made by their rivals to reduce their electability still creates pros and cons and debate about whether it really exists in Indonesia. Particularly, whether SBY-Boediono is supporters of this principle remains debatable. I (and may be most other people) are wondering if the neo-liberalism is like rapacious devil that we have to curse. But, again, referring to Deng, does it really matter?

In regard to the presidential election, far before voting day, each individual actually had a preferred choice. It was what I found whenever I chatted with friends or listened to other people while they were nongkrong (hanging-out) at a warung (street-food stall). Campaign, advertisements and debates are just common tools in every election. But, could all of those things change what people already had in their mind? Several surveys told us that the numbers of people that had switched their choice to another candidate after those tools materialized was not significant.

People were being motionless on their stance to vote for SBY-Boediono despite any attempts to disgrace their reputation. In fact, the majority of voters admitted they voted for SBY-Boediono because of Indonesia's economic sustainability, stabilization on national security, achievement in corruption eradication, total reform in taxation and their clean images.

The two rivals kept attacking him during their campaigns and the televised debates, even till the last minute where they complained about the problematic electoral roll to the General Election Commission (KPU) and the Constitutional Court (MK).

The aggressiveness of SBY's rivals in accusing him of conspiring with the KPU for organizing an unfair election only created the public impression that SBY was being persecuted. Since Indonesians are such sentimental people they would show their tenderness to SBY. Wow, so melancholic.

Mega-Prabowo's harsh criticism toward SBY's economy policy vanished in the air because people saw nothing but a rhetorical voice without a concrete policy proposal to tackle the economy. It was the same thing with the "change" slogan bombastically promoted by Prabowo where they were only accepted by people with skepticism.

The Jusuf Kalla (JK)-Wiranto pair that promoted the slogan "the faster the better" was also not sellable. It was the same thing with their promotion to be a mandiri (autonomous) country and archipelagic pair (pasangan nusantara - where JK is Bugis and Wiranto is Javanese).

It was so clear then, that the election is more than just strategy. All three pairs had sophisticated strategies. They were each supported by a campaign team that consisted of prominent experts that designed strategies to win the battle. But the most important thing is that the people voted someone because of their trust.

As the old saying goes; past behavior will predict future, it can be applied to the last presidential election, too. The key factors that led SBY-Boediono to victory could be simplified by one word: trust.

***

Serpong, 13 July 2009
Titus J.

We Are Proud as Indonesians

(published in The Jakarta Post on 10 July 2009. Click here)

I should be proud of my country, Indonesia, as a Southeast Asian country that is advancing its democracy progressively, despite its economy trailing behind other more developed countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Yes, while it is true the elite and ordinary people sometimes display craziness that exasperates us, and rampant corruption is still an obstacle embarrassing us as a nation, in terms of democracy, Indonesia is more mature.
This we should defend at any cost.

I remember when I visited Kuala Lumpur two years ago, my guide (who was a native Malaysian) told me he was amazed by Indonesia's democracy and press freedom, and in particular by how Indonesians were brave enough to open the gates of democracy while many people living in the country were still struggling against poverty.
In other words, other countries are surprised to see how Indonesians were determined to hurry in a wind of change after Soeharto's dictatorship collapsed in 1998. He admitted his government was not as brave as Indonesia's. In terms of press freedom, he said his government had no choice but to control the press as the fourth pillar of democracy.

One of indicators proving democracy in Indonesia has grown and worked is the fact that campaigns ran relatively smoothly and peacefully, and people could choose their representatives and leaders freely at the three general elections during the reformation era, 1999, 2004 and 2009.

The most historic event that shows Indonesia is leading the countries mentioned above is the direct presidential election conducted in 2004.

The decline of the military's dominance after Suharto stepped down in 1998 is another leap for our democracy. Military and police institutions are no longer involved in Indonesian politics since civilian rule has been promoted. The way the government runs the country is more transparent as many watchdog organizations have been established to monitor authority.

According to a World Audit 1) (an international not-for-profit organization that provides a truly global geopolitical perspective on democracy, political rights, civil liberties, press freedom, human rights and corruption) report released in October 2008, Indonesia's democracy scored 70 - the range goes from 1 to 150, with lower scores preferable - far better than Philippines (88), Thailand (86), Malaysia (82) and Singapore (74).
Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar had the worse scores, with 126, 141 and 150 respectively.

The report confirmed that Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population, has done a quantum leap in establishing democracy within the last 10 years.
It also refutes the theory that democracy can only be established in developed countries where people are free from poverty and well educated.

In term of press freedom, Indonesia leads the pack with a score of 86, ahead of Malaysia and Singapore that scored in 104 and 111 respectively.
The press has grown even stronger with the implementation of tools to control government officials as well as lawmakers in the House of Representatives, which have dragged many elite figures to jail on corruption-related charges.

We experienced our second direct presidential election. As many as 170 million eligible voters enthusiastically exercised their right to vote for their preferred pair of candidates. It is a beautiful day for Indonesian people because our right to choose whomever we wish to become our next president/vice president has been guaranteed.

It is not a simple thing to organize elections considering our geographic situation - a huge area separated into thousands of islands - and the various education backgrounds and social/economic status of Indonesian people across the country. However, we have proved we could do it today!

We should celebrate not who might be the winner, but our growing democracy that makes us a great nation where mature people live proudly.

***

Note:
1. World Audit Organization (http://www.worldaudit.org/) brings together statistics and reports from highly respected agencies such as Freedom House, Transparency International, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and The International Commission of Jurists.

***
Serpong, 8 July 2009
Titus J.