Titus Jonathan's Stories

My 80 years old father in law is a coffee lover. A cup of coffee is his mandatory daily menu in the morning that makes his face brighter every day. It’s no problem with his stomach though he drinks coffee without eats anything in the morning. Thanks God for blessing him with incredible health in his 80s. Please don’t get a wrong perception. A coffee for him is just a coffee a la ‘ kopi tubruk ’. I don’t know where the terminology of ‘ kopi tubruk ’ came from, but, as we’ve known it is an opposite from a modern coffee that usually served in contemporary coffee shops or cafes such as espresso, cappuccino, lattes, etc. Towards those coffee varieties, my father in law definitely d oes not know at all. So, coffee for him is just as simple as two spoons of ground coffee plus two spoons of sugar mixed with hot water in a cup. Three of those then be stirred-up to make it ready to drink. A pack of ground coffee with 250 gram can make about twenty cup of coffee for my father in law. The price pe...

I would like to praise Indonesian film industry for the achievement within past ten years. Honestly, I have no appetite at all to watch Indonesian movie before. Indonesian movie, to me, at that time was like a coffin that slowly going down to grave. Indonesian movie was dead. But, then Garin Nugroho, Riri Reza, Mira Lesmana, Nia Dinata, Rudi Soedjarwo, Joko Anwar and other potential film directors came and breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of the film industry. The film industry became alive and milestone has been piled ever since. In term of quality, Indonesian movie is doing a quantum leap. Compare to 1980’s era, when the Indonesian movies dominated with vulgar sex exploitation and mystical content, today we look at different face of the Indonesian movies which deserves our two thumbs up. The appearance of those film directors that coloring the film industry with a better quality and creativity has made Indonesian movies are able to speak proudly in international competit...

(published in The Jakarta Post on 26 August 2009) Ramadan is not only a holy month but also a beautiful month for Muslims. It is beautiful because Ramadan offers peace and smiles. Imagine if we could see smiles everywhere, every day, every moment and on everyone, what more could we hope for in our lives today? During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. This is one of the five compulsory principles of Islam. Fasting is not only abstaining from food and drink, because the poor do that in their daily lives. "We don't need to wait until Ramadan, because fasting is our life. We have no option but to eat only once a day," they say. Fasting is not only to refrain from lust either, because lust can be controlled without fasting. Ramadan, the holy and beautiful month, brings values into focus. Ramadan makes people wise and unselfish, because Ramadan teaches them to share with others. Share a part of their possessions, share happiness, share sympathy and share love and ...

(a message from Noordin M. Top) I just imagine that Noordin M. Top watched TV when Densus-88 ambushed the house in Temanggung and Jatiasih Bekasi on 8 August 2009. He then sent a message to his accomplices said: My fellow jihadists, Just lay your face downward on the ground where you stand on right now. These days are tough days for us as we are now hunted with the utmost endeavor from the security forces. Be vigilant! Don’t let your eyes closed. Some of our confidants had been killed and arrested within past few days, others are scattered. Don’t take risk by showing up yourselves in public. You see the ambush in Temanggung that ended with the killing of Ibrohim and raid in Jatiasih Bekasi last week? That’s because of carelessness. You knew that carelessness is unforgiven matter in this game. A bit of carelessness would crush our plan and kill us – one by one! Don’t ever underestimate the Densus-88 . They, the damned smart and brilliant counterterrorism squad of Indonesian police have ...

(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 co...

(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. Bu...

(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 Soeha...

The current presidential race actually much interesting compared to the 2004 election. The General Election Commission (KPU) is more creative by organizing 5 rounds of presidential/vice presidential televised debates, the event that gives the candidates chance to act their best performances in front of public. Like the Indonesian Idol – a singing contest among the teenagers across the country whom the winner is picked by the voters through sms (short message service), the presidential/vice presidential candidates polish their images for the best endeavor in order to be voted by the audiences. Unfortunately, the attractive race nowadays has been tainted by several sentiments using religious symbols which supposedly out from practical politics. Firstly, after all three candidates announced their readiness for the race, the deputy secretary general of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Zulkieflimansyah said that popularity of JK-Wiranto duet has been increasing due to their wives wearing ...

(published in The Jakarta Post on 23 June 2009. Click here ) The rare show is now coming to our home. Let's finish our work earlier and come home soon, sit down in front of the TV and enjoy it as within two coming weeks we will be entertained by a much-awaited show ahead of the presidential election that is scheduled on July 8. The show, titled "Presidential debate" is considered as a historic event for Indonesia since it will present all of the presidential/vice presidential candidates by face to face, and aired by several TV stations as a live event. People, regardless of their status and profession, enthusiastically watched the first debate on June 18 that presented Megawati Soekarnoputri, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla. Although the event is quite interesting, we didn't see the real debate as expected since the three candidates tended to be bold and underline the rival's view, no challenges toward the description that was presented by each. The nuan...

(published in The Jakarta Post on 11 June 2009. Click here ) Peace. This is the only word brought by President Barack Obama in his tour of the Middle East recently. As we already know, the word "peace" for the Middle East is easy to say but the hardest thing to grab. And always, the word "peace" would have got a skeptical reaction across the world, not because people hate the word, but it is the President of United States who said "peace" and brings it to their land. People in the war zone of the Middle East (particularly relative to the Israel-Palestine conflict) seem not-so-anxious to have peace, because when it comes, it suddenly takes wing and flies somewhere else. All the peace accords have been so fragile and easily broken by the fighting parties, though their leaders are smiling, shaking hands and kissing cheeks with each other at the same table when talking about peace. But still, it has been the word people dare to dream of. What did Obama try to...

(published in The Jakarta Post on 27 May 2009. Click here ) I smiled when I learned that Facebook worried some Muslim clerics. Hundreds of clerics from the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) from Java and Bali gathered in Kediri and eventually issued a fatwa banning the use of Facebook and other online social networks. I do appreciate their responsibility and concern for what has been happening in the Islamic boarding schools ( pesantren ) today. The clerics said students (or ' santri ' as they are commonly called) in Islamic boarding schools tend to spend excessive amounts of time on Facebook. It totally disturbs their concentration for their main task, which is to study hard, said Nabil Haroen, the spokesman for the Lirboyo boarding school in Kediri, East Java. As well as this, Facebook facilitates virtual communication among friends that will be used for chatting, gossiping, even flirting, which will cause the users to commit the sin of lust, whereas traditional Muslim norms determine a ...

(published in The Jakarta Post on 15 May 2009. Click here ) Obviously, building discotheque is easier than building a church in this country. However, thank God for His omnipresence, because if He only would like to dwell in churches, some of the Christians in this country would never meet His presence and could not listen to His words. So, do we need a church? A church today is a luxurious desire - like "a dream" that you have to scrap immediately when you wake-up, because realizing it would be little more than desperate longing, as these dreams hardly ever come true. You could have a great patience and wait till permission to build a church issued, but, be ready to be disappointed. In this country, you can't be alone in wanting a church, because building a church requires the support of at least 90 worshipers. So, pity you if you live in some area where you are the only Christian. Where can you go to fulfill your spiritual needs? You cannot have a church for yourself. T...