Titus Jonathan's Stories

(published by The Jakarta Post on 31 Aug 2010. Click here ) One of the many things we do when we want to make our parents happy is taking them out to dinner at our favorite restaurants, to savor our best culinary discoveries. My late father always expected me to take him to a warung (vendor) that served soto (chicken or meat soup) or pecel (assorted steamed vegetables dipped in peanut sauce) whenever I returned to my hometown. Taste-wise, for him, this was hardly any different to the food my mother prepared, and there was no particularity in the warung we visited, as long as they served those dishes. The meals were extraordinary because we were dining together. The rare moments we spent together chatting over meals were so special for him. During my college years in Surabaya, East Java, he always looked forward to the times when I returned home. Each time he knew I would come home during the school break he would keep his stomach empty until I arrived. When we arrived at a warung h...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 22 June 2010. Click here ) The new motto of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) that was recently announced at the party’s national congress in Jakarta was a surprise to all of us. The motto states “ The PKS for All ” and is intended to woo all elements of this nation to join the party. The motto constitutes an advertisement that the party is ready to switch from exclusivity to a more inclusive party. Interestingly, the congress invited US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume to speak about “The US view of Islam”. The PKS admitted bilateral relations between Indonesia and the US were strategic and benefited both countries. This is a rare occasion, but “surprising progress” since the PKS’ political stance is deemed anti-Western. The party secretary-general, Anis Matta, said the party aimed to reach 2 million members from the current 800,000 members, and to pursue the top three parties in the 2014 election. Apparently, the PKS realized there was no histor...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 16 June 2010. Click here ) People, including teenagers, were curious to watch the Indonesian sex videos that were circulated on the Internet last week. Although people accused Ariel Peterpan, Luna Maya and Cut Tari of having featured in the videos, the media, experts and police refrained from explicitly mentioning the names, instead they preferred to say the stars of the videos are national “ celebrity look-alikes ”. The three celebrities have denied all the allegations. “They are just unlucky,” said a friend of mine referring to the “amateur sex video” stars whose names are suddenly positioned at the top of Internet search topics. The “unlucky” statement may be true, as many similar video tapes probably exist of other public figures but, luckily, have yet to be revealed in public. The latter are either clever in hiding the scandal, or even smarter by not allowing their secret life to be intentionally recorded. As usual, the unlucky video stars are fac...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 1 June 2010. Click here ) "I will slaughter the dog!" This was a threat written by my neighbor recently through a mailing list consisting of people in our neighborhood. He expressed his vexation over somebody's dog, which cruises around our residential complex, going to the toilet on his front yard as well as other neighbors'. The dog keeps coming although he has pelted it with rubber slippers or shoes. "I don't want to confront the owner, but if they cannot keep the dog from making our place dirty, don't blame me if the dog gets killed," he wrote, complaining about the smell. The residential gardeners also complained because they have to clean its excrement every day. "You love your dog and can enjoy its cuteness, while we have to deal with its poo," the angry neighbor said in his complaint to the owner. Some in the mailing list suggested he trace who owns the dog, or address his complaint to security off...

Pada peringatan Parents Day di gereja saya hari Minggu 16 Mei 2010, ada 2 orang tua (kakek/nenek) sedang membacakan ungkapan “kerinduan” hati mereka terhadap anak-anak mereka. Sederet narasi yang dibacakan dengan pelahan oleh mereka diiringi dengan klip video yang menayangkan cuplikan-cuplikan masa lalu yang menggambarkan moment-moment indah waktu mereka mengasuh dan merawat anak-anak mereka dari kecil hingga dewasa memang mengharukan. Saya sendiri merasa tenggorokan saya tercekat dan mata berkaca-kaca tanpa sadar. Barangkali adegan yang sederhana itu hanya akan lewat begitu saja di depan mata saya tanpa rasa apa-apa jika itu ditayangkan beberapa tahun yang lalu, tetapi hari ini ceritanya menjadi lain. Mengapa? karena saya sekarang sudah mempunyai anak, dan saya sudah menjadi seorang ayah. Saya memang sudah menjadi seorang ayah, tetapi saya sekaligus adalah seorang anak dari seorang ayah dan seorang ibu. Apakah ayah dan ibu saya dulu juga merawat dan mengasuh saya seperti itu? Memandi...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 19 May 2010. Click here ) The appointment of Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati as one of the managing directors of the World Bank (WB), a prestigious position only one level below World Bank president Robert Zoellick, is interesting enough to be commented on. With all the speculation and analysis of the background to the appointment, finally people were directed to one enigma, i.e. whether she was asked by Zoellick to join the WB in light of his organization’s necessity, or she was offered by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Zoellick to calm the tension of the political battle that has made the President feels uncomfortable over the past few months. Whatever her reason for quitting, it’s hard to deny that the departure of our best finance minister has something to do with Bank Century bailout case. The Bank Century case, indeed, has become a pebble in the shoe for Mulyani as well as for SBY himself. Though only a pebble, one shoul...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 27 Apr 2010. Click here ) The riot that erupted at PT Drydocks World Graha’s shipyard in Batam on April 22 did not need to happen. Of course an improper remark was made calling all Indonesians stupid. We are offended by such a statement, but how our brothers at the shipyard answered the haphazard statement with violation was deplorable. Perhaps the story would be different if the remark came from fellow Indonesians. Some Indonesian superiors also often say “stupid” to their employees, right? Ah, the “stupid” word is common here. But why did the Indian manager of the Drydock shipyard who upset his team by saying “ all Indonesians are stupid ” trigger a backlash? Pieces of information collected by some mass media tells us that such a racist remark was not the first time the same Indian manager uttered those words. He once would have been assaulted by the local workers after harshly slamming his team with the same remark but fortunately was prevented by ...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 15 Apr 2010. Click here ) Artalyta Suryani is wonderful. She is not only a wealthy person, but also widely known as a successful businesswoman who has a close relationship to the influencing figures. In this context, she is a brilliant lobbyist. We don’t need to be doubtful about this. If we listened to the tapped conversation between her and high-profile state officials from the Attorney General’s Office, Urip Tri Gunawan in March 2008 — prior to his arrest — it confirmed everything. Artalyta was wonderful. Urip Tri Gunawan was disdainful. No matter what! How could have he rejected the USD$660,000 ? It might make him tremble, but a bunch of dollars has swept his conscience, though. A friend of mine said that he would have mocked him crazy if he did not taken the dollars. As a senior prosecutor, he was also a normal human being, living a normal life in Indonesia and being a state official where money was not a temptation anymore. After the Corruption C...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 3 Apr 2010. Click here ) Try and mention one achievement by our national soccer team that we can be proud of. The team's performance just keeps getting worse. It has happened most drastically within the last decade. The public's growing apathy and distaste for Indonesian soccer is not just because of the national team's poor performance, but also the brutality of soccer fans who always engage in brawls and vandalism in every match. It's ironic, though, that even with soccer as the most popular sport in Indonesian, the game has become something we avoid talk about. We're willing to stay up from midnight to dawn to watch UEFA Champions League games or the English Premier League, and don't care about our bleary-eyed appearance in the office a few hours later. But we avoid like the plague going anywhere near local stadiums hosting local league games. Last week I was forwarded an email warning of fan violence and suggesting I steer c...

I was in discomfort feeling when last week queued at a cashier counter at a prominent bread store in a mall. I just want to pay my order of some pieces of breads for my daughter. A woman who was standing up in front of me scolded the cashier complaining something. Behind me were several people lining up in the queue awaiting their turn to pay. I was not sure what the problem exactly, but my ears tried to catch some words that being squawked by the disgruntling woman. On the other hand, I heard the cashier said sorry to the woman but she kept grumbling. I predicted it was about an order that not delivered to the woman as it had to be. “That’s not professional at all,” the woman said. “I have asked you to ensure numbers of cakes that I order: was it twenty? You said, yes, correct.” The cashier said sorry again. “But it was only eighteen, you know? Eighteen!” “Yes, mom, I am sorry,” the cashier replied softly, “Actually I know nothing, mom, because I just on in my shift couple minutes ago...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 23 Feb 2010. Click here ) Is it true Indonesians are courteous and respect etiquette when in public? A friend of mine shared her story of riding in a public minivan to her office one morning. As usual, the driver thought he was in a Formula One race, careening through heavy traffic. At one stop, a man climbed on and promptly squeezed himself into the already-packed minivan. A minute later, he lit up a cigarette. Eyes half closed, he then blew straight into everyone else’s face. Most of the passengers that morning were young women going to work, including my friend. These young ladies had, of course, spritzed on their finest perfume before leaving home, only to have it drowned in the stench of tobacco. None of the passengers complained, but their frowning faces said it all. The man kept puffing away. Finally my friend ran out of patience. “Pak, could you put out your cigarette, please?” The man looked a bit surprise, smirked, then replied, “Why?” “Beca...

(published by The Jakarta Post on 16 Feb 2010. Click here ) Our justice system again created a mystery when the judges at the South Jakarta District Court sentenced former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Antasari Azhar to 18 years in prison. The verdict was handed down to Antasari for his role in the premeditated assassination of Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, a director of state company PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran, in 2009. From the beginning, when the case that enmeshed Antasari showed up in public, during the trial, and until today when the chief judge banged his gavel, the public have kept asking whether Antasari is guilty or not. A similar case was the assassination of human right activist Munir Said Thalib, when the court acquitted former deputy head of state intelligence (BIN) Muchdi Purwopranjono: the case remains a mystery until today. This proves that our justice system never ends with total finality but mystery that makes us always question our claim as a legal state ...