The Big Durian is really a fucked-up mess

Flood @ Jl. Sudirman, near Central Jakarta, where many corporate and government offices are located at
Flood @ Jl. Sabang, at the heart of the tourist district in the city (the famous Sabang Food Center)
Flood @ Kemang Raya, south Jakarta, a hip area to hang out in the city
Those of you who have been to Jakarta know how chaotic and messed up the city is. I've never had much love much for the city though I've been there a gazillion times. It's dirty, polluted, completely unorganized, crowded, almost green-less and devoid of charms (except the old city). Plus it gets severely flooded every year without failed, which I once had the misfortune of experiencing in 2008. While I do sympathize with many of my Indonesian friends (and some Malaysians) who are currently living in the city and have to endure this hellhole, in a way I feel really vindicated by the massive flood that inundated Jakarta last Monday. When my former Indonesian l'amour unceremoniously dumped me one of the reasons she gave was that Jakarta is her city, where she works and socializes with her friends. It's unimaginable for her to ever leave the city. I responded that it's a city beyond redemption, an overcrowded wasteland of glitzy malls amidst teeming slums and snarling gridlock. It's not a very conducive place to live, and it boggles the mind why people would want to live there if they have the option of living in a much better environs somewhere else. So, when the flood happened part of me felt great and completely redeemed, which almost led me wanting to post gloating, in-your-face remarks on Facebook and Twitter (common sense and empathy took over at the last minute). Anyway, here's an article in the Jakarta Globe about the flood and its attendant traffic jam last Monday.

What do you mean by "serumpun"?

I know it seems juvenile but I find myself going into various Indonesian online forums for the past couple of weeks just for some chuckles. The hatred, sadism and war-mongering chatters among Indonesians who feel slighted by Malaysia's brazen "theft" of Indonesia's culture border on the ridiculous that they somehow become perversely comical. Anyway, to slightly paraphrase Einstein, "Nationalism is a human disease. It is the herpes of mankind." I remember one poster wrote: "Indonesia adalah Indonesia, Malaysia adalah Malaysia. Kita tidak serumpun!" My simple question to the poster would be: "Uh, what language again are you using to write this xenophobic canard?" I rest my case. Anyway, below is a well-written Facebook note by Dr. Farish regarding this whole hullabaloo.

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ASEAN Has To Accept Its Common Cultural Roots and History

By Farish A Noor

Demo season has come early this year, and over the weekend it was reported that a number of anti-Malaysian demonstrations had flared up across several towns and cities in Indonesia. The reason for this latest round of acrimony lies in the claim that a tourism ad for Malaysia had presented a Balinese dance as being 'Malaysian' and as such quite a number of Indonesians were miffed about it.

The ASEAN region seems to be facing the prospect of what can be aptly described as the new 'Cultural wars' of the era. Over the past few years, we have witnessed clashes (some of them violent) over temples, artefacts, words/signifiers, handicrafts and local local products that some nations and communities claim as theirs, and which have been 'stolen' by other societies. One of the hot topics at the moment is the Indonesian claim that batik is a uniquely Indonesian invention and that countries like Malaysia and Singapore have 'stolen' batik by claiming that it is theirs as well.

On a superficial level one understands the nature of the complaint and the logic behind it. It would be perfectly reasonable for a country to be angry if its products were bought by another, only to be re-sold to the international market after the original 'Made in X' label was removed and replaced with a 'Made in Y' label instead. Intellectual copyright is something that this academic understands and appreciates very much, for it would be akin to someone stealing the contents of one of my academic papers or books and simply replacing the author's name with his/her own. That is theft and copyright infringement, plain and simple.

But when it comes to copyrighting cultures, we move to an altogether more murky and complicated domain. For how does one copyright an idea, a colour, a theme, a sentiment or a musical note?

There are two points that require emphasis here, and both are related to the common shared cultural history of our Southeast Asian region:

Firstly it has to be recognised that much of the misunderstanding that has arisen thus far over issues of cultural borrowing has to do with the narrow nationalist histories that we have relied upon since the day our nation-states became independent. The realities of the colonial era were that the region of Southeast Asia - which historically has been one of the most fluid, cosmopolitan and diverse in the world - was cut up and divided according to the logic of colonies and then nation-states. As a result of this our postcolonial histories tend to be narrow and inward-looking, and fail to note the cultural continuity and overlap that has existed in the region for hundreds and thousands of years.

As an academic who moves between Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, I am struck by how little the citizens of all three countries know about each other. Do Indonesians realise that all over Malaysia there are Malaysian communities who still speak Javanese? Why is this so? Because all over Malaysia there are millions of descendants of Javanese, Sumatran, Madurese, Bugis migrants who have settled there over the centuries, such as my own family who were first categorised as 'Jawi Peranakan' (Hybrid/Mixed Javanese) in the 19th century. So when some Malaysians speak Javanese at home, is this a case of Malaysians 'stealing' the Javanese language? Surely not: If anything it points to the continuities of identities over time and space, which is a factor that enriches the region as a whole.

On the issue of Batik and other art and cultural forms, it should also be noted that Batik was worn by many of the communities of the region, and not merely the Javanese. Batik was the lingua franca of the plastic arts for Javanese, Sumatrans, Balinese, Bugis, Malays, Peranakan Chinese, Indians, Arabs and Eurasians for more than a century; and in my collection of photos of Batik as it was worn between the 19th to the 20th century we see how Batik was adapted, used, popularise and produced by practically all the communities of maritime Southeast Asia.

While I understand and sympathise with the complaint that some Indonesian batik may have been bought and then re-sold as 'Malaysian', let us not go overboard by claiming that Batik was produced by only one community in the region. Batik production was predominantly centred in Java and parts of Sumatra, but it was also produced in parts of Malaysia and worn all across the region. Indeed, batik production extends as far as Africa and even Europe, where European artists tried their hand at the batik technique to produce batik pieces that were inspired by the school of l'art nouveau and art deco. That is the factor that makes batik the rich cultural heritage of all, and not the parochial totem of a few...

Secondly, in the process of re-claiming our history let us not be provincial, or worse still, neglectful of the complexities of history. The popular art forms of Indonesia such as the wayang kulit puppet theatre is not unique to Indonesia alone, for it exists all across Southeast Asia (in Malaysia, Southern Thailand, parts of Cambodia and Southern Vietnam) and can be found in places as far apart as China to the East and Indian and Turkey to the West. Furthermore the repertoire of stories that are told and enacted include the Ramayana and Mahabharatta, both of which certainly did not come from Indonesia or any country in Southeast Asia, but India - the wellspring of so much classical Asian art, culture and religion from the time of the Gupta dynasty.

Thus if any country has the right to claim copyright to the wayang genre and the stories that make up the popular lore of Asia, it would be India. So how would the countries of ASEAN react if India were to lay claim to our arts and culture, our architecture, our religions (Hinduism and Buddhism come from South Asia, after all) and even our languages (the Thai, Khmer, Lao, Burmese, Malay and Indonesian languages all borrow heavily from Sanskrit and other South Asian tongues). What then?

As stated above, in the process of rediscovering our past and our culture, let us not be narrow-minded in our approach. Southeast Asia is a rich patchwork of diverse communities and cultures, and we are all the richer because we share this common legacy together. One understands the need for commercial regulation of goods and products, and in such cases theft and misrepresentation of labels is simply a case of criminal fraud that can be dealt with in the courts. But culture cannot and should not be cut up, demarcated and commodified as some may want it to be. By all means, sue and penalise unscrupulous businessmen who sell fake goods, but let us understand and accept that the cultural wellspring that inspires the production of so much of our arts and crafts belongs to us, together.

Another sad day for humanity

My condolence for Indonesia and the victims of the bombings at Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels. I hope that the Indonesian government finds the masterminds behind this heinous act of crime and punishes them accordingly. So far the evidence leads to the notorious Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) when the authorities found a severed head of a known member of JI, who was identified as one of the suicide bombers.

Spectacular acts of terrorism operate on the basis of timing. Bigger current event provides bigger exposure and publicity for the terrorist groups and their agenda. It so happened that Indonesia had just held its Presidential election last week and the Manchester United is coming to Jakarta for an exhibition match this Sunday. These are two big news events even for the international audience. The world's eyes have been focusing on Indonesia for the past couple of weeks, which makes the timing all the more pertinent.

As somebody who has lived in Indonesia for a year and has visited the country countless of times over the years I have nothing but love for Indonesia people. People I've met and befriended are warm, friendly and peaceful, and they simply don't deserve to have this fringe, un-Islamic and un-Indonesian lunatic terrorist group in their country. These cool-blooded terrorists are simply a total disgrace to the Islamic faith and the Muslim ummah. How dare you calling your inhuman psychotic actions an Islamic struggle when it's nothing but? May you people fucking rot in hell, which in itself is ironic considering that they are committing this violent acts in the name of God and the 40 virgins waiting for each one of them at the pearly gates of heaven.

On abuse of foreign domestic workers

I HAVE to post this really great article by Helen Ang in MalaysiaKini about the rampant abuse of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia and the Malaysian government's arrogance in dealing with the problem. The article is smart, funny and written with the Swiftian razor-sharp wit. Great job!
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Dear President Bambang, about the maids...
Helen Ang
Jul 2, 2009
4:18pm

Dear President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,

I'm writing this open letter to you, sir, in the spirit of 1Asean.

I implore that your country should not be jealous of our Malaysian success. On top of other proud achievements, Malaysia adds another feather to our cap: We have the world's longest working hours - thanks to Indonesian women employed here as domestic help.

Last week, Indonesia banned your citizens coming to Malaysia as maids. It's wholly understandable that your country is unhappy about the brawn drain to your neighbours, just as Malaysia is unhappy about our brain drain to Singapore.

It is a shame that we are poaching Indonesia's best talents in our pursuit of superlatives, from biggest ketupat to world's most expensive space tourist, and now our record-breaking 98-hour work week - an amazing feat attributed to Indon maids working 14 hours a day, seven days a week in Malaysian homes.

But please sir, don't ban sending maids just because you envy our success.

Instead be humble enough to learn from Malaysia so that Indonesia can eventually surpass us with your own 100-hour work week. It is our Asian values that propel Asean countries to becoming world champions in this; just compare with the backward French who have a 35-hour work week.

Mr President, let me share with you Malaysia's magic formula. Despite the Official Secrets Act, I managed to obtain the relevant information from our Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prohibition of Vice.

Relating to this data, the group editor of profitable newspaper The Star, Wong Chun Wai recently wrote: "From sexually transmitted diseases to eloping with Indonesian construction workers to sex romps in the employers' rooms, there is no end to such stories if the Indonesian press cares to do balanced reporting."

Sigh, the things that the Indonesian press don't tell you. You see, sir, if you're kept in the dark, then of course your government will not know how to overcome these distractions of STDs, elopement and sex romps that deter maids from concentrating on their target of accomplishing 98 hours of work a week.

This is how we deal with it in Malaysia. As you may already be aware, employers here will keep their maid's passport. What you're likely not aware is that when the Indon women land on our shores, Malaysian employers quickly lock them in a chastity belt. The employer then holds on to the key for safekeeping.

Both passport and chastity belt key will be returned to the maid when her contract expires.

Oops, accidents happen

Conscientious parents always childproof the nursery by putting rubber guards on corners of furniture. The parents do not leave things lying around which may hurt a young child, such as plastic bags which can cause a toddler to suffocate or small objects which can cause him to choke.

Conscientious Malaysian employers similarly maid-proof their homes by making sure that they do not leave things lying around which may hurt simple women from remote Indonesian villages. We ensure dangerous electrical appliances and sharp implements are kept away from maids.

This precautionary measure is to prevent the maids from accidentally scalding themselves with boiling water, burning themselves with hot iron, wounding themselves with scissors or bruising themselves with hammer since they don't know how to use all these tools properly.

It is an occupational hazard that sees maids sustaining those horrific injuries and scars on their bodies. Making their workplaces safer has ensured optimal performance, and that is why Indon maids in Malaysia outperform in man hours their countrywomen doing the same job in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

In fact, Malaysia has such high safety standards that only eight cases of physical abuse have been filed in the country since the beginning of the year, according to a report in The Star.

Yet, the international press has said that 150 complaints are lodged every month with the authorities in Indonesia, alleging ill-treatment, overwork, unpaid salaries and physical abuse whilst in Malaysia.

I suspect this discrepancy in the figures is due to Malaysians doing our Math in English. Alas, since most of us find it hard to construct a sentence in English correctly, we find it similarly hard to make numbers add up correctly.

Once our English improves, so will our Math and vice versa, claims Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose brainchild the Math-in-English project is.

How much is she worth?

The monthly salary of an Indon maid is between RM450 and RM600.

Whereas I have calculated the value of a maid's work to be at least RM6,575. You can read how I arrived at my estimate in this article for the Centre for Policy Initiatives.

Nonetheless Mr President, you must be puzzled as to why Malaysia is only paying Indon maids a fraction of their actual worth (although we pay Filipinos slightly more). The reason is our greater love for Indonesia, for are we not brothers?

Now imagine if we gave Indonesian women a salary of RM5,000-RM6,000 ... then too many might opt to become guest workers in Malaysia. This development would surely hurt your feelings; already there is much anger that one of your most beautiful girls Manohara Odelia Pinot (left) was earlier lost to Malaysia.

Therefore, in order to 'jaga hati' - we truly don't want to make Indonesia even more jealous of us - we've deliberately underpaid maids so that we don't entice too many Indon women to come over. It is unfortunate that Singapore is not as considerate, seeing how the island republic has no qualms about enticing smart Malaysian youngsters.

The Star - a newspaper that speaks for the nation - had a 'Focus' special feature recently titled 'Indon maids better off than local blue collar workers'. The paper said: "Now, there's talk that maids need a day off every week. For many a maid, though, the only holidays they really need are the ones they get when they go home to their loved ones, flush with funds."

More than three-quarters of the said newspaper's readership do not believe that Indon maids need a rest day. It is really only through the kindness of their hearts that they insist on this arrangement. These Star people think that if maids work without any break, then your women will be able to accumulate flush funds faster, so that they can go home to their loved ones in Indonesia all the sooner.

Dear sir, I hope my explanation above has been helpful in clearing up a bit of Indonesia's misunderstanding over Malaysian treatment of maids. On my part, I'm sorry to hear about Siti and others having to go through their painful and traumatic experiences.

I hope that the Malaysian Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers and National Repentance will apologise to you and your country. But then again, Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein is talking tough and saying that Malaysia can shop elsewhere, and cheaper too! So perhaps not.

In any case, thank you sir for taking the time to read my letter. May I wish you all the best for the Republic of Indonesia's upcoming presidential election.

Yours sincerely,
Helen Ang

The moral police is at it again...

It seems like there's a bit of competition going on between the ultra-conservative ulamas in Malaysia and Indonesia. They're trying to outdo each other when it comes to issuing the most outrageous statement and/or fatwa of the day. It's long been known that ulamas in Malaysia are generally more conservative than their Indonesian counterparts but that seems not to be the case anymore.

In the past few months the conservative Indonesian ulamas, led by the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) and some factions within the two major Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, have gone fatwa-crazy and have been issuing rulings that simply boggle the mind. They called yoga and smoking "haram" (illegal) without much legal and theological basis at all. Granted that they might be following the footstep of their Malaysian brethren in trying to ban yoga for Muslims and were a bit crushed when the Malaysian ulamas beat them to the punch. This time the MUI mullahs are not going to let that happen again.

In the past few days they have put out a statement to ban Facebook, Friendster and other social networking websites from Indonesian cyberspace because they promote interaction between sexes, which creates lust that ultimately leads to pre-marital sex and other un-godly behavior. It's a way for these Indonesian moral police to show their Malaysian counterparts that they are entering the 21st century, albeit with a 4th century mindset, by issuing technologically-related fatwas. We are hip and cool, you see! The funny thing is that, when interviewed, these Indonesian Talibans have no clue what these social networking websites actually do and never ever been on any of them. Somehow they just knew that these websites are bad for our moral well-being!

And what's with this obsession about SEX? Major religions have this irrational attachment to the topic of sex, and it's almost always bad. It makes me think that these so-called "moral leaders" have nothing else on their mind other than sex. Sex is what they think about ALL the time. The call for banning social networking websites just goes to show how fertile their sexual imagination is and sexually-repressed these people are. If everything that we do can lead to sex, then we might as well lock ourselves up in the basement and never leave the house ever again. Oopps, I guess that is already happening to women in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule and in the Wahhabi-dominated Saudi Arabia.

Seriously, these little Indonesian mullahs are "closet sexual perverts" who think that everybody else is a sex freak just like them. Why don't you go fuck a camel before telling me what I can or can't do in my private life? Geez people, get a fucking life!

Indonesian L'amore

Many Indonesian idiosyncracies endear me to the country, and oddly enough, one of them is the need for Indonesians to match-make any single, unattached people they meet. They are generally curious, if not a bit perplexed, when you tell them that you're single especially when they think that you're the kind of person who shouldn't have any trouble finding a partner.

Here's what happened to me at the airport earlier. While waiting for my delayed Air Asia flight to Jakarta I struck up a conversation with two forty-ish Indonesian ladies. They were on a girls-only vacation to KL without their husbands and children. When the conversation topic touched upon my marital status they were surprised to find out that I'm still single. They looked at each other, nodded with some sort of implicit understanding and a mischievous grin that signaled a devious plot that seemed to have me as the central character. Oh no! I knew that look because I've seen it many times before. One of them immediately told me that she has a niece in her mid-twenties who is quite a looker and most importantly she's single. And of course they wanted to set me up with her!

They made me promise not to leave the Jakarta airport without telling them first and it so happened that the very same niece they were telling me about was coming to pick them up. So I waited with them outside of the airport while itching to get on a taxi to go to Jeremy's place. Fortunately for me, the so-called niece got stuck in the notorious Jakarta rush hour traffic, which meant that it would take her forever to get to airport. I used this as an excuse to escape as I told them I had to rush into the city to have dinner with my friends. But before they let me leave I had to give them my Indonesian hp number and made me to promise to have dinner with them and the niece when I get back from Kalimantan next Monday. Oh Lord!

I'm not sure to call this a blessing or a curse but one thing for sure, it's very typical of Indonesia. I used to get so many match-making offers when I was living in Kalimantan that I lost count of them. It's flattering for sure to be deemed as a prospective partner for their close relations but at some point it does get kind of annoying and invasive. For now I'm just going with the flow - just for the heck of it.

Why Indonesia?

You wouldn't believe how many times I got asked this question here in Malaysia and the US. Actually it refers to why do I choose to focus on Indonesia for my research, instead of Malaysia. I don't even know why people make such a big deal out of it. Who cares what country I'm interested in studying? FYI, I didn't originally plan to focus on Indonesia at the beginning of my graduate school career. I remember at first being captivated by Latin American politics (I still am!). What got me hooked on Latin American politics was the biography of Ernesto "Che" Guevara called "Che: A Revolutionary Life," written by Jon Lee Anderson, which I've read twice cover to cover. I highly recommend this book for people who want an in-depth research and an objective take on the life of the revolutionary icon. Also, I used to know a few cute Latinas on my campus, which made me more motivated to learn about Latin America haha...

I remember being so pissed off after reading the book at all the economic exploitations perpetrated by American corporations in Latin America with the explicit backing from the American government (the notorious Washington Consensus) and how I was inspired by Che's strong sense of justice and his unyielding idealism to bring about radical changes in the region and fight on behalf of the downtrodden. Anyway, I started to get very interested in Latin American politics and I even took Spanish language class for two semesters. But somehow along the way my interest to study Latin American politics waned, maybe because I got sidetracked by my political activities at that time: campaigning against the economic sanctions in Iraq, trying to stop the Carrying Concealed Weapons bill from being passed by the Wisconsin state legislature, campaigning to stop military recruitment in high schools around Wisconsin, organizing Palestinian-Israeli forums in local colleges, mosques, churches, and synagogues, and also volunteering for various political candidates in the state. Oh, how I miss those days!

Anyway, I went to Indonesia in August of 1998, barely three months after the Reformasi movement rocked the nation and successfully overthrew the long-time dictator, Suharto. The scars from the recent social upheaval were still fresh and smoldering. I could still see the blacked-out frames of burned cars and smashed-up storefronts and shards of glasses on the streets of Jakarta. Being a leftist and a revolutionary wannabe, it was impossible for me not to be inspired by the Indonesian Reformasi movement and its success. I was wishing for the same outcome with the Reformasi movement in Malaysia at that time, but too bad it failed and was ruthlessly crushed by the Mahathir's government. But the May 1998 Reformasi in Indonesia was the catalyst in getting me to be more interested in Indonesian politics and history. Also, it was around this time I first read Pramoedya Ananta Toer's Bumi Manusia and was moved to tears by the author's grand historical narrative and its tragic ending. But it wasn't until much later when I finally decided to seriously study the country.

In 2004 I quit my job in Washington, DC and went on a 4-month backpacking trip across Southeast Asia using Malaysia as my base. It was an eye-opener for me as I was preparing to go to graduate school at that time and was looking for research ideas. I was interested in finding out if there is such a thing as Southeast Asian regional identity that most people in the region are aware of and can identify with. I ended up doing a research comparing the European Union and ASEAN in the context of regional identity formation. Ask me for the paper if anyone's interested hehehe....

When I came to UW-Madison in 2005 I had to find a Southeast Asian country to focus on and I initially chose Thailand. I've traveled in southern Thailand several times before and I was interested in studying the conflict there. I learned Thai language for two semesters but in the end I gave up. Yep, you heard right! Thai language is so goddamn difficult and it would take me years to learn it before I could carry out a proper research. I copped out and picked Indonesia instead. At least with Indonesia I don't have to learn a new language and I've also been very keen in Indonesian politics and history since the 1998 events. I ultimately wrote my thesis about the Islamic revivalism (penghijauan) in Indonesia during the New Order period (1966-1998). Again, I have the paper if anyone's interested.

But why Indonesia, and not Malaysia? Okay, first of all, just because I'm from Malaysia it doesn't mean that I'm required to make Malaysian politics as my academic pursuit. I can study Vatican politics if I choose to do so. As a Malaysian, studying Malaysian politics seems a bit predictable, no offense to Malaysian academics who do so. But more importantly, I think that Indonesian politics is far more colorful and interesting than Malaysian politics. There are many more political issues that can be studied in Indonesia compared to Malaysia. Post-1998 Indonesia makes it even easier and fascinating to study because the censorship is not as tough as it used to be (people at LIPI can still be jackasses sometimes) and the society is much more open now. I'm also turned off by the dirty and venomous politics in Malaysia with all the political scandals and character assassinations.

Don't get me wrong. I still follow Malaysian politics very closely and I do plan on doing a research about it some day. But I think now I'm a bit emotionally invested in Malaysian politics to study it from an objective point of view. I get so pissed off at the vacuous politicians, their sycophants and the corrupt-to-the-bone system. Finally, I fell in love with Indonesia as a country and its warm and welcoming people, and I've been there so many times over the years that I consider Indonesia as my own kampung. Indonesia serves as my sanctuary every time I'm feeling stressed out and suffocated in Malaysia, and it is now a big inextricable part of my personal and professional life and will continue to be so until I die. Till then I plan on immersing myself in all the magical mystery tour that the country has to offer.

On the word "Indon"

I got asked this question today by an Indonesian: Why do Malaysians call Indonesian people "Indon"? Obviously the term "Indon" is alien--and not to add, pejorative--to majority of Indonesians as they generally addressed themselves as Indo. Even the term Indo itself is fraught with historical reference that I think a lot of Indonesians are not well aware of. Back in the colonial days the term Indo was used to describe a group of mixed-blood people within the rigid social hierarchy. At the top was the pure (totok) Dutch people and followed by Indo, indigenous people (pribumi), and foreigners (Chinese, Indians, etc), respectively. Dutch and Indo people were considered citizens of the Dutch empire and were subjected to its laws and privileges. They were the elite group at the top of the food chain. Indos were usually the mixed children (blasteran in Indonesian slang) of Dutch men and local indigenous women; offspring from Dutch women and local indigenous men were never heard of and most likely never existed.

But back to the controversial issue of the term "Indon" and how did the term came to be used as it is right now. Most Malaysians (and Singaporeans too) use the term "Indon" to either describe the country Indonesia or its people. I tried to search on the internet the etymology of "Indon" but to no avail. Nobody knows who first coined this term and when it was first used by Malaysians to describe Indonesia and its people. The term itself, on the surface, is harmless and most people who use it harbor no ill-will toward Indonesia and its people. But true to the old French adage "the only thing that is constant is change," the term "Indon" embodies multi-layered meanings which can be interchangeably employed in various social contexts.

At its most basic level "Indon" is just a prosaic term used by Malaysians to describe Indonesia and its people. No malicious intent involved and its usage is as common as using the word "India" to describe Indians and "Cina" to describe Chinese people. By the way, the term "Cina" is perceived as derogatory for some people in Indonesia whereas in Malaysia it's considered a mundane term to use. But I digress. I argue that it is within this general context that Malaysians used the term "Indon." I've asked many Malaysians why they use the term "Indon" and do they have strong feelings about using it (by feelings I mean a palpable sense of hostility and an air of supremacy). Not surprisingly their answer is because everybody in Malaysia uses the term, that they think it is a harmless term to use, and that they in no way implying by using the term they are denigrating the Indonesian people. It then begs the question if this term can really be used free of prejudice and in such an amoral context?

But as with other pejorative ethnic/racial terms, the use of 'Indon" has to be coupled with certain socio-political-economic conditions in order to imbue it with specific values. The ethnic terms like "Paki" or "Jap" come to mind. I shudder with sheer horror whenever somebody uses these short-hand terms but like the term "Indon," they claim to mean no foul and plead ignorance, however politically-incorrect those terms are. On the other hand, one also has to be aware of ethnic terms that are distinctly derogatory like niggers, honkies, chinks, wops, spics, and kikes (American slurs used to describe Blacks, Whites, Chinese, Italians, Hispanics and Jews, respectively), which are always used knowingly and explicitly as insulting remarks.

That the term "Indon" comes laden with negative connotation in Malaysia and Indonesia is a result of tenuous relationship between the two countries and their people. A lot of Malaysians see Indonesians as poor, backward and unsophisticated people who come to Malaysia to take away jobs from the locals and commit acts of crimes along the way. A lot of Indonesians, on the contrary, see Malaysians as arrogant and exploitative people. When the term "Indon" is used in this context, then it can be deemed as a pejorative and should be roundly condemned. I have to admit that most Malaysians associate the term "Indon" with poor and unsophisticated Indonesians, which qualifies it as a negative term in itself, but then most Malaysians have never even set foot in Indonesia or have any real Indonesian friends. Their point of reference when it comes to describing Indonesians is the Indonesian migrant workers they see in Malaysia, which in turn colors their understanding of the term "Indon": "Indon" equals poor and simple Indonesian villagers, and therefore it's perfectly acceptable for the status-conscious types to look down on them. As the thinking goes, even the poorest of Malaysians are well-off compared to the Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. This is obviously wrong but sadly is true, even for some Malaysians who claim to be "non-prejudice." Like racism, xenophobia can also be a latent force that creeps up on people unexpectedly and rather surreptitiously.

What to do now? Well, the term "Indon," for all intents and purposes, has become a part of Malaysian lexicon, as much as Indonesians might hate that word and want it to be abolished. The term is not going anywhere and I think Indonesian people need to accept this as an irreversible fact. But the meanings of words change all the time, and what used to be taboo is now acceptable, and vice-versa. So, what a person needs to do now is to address the root causes of this negative connotation and alter its meaning to reflect a more objective and enlightened view. For starter, let's improve the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia and make the people in both countries recognize that we have shared culture, language and history, and that our destinies are inextricably intertwined. For as long as the socio-economic imbalance and mutual distrust exist, the term "Indon" will always be corrupted by the insidious by-products of the relationship between the two countries. There might a time in the future when the word "Indon" will be worn as a badge of pride and honor by the citizens of a prosperous and politically stable Indonesia, which enjoys a harmonious relationship with its neighboring countries. We can only hope.

Ayat-Ayat Cinta

I finally got to watch the much awaited film in Indonesia, Ayat-Ayat Cinta. My school's technology consultant managed to get a copy from the master reel and the school decided to show the movie to all the students in the weekly movie night last Saturday. The school set up two projectors for the students and one separate LCD screen for the teachers. The film was adapted from the best-selling novel by Habiburrahman el-Shirazy, a well-known writer of "novel pembangun jiwa" (soul-building novel) aka Islamic romance novel.

The author is an Indonesian who did his undergraduate study in al-Azhar University in Cairo and the novel Ayat-Ayat Cinta revolves around the protagonist by the name of Fahri, who is an Indonesia student in--guess where?--al-Azhar University. My students, both boys and girls, have been ranting and raving about this book since I've been teaching here--not a surprise, considering that this is an Islamic boarding school--and I finally buckled down and read the novel last month. While I wouldn't go as far as to say that this is the best novel I've read but it's not that bad either. I can definitely see its appeal among my students and the Indonesian Muslim population at large. And I can always use the substance of the book to spark discussions in my class.

For example: I ask my girls if they think Fahri is an ideal type for a boyfriend/husband and all unanimously answer YESSS!! Then when I ask if they can actually find someone like Fahri in the real world, they answer "maybe yes, maybe no, Mister!" with most leaning toward "maybe no." With my boys, I ask if they think if someone like Fahri actually exists in the real world and they all unwaveringly say "Nooo!!" with one student actually says that only "1 in 10 million." Then, the fun question for the boys: If you are in Fahri's place who would you like to choose as your wife (only one is allowed)? And why? Fahri, by the way, is the Islamic superstud in the book who is being chased and swooned over by four drop-dead gorgeous women: Maria, his Christian Coptic neighbor who at the end became a Muslimah; Nurul, a fellow al-Azhar Indonesian student who is also the daughter of a famous kyai in East Java; Aisha, a wealthy German-Turkish-Palestinian student who later became Fahri's wife; and Noura, an Egyptian girl whose life was saved by Fahri but later stabbed him in the back for unrequited love. My boys were almost evenly divided between Maria and Aisha with smattering others favored Nurul for patriotic reasons, and not surprisingly, nobody picked poor Noura. This definitely makes for a lively discussion especially in the afternoon class when the students are barely awake. Ahh.. how I love toying with adolescent minds and the chaste fantasies of Islamic boarding school kids!

Anyway, I think the movie is disappointing, which is typical for virtually all movies that are adapted from books. But I think that the director can do so much better with the film especially with the kind of budget he's working from. When I read the book I can feel being transported to Cairo with all its craziness and humanity, enveloped in the hot swirling dust of the desert storm. I can also imagine walking through the hallowed musty hallways of the ancient al-Azhar University, haggling with the boisterous traders in the souk, and reveling in the cacophany of the city's hustle and bustle. But none of these are shown in the movie. The movie didn't do justice to the life in Cairo and its people and culture. Why even bother shooting in Cairo when not much of Cairo is shown in the movie? Also, the director and the writers took too much liberty in translating the book into the big screen, which is fine if it's done tastefully and with tact. I understand the need to "spice up" the story a notch or two for movie-goers but the director's effort at it comes off as clunky and disjointed, almost bordering on nonsensical.

My poor female students were so jealous that the boys got to see the movie last Saturday night, so I managed to get a copy of the movie and will show it to them this Friday afternoon. I don't know how fifty-plus students can manage to watch this movie on my tiny laptop but we'll figure out a way.

Debate debacle.. and success too!

With the boys' debate team in-front of Mesjid Sabilal Muqtadin in Banjarmasin - from left: Taufik, Idham, Yanda, Yandi & Zainal 'DJ Tony' Wathani
The girls' debate team: Yunia, Farhana & Istiqomah
I was biting nails furiously, ceaselessly twirling my pen, and obsessively crossing and uncrossing my legs. Yes, I was nervous and anxious like an expectant father, and it suddenly hit me: So, this is what coaches have to suffer through during important matches. For the first time in my life I'm a coach--of anything, really. I've always been on the receiving end of the instruction and guidance such as during my old soccer-playing days but never actually knew what runs through the coach's mind during the heat of the battle. Now I know. Though we prepared as best as we could, given the whatever scarce resources we have at our disposal, there's always this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that it's never enough. I'm still learning the nuances of competitive debating and I'm afraid that I'm not able to provide my debaters with all help they need. We tirelessly discussed the motions--there were just so many of them that it seemed like a Sisyphean task--and constantly rehearsed and held mock debates days before the competitions.

But in all, I can say that I'm highly satisfied with our performance in the recent English debate competitions. Last week in the sub-regional competition in Banjarmasin, the boys' team placed second while the girls' team lost in the first round, albeit in a very closely fought debate. The boys could have won in the final but the limitation of the debate motion simply didn't work out in their favor and it was unfair, to say the least. The motion was about increasing parking fees in the province of South Kalimantan and the opposition, which was the affirmative team, confined the limit of the debate to the city of Banjarmasin. Considering that the affirmative team comes from Banjarmasin and NONE of my debaters are, the limitation was indeed biased and advantageous to the affirmative team. What my boys didn't know that they could challenge the limitation and refuse to debate the motion based on the confine set by the affirmative team. Anyway, it was still a sweet victory because they knocked out the top-seeded school in the semifinal, and for the first time ever my school has ever reached the final. The girls did very well also and put up a ferocious fight before losing to the aforementioned top-seeded school. The motion was about genetic engineering. The girls also lost on technicality, which sucked because it had nothing to do with the quality of their arguments or their speaking ability.

Today there was another competition closer to home here in Banjar Baru. The results were relatively disappointing but not because of lack of efforts from my debaters. They were phenomenal and I couldn't be any prouder of them. They totally rocked the joint! It was the judges who managed to rain on our parade. The boys and the girls' Team A lost in the first round. I'm not a sore loser by any means and I can take defeat graciously--only if it's fair and justified. The problem was the judges weren't even feigning to be fair and their post-debate comments weren't at all justified. The girls' Team A had the bad luck of being drawn to debate the host team, and that was just the start of their predicaments.

Adding insult to injury, one of the judges is an English teacher at the host school. The girls were the affirmative team and the motion was about nationalization of foreign companies in Indonesia. The girls set the limit the debate to renegotiation of contracts signed between foreign companies and the Indonesian government. They were on fire! From the first speaker all the way to the third speaker, the girls marshalled facts and data to support their arguments, which I helped to compiled to a large extent. The negative team wasn't able to go toe-to-toe with the girls' arguments and just feebly recycled the same two points throughout the debate. They also refused to debate within the limitation and simply made baseless rebuttals in response to the girls' impregnable arguments without even addressing the questions at hand. It was a solid debate for the girls and we had no doubt at the time that we were going to win this match. Alas, it just wasn't meant to be.

The judges managed to pop our premature celebratory bubbles. The comments made by the judges showed lack of understanding of the issue and their sheer inattentiveness to the ongoing debate. I noticed that the judges were chatting amongst themselves during the debate and weren't even paying attention to the speakers. It was pathetic and wholly unprofessional, to say the very least. Despite the stellar performance by the girls and the lackluster display by their opponents, we lost by quite a sizeable margin. What a travesty! I haven't really been this pissed off in a long time and was feeling even more devastated than my girls, though I did have to console them as they were on the verge of crying. I had to keep repeating to myself over and over again my favorite mantra whenever I'm faced with irrational Indonesians and their peculiar ways of doing things in this country: TII, TII, TII (This Is Indonesia!). How quaintly Indonesia: corrupt judiciary from the Constitutional Court all the way down to high school debate judges.

Still, the girls' Team B won their match despite being the heavy underdog and two of its members were rookies on their first debate outing. After the debate competition we all went to AZ (pronounced Ah-Zet), the local fried chicken joint, for some well-deserved dinners and ice creams on my treat--all 20 boys and girls (9 debaters and 11 supporters). The teams took their lost in stride and we ended up just laughing it off. It was hard to describe the feelings I went through today and to see their beaming faces during the dinner afterwards. Man, what a day! Oh, I forget to mention that the boys' Scrabble team placed first in the same sub-regional tournament last week, which was another cause for celebration. The Scrabble team practiced in my house almost everyday and being a seasoned Scrabble player myself, I did give them a pointer or two. The practice and the tutorials certainly paid off. I would say that it has been a very productive and fulfilling weeks for me leading up to the debate and Scrabble competitions despite my skipping a few classes. Now I have to find the ways to make up to the rest of my students for missing their classes today.

p/s: The girls' Team B won third place in the competition after losing to the home team in a heavily-biased semi-final. We had a much more superior team, which was still evidently not enough. Guess which team ultimately won the competition? No prize for the right answer though.

Suharto: Part Deux

While Suharto certainly deserved the bullet-pocked and blood-soaked legacy of his extraordinarily long stay in power, there are still a lot of mixed feelings among the public about what he has done over the past few decades. It's not that I've never been aware of this paradox; only that this dissonance was displayed with such simplicity by one of my students this morning. Despite of not being allowed neither possession of electronics nor access to TV, most of my students were well-informed of Suharto's death when I entered their class this morning. I used my usual 5-minute warm-up chat before lesson to ask their opinions about Suharto and what they think about him and his legacy. Quite a few said that they actually shed tears of joy when they heard the news. One student, on the contrary, mentioned that he was sad and sort of missed the good old pre-Reformasi days. When I asked him why, he replied, "because Mister, when Suharto was President, the price of a packet of IndoMie was Rp250, and now it's Rp1,000."

The gist of it is that life was perceivably much easier under Suharto, and the student's sentiment is shared by many other Indonesians. But was life really all bed of roses during the New Order era? And if it was, does Suharto deserve all the credit? Historical and economic factors played vital roles in contributing to Indonesia's fast-growing economy at this time. First, the huge influx of foreign investment (read: Western anti-communist countries) after Suharto took over. After the powerful Communist Party was decimated in 1965-66 and the erstwhile President Sukarno was forced out of power in 1967, Suharto quickly transformed Indonesia into a strident anti-Communist country and re-oriented the country from Russia and China to the West. Hence the exponential increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign and military aid. Second, oil was found in abundance in mid-1970s, which further filled up the government's coffer to the brim. High oil prices during the 1980s recession certainly helped to cushion Indonesia through the crisis. A lot of moolah meant cheap subsidies for the public, and that was why prices were artificially low during this period. Anyway, see this BBC News article about Suharto's "opaque legacy."

RIP Pak Harto

Finally, after weeks of breathless coverage of his near-death experience, Pak Harto had gone to meet his Maker. It's about time. I have no love whatsoever for Haji Muhammad Suharto, Indonesia's second President, who reigned with an iron fist for an unbelieveable 32 years. He was one of the most corrupt and brutal dictators in the 20th century. Think this is a stretch? Try asking the 500,000 members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and its perceived sympathizers who were violently vanquished in 1965-65 at the beginning of Suharto's New Order regime. Or the hundreds of thousands of East Timorese who were wiped out in scorched-earth campaigns when Indonesia annexed the then East Timor (now Timor Leste) in 1975. Or ask the thousands of Acehnese and Papuans who were mercilessly slaughtered in the military's decades long war against separatism. Or ask the countless numbers of activists who were 'disappeared' by the state apparatuses during his 32-year rule. Or people who are still being blacklisted for government jobs or university admission because their grandparents donated Rp100 to the Communist Party back in the 1960s.

Body counts aside, there is also the issue of chronic corruption. Suharto and his family, according to Time magazine and Transparency International, is the most corrupt head of state in the world, far surpassing Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (both are ignominously ranked second and third, respectively). No justice has ever been taken against Suharto, and now that he's gone his pending corruption charges will most probably be dropped or at the very least swept neatly under the rug by spineless current politicians who owe their wealth and influence from the man, Suharto, himself. I've always wondered why despicable people live a long life while noble ones don't. Suharto was 86 years old when he died and his fellow SE Asian despots-in-arm/golf buddies like Mahathir and Lee Kuan Yew are still alive and kicking. I guess the old saying "only the good die young" never rings truer. It also reminds me of a quote by Oscar Wilde: No man is rich enough to buy back his past. And Suharto's blood-soaked past will always be an irrevocable part of his legacy however hard his family, cronies and sycophants try to spin it. Anyway, rest in peace Pak Harto, or however much peace you can get when you're finally being delivered your comeuppance in the hereafter. Amin!

Me, the debate coach?

I don't consider myself as an internet junkie but I do have the capacity to sit in-front of the monitor for hours on end watching ridiculous YouTube videos. In fact, it's one of the few perks of life I miss the most since living in Indonesia for the past 6 months. It's not that I can't get on the YouTube website; of course I can still enjoy the demonstrations of Mentos & Diet Coke home-made projectile or other intellectually-enlightening videos--only if I'm willing to wait an eternity for the videos to upload. Okay, I realize that the YouTube excuse for a faster broadband connection is pretty selfish but here's a more nobler reason.

Right now I'm the process of downloading a video of the American high school debate competition, and so far I have been waiting for over three hours with the download only 55 percent completed (the file size is about 125MB). Oh, did I mention that I am now the de facto debate coach for both the boys' and girls' teams? Mind you that I have no clue whatsoever when it comes to competitive debate. The extent of my debating experience is only limited to coffeeshops and graduate seminars. I couldn't tell the debate's Australian Parliamentary rules from a kangaroo's behind. My only advantage is research skills, which comes as a part of being a graduate student. Also, since I'm by nature an argumentative type of person (or the defensive type, according to some people), I can come up with pretty decent arguments for any topics on any sides of the debates especially politics. Since debate topics usually revolve around politics, it is obviously right up my alley. Having the academic background in social science helps a lot also.

Now the problem with researching the topics (or motions, in debate parlance) is the lack of resources here in Kalimantan. The public library is woefully stocked and it's very hard to do research on anything beyond local interests. The best place for research is of course the internet but the connection is excruciatingly slow. A Wikipedia page takes eons to appear. Okay, I can almost hear the snickers from the academic snobs out there, "you call Wikipedia an intellectually-realiable source?" While I would never list Wikipedia as part of my bibliography, I still think that it can serve as a primer for variety of topics out there. It shouldn't be the end in itself but only to be used as a springboard to more credible and academically-rigorous sources.

My boys' team has asked me to set up a practice debate with the girls' team, mostly as an excuse to go to the girls' school and check out the girls. These are boys in an Islamic boarding school and they're lucky if they get to socialize with the fairer sex once a year. Of course I agreed to this proposition but I honestly told the boys that they're going to get their asses kicked because the girls are so much better than them. They said that they don't care and one of the boys actually has a crush on the best debater on the girls' team, who happens also to be my favorite student. Hence the ulterior motive on wanting to get pussywhipped. Anyway, this is all a new experience for me--coaching the debate team, that is--and there is still a steep learning curve to climb. The sub-regional competition will be held in three weeks and I cannot wait to go.

Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

Iboih, Pulau Weh (Westernmost tip of Indonesia)

Silhouette: Post-dive chill

Whatever rocks your boat: Banda Aceh

The mosque was miraculously spared despite being bext to the coast

Mass prayer near Mesjid Raya Baitur-Rahman, Banda Aceh: First-day of Hari Raya Haji

Shoot the breeze and reap the whirlwind

Now that the long Ramadan/Lebaran holiday is officially over and most of the students and teachers are already back in school, my pesantren life has started to take up a more definite form and has almost immediately fallen into groove--a slow but consistent one. The school and I finally agreed on my teaching schedule, much to my great relief, after spending almost 2 months drifting aimlessly between the three academic units: Madrasah Aliyyah (senior high school), Madrasah Tsanawiyyah (junior high school with 4 additional Islamic subjects and is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Religions) and Sekolah Menengah Pertama or SMP (junior high school without the additional Islamic subjects and is administered under the Department of Education). Technically, this schedule is against the contract the school has drawn up with Fulbright (my sponsor) since I'm only required to teach senior high school, but the three headmasters had asked me to spare some of my time for the junior students in the spirit of fairness. "Mister, we don't want the younger students to be jealous," was what they told me. I reluctantly agreed to this proposition, and I do, to some extent, enjoy teaching the junior students (only Class 3 students; Classes 1 and 2 are almost impossible to teach because their command of English is still extremely weak where they cannot even string a basic sentence). By the way, I ONLY teach conversational English and my job is to get the students to become comfortable and confident in speaking English--by hook or by crook!

My academic extra-curricular activities include reviving the long-dormant English Club, judging the English debate and speech competitions, organizing the English Performance Night, holding twice weekly English tutorial sessions for teachers, translating some official school documents from Bahasa Indonesia to English, and correcting the chronic grammatical and spelling errors in ALL the English textbooks.

I also encourage people to come to my house if they want to practice speaking English. Students and teachers come to my house at all hours and it gets to the point where I have to put up a note on my front door telling them to not come between 2pm and 4pm because it's my siesta time. My reputation as a "native English speaker" has also spread beyond the school compound, helped in no small part by a short profile of me in the local paper. Now I also have university and TEFL students from the surrounding area flocking to my house to practice speaking English. I've set up a twice weekly night meetings for the university and TEFL students at my house (usually about 5-6 of them show up) and we get to discuss and debate about anything and everything under the sun. Well, the topics mostly depend on their grasp of the English language and some topics are obviously much harder to talk about than others, such as politics, philosophy, and religion. In our last meeting we discussed and debated about the current issue du jour in Indonesia right now, besides the news about all the celebs who got caught using drugs: The deviant Islamic sect al-Qiyadah al-Islamiyah.

I expected to inject more debate in our conversation about freedom of religion and the concept of tolerance and diversity in Islam through this whole al-Qiyadah hulabaloo, but they were all completely agreeing with each other, and the mainstream version of the story, for that matter. And I ended up using this opportunity to introduce the English idiom "playing the devil's advocate" in order to ratchet up the heat of the discussion. First, they all get to learn a new idiom--I always teach my students at least one American idiom every day--and second, it forced them to debate the issue with me. The problem was when the substance of the debate got more politically and theologically complex, they started to abandon English and resort to the security and comfort of Bahasa Indonesia. It's a perfectly natural thing for them to do because their main means of articulating their ideas and expressing their emotions is Bahasa Indonesia. In my case it's a bit more complicated because I use both Bahasa Melayu and English to express myself. Intellectually, as much as I hate to admit this, I'm more comfortable in using English due to my academic background and training. At any rate, it was a productive conversation and I even got to continue the discussion in the teachers' lounge today.

By the way, below is the editorial piece in the Jakarta Post regarding this issue. One of the rare cool heads amidst the overwhelming self-righteous vigilantes clamoring for the total destruction of this Islamic sect. Still one of the main questions in the editorial remains unanswered: Why didn't MUI issue a fatwa condemning JI after the spates of suicide bombings? Yes, MUI is an ultra-conservative organization, but by not condemning JI does it mean that it agrees with JI's perverted theology and violent acts? I'd sure like to find the answer to this puzzle and so far there has not been a research done to study the link between MUI and radical Islamic groups such as JI, FPI, MMI, etc.

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Who's playing God?
The Jakarta Post - Editorial 31 Oct. 2007

Consider the different fates of these two organizations. Both are small and both are trying to propagate their own brand of Islamic teachings. The one called Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is notorious for its violent tactics; the other, going by the name Al Qiyadah al Islamiyah, has no history of violence, at least none that we know of, in spreading its teachings.

No prize for guessing which followers and leaders of these two groups are being persecuted by the authorities, and which are being tolerated. No, the police have not confused Al Qiyadah with al-Qaeda, the international terrorist organization of Osama bin Laden, with which JI has links. When they began arresting the followers of Al Qiyadah last month, the police were pretty sure they had the right group. The Islamic sect, with a few thousand followers, had earlier been condemned as practicing "deviant" teachings by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and creating "restlessness" among Indonesian Muslims. As the umbrella organization for all Islamic organizations in the country, the MUI issued a fatwa (religious edict) pronouncing Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah a threat to Islam.

One did not hear such fatwas or condemnation when suicide bombers from JI killed hundreds of innocent people in Bali and in Jakarta between 2002 and 2004 in the name of Islam. Obviously the deadly methods deployed by JI to spread its violent version of Islam, by taking innocent lives, are not considered as serious a threat by the MUI. They are not even considered as creating public unrest, which would have prompted the police to take action against the group.

The government has come under strong pressure from some Islamic groups and Islamist political parties to outlaw Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah, whose existence came to light during the Ramadhan fasting period last month. Under the law, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has the power to declare any organization illegal if it is deemed a threat to the nation. He is apparently considering doing so, as Attorney General Hendarman Soepandji indicated Monday he was still waiting for a presidential ruling banning the group before his office could take any action. National Police chief General Sutanto said he had instructed his men to arrest all the leaders of Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah even if the presidential decision had yet to be issued. The detention was also for these leaders' own safety, according to Sutanto. At least one Islamic organization has publicly threatened to take the law into its own hands unless the government outlawed Al Qiyadah.

What the MUI, the police, the radical Islamic group threatening to attack Al Qiyadah and, God forbid, the President if he goes ahead with the ban, are doing is depriving a basic human right of all Indonesian citizens. The 1945 Constitution and Pancasila ideology both guarantee freedom of religion and freedom for people to practice their faith. The state, of all the institutions, has the constitutional duty to protect and ensure that this right is observed and protected for all citizens. Instead, the state is putting the heat on Al Qiyadah leaders and followers. This is nothing short of religious persecution by the state.

One is quickly reminded of the Ahmaddiyah group, which suffered the same fate a few years ago. Its hundreds of thousands of followers are currently living in abject conditions in temporary shelters, after their houses and villages were attacked and torched by mobs, without any protection from the police. In the case of Ahmaddiyah, the MUI says the group is free to practice its "deviant" beliefs and teachings as long as it does not use the name Islam. All these incidents raise some questions about the role of the MUI and the government's collaboration in preventing people from practicing their faith. Upon whose authority does the MUI act each time it declares a particular sect "deviant"? Islam, unlike Roman Catholicism, does not have one single authority that decides which teachings are right and which are wrong. And what right does the MUI have to decide which group is more Islamic than the other? Who has the right to use the name Islam or who has the right to issue sanctions if one group is allowed to call itself Islam? Are Al Qiyadah and Ahmaddiyah less Islamic than Jemaah Islamiyah and al-Qaeda? Which of these are the bigger threats to Islam? Who makes such judgments?

Islam teaches its followers to respect other people's beliefs, for only then will others respect their faith. La kum di nukum wali yaddin (unto you your religion, unto me my religion) is the clearest verse in the Koran that teaches followers to be tolerant. Another verse teaches Muslims to compete in doing good deeds in this world to win the favor of God, the holder of absolute truth. Someone in this country is obviously trying to play God by claiming to have the absolute truth in their hands. And the state, for some unexplained reason, is part of this conspiracy in violation of the 1945 Constitution and the state ideology Pancasila.

The bizarro world that is the Jakarta airport

Okay, first up, I know that I haven't been very diligent in updating my blog. Almost three months from the last post, to be exact. Seriously, I can come up with a dozen of excuses to justify my hiatus but I'm not going to waste my precious bandwith on explaining away my lacking in production. The only piece of writing I've done in the past three months is an article for the school's monthly magazine entitled "Why English?" It's basically an article convincing the students in my pesantren that learning and mastering the English language can be both fun and extremely beneficial for their academic and career goals, and not to add, their love life. How the hell can you set up a Friendster account when you cannot even understand the English instructions? What happens if you meet a cute bule girl you're interested in but too intimidated to talk to because of your poor command in English? This ought to be enough motivation for the boys to pay more attention in my class. I sure hope so...

Anyway, I do have plenty to write about my experience living in Indonesia in the past three months and I feel almost bad for starting up the first post on a bad note since almost all of the experiences have been very exciting and mind-opening, but here it goes.

As anybody who has ever transited through the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta can attest that the experience is not really a pleasant one. I flew into Jakarta from Malaysia a couple of days ago with the assumption that I'm all checked through to Banjarmasin, which was my final destination. That was the first mistake. Never assume anything. Second mistake: Rechecking the assumption only once. Even after you recheck your assumption, make sure to ask several more people just to verify the info. My airport travail started when I was issued a boarding pass in KLIA for the second leg of my journey from Jakarta to Banjarmasin. When I arrived in Jakarta's Terminal 2 I asked an airport personnel where should I go for transit, and she said I didn't need to go anywhere since my connecting flight was supposedly in the same terminal. I did glance at the flight info screen and my flight was nowhere to be found. This should already be a cause for alarm but somehow I thought that maybe the airport hadn't had the time to update the flight info screen. Foolish me! I ended up spending the next couple of hours sitting in the foodcourt smoking and reading a book since my connecting flight was not until a few more hours--it was a long layover. Then I had the presence of mind to check the flight info screen again and lo and behold still no info on my flight. Something's fishy was going on here and I decided to ask other airport officials. The first one I asked still said that I was in the right terminal but the second one I asked told me that I was in the wrong terminal since Lion Air only flies out Terminal 1. The confusing thing was that there was a sign that said ALL domestic flights leave through Gate F in Terminal 2, when the fact was ONLY domestic flights by Garuda and Merpati leave through this terminal. What a very smart way to organize the airport system, if you ask me!

To make matter worse, it was pouring heavily outside and there was hardly any shuttle bus running between the terminals. The free yellow shuttle bus was nowhere to be found and I had to flag down a hotel shuttle van to take me to Terminal 1 and pay the driver Rp 5,000. Once I got to Terminal 1 I immediately went to the Lion Air check-in counter to find out what I should do. The agent told me to go directly to the boarding hall since I already had my pass. Happy of the fact I was not going to miss my flight I paid the Rp 10,000 departure tax and trudged myself up onto the boarding hall. After sitting for a while in the crowded hall full with screaming kids and sticky floor, I realized that my boarding pass didn't have any seat assignment. I first assumed that it was like AirAsia where it's a free seating arrangement. But by now I've learned that relying on assumption can be both painful and costly, and so I decided to ask a Lion Air employee. He was shocked to find out that I didn't have any seat assignment when the passengers were about to board the plane in 15 minutes. He rushed me downstairs through some unmarked hallways to a special transit counter, so I can get a proper boarding pass. Okay, here's the question: If I need a new boarding pass in Jakarta why did Lion Air issue me one in Malaysia? The fact that the Lion Air ticketing agent told me just go straight to the boarding hall without checking in with the transit counter was mind-boggling. Thankfully--if you can even say it that--the flight was delayed for another hour, which bought me extra time to get a proper boarding pass. I finally arrived in Banjarmasin at close to 12 midnight and fortunately Mr Jenal, a fellow teacher, was still waiting patiently for me. It was almost a three-hour wait for him! It was 1am when I finally got to my house in the pesantren and I couldn't really go to sleep because a gang of cats decided to take up residence in my attic while I was gone and the part of the attic they claimed was right above my bed! The sound of scratching and mating call does not really make a good lullaby, I tell you. And at 6am I received a call from another English teacher who wanted to find out if I'm fit for teaching (sort of) and to break the tragic news that my school-provided motorcycle had been sold so the headmaster can build a new garage by his house. It was a bit deflating to lose my reliable iron steed to escape the village whenever I feel like it, but I managed to brush it off and went back to sleep until noon, despite the cats.

By the way, I got this joke below from Bulu on the same day of my airport fiasco and it really made my day. And thanks so much Juria for being the willing ear (I supposed it was eyes and fingers because we were 'sms'ing) for me to vent out throughout the whole trial and tribulations. That definitely sounds like an Academy Award acceptance speech!

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If you're feeling down, do what Pak Lah (the current Malaysian PM) did. After his "new" marriage, he's feeling younger and it shows. All his friends go to bed in kain pelikat or pajamas but he goes to bed in "jean" but he prefer the jeans in the 50's since its "longgar tapi selesa."

Okay, this joke may not be applicable to non-Malaysian unless if they study Malaysian politics. And it's also a bit crude if you get the underlying meaning. But it definitely cracks me when I first read it. Thanks a lot Bulu for making up this joke. I don't know if this is originally his or if he got it from somebody else, but it's funny nonetheless.

Malaysia & Indonesia: My Sketch of Life

Last week I gave a presentation at the Indonesian language class on the similarities and the differences between Malaysia and Indonesia from my own perspective. The talk was not at all academic and was very informal, and was based mainly from my own experiences and assumptions. The impetus for the talk started when the Indonesian language coordinator, Amelia, approached me with an idea of presenting her students with the comparison between the two countries as some of them are actually focusing on Malaysia for their research. Since Bahasa Malaysia is not offered in any universities in the US, students of Malaysia have to content with learning Bahasa Indonesia with hopes that it will be enough to carry them through their research. Despite the significant similarities between the two countries there are various idiosyncracies scholars of both countries have to navigate through and be cognizant of, lest they suffer the humiliation of cultural and linguistic faux pas.

My talk was basically broken down to three aspects of differences--though there are certainly many more--with a brief intro of similarities. And before I forget, my talk was completely done in Bahasa Indonesia as one of the objectives was to test the students' verbal comprehension. The three aspects of differences I talked about were language, people, and food. I told my audience repeatedly that since the points I made were merely from my own observations and life experiences, they should not be taken at the face value.

I think the difference is the most stark when one gets to the colloquial level of both languages. The language part of my talk highlighted the different words used in both countries to describe the same objects or actions. The obvious example is CAR. In Malaysia it's kereta, but in Indo it's mobil and kereta in Indo is TRAIN. Many Malaysians mix these words up when they go to Indo. Another example is NEWSPAPER. In Malaysia it's called suratkhabar but in Indo it's koran. Malaysians, when they first heard the word koran used for newspaper would stood agape and perplexed at the perceived desecration of the Islamic holy book al-Qur'an. Rest assured that is not the origin of the word. The word koran comes from the French word courant, which among its other meanings, is news gazette. Another aspect of linguistic gap is the difference in connotations of the very same words in both countries. For example the words pantat and butuh, which are very negative slangs in Malaysia but in Indo they are common words used in a very harmless context. I remember this one year I was traveling in Java with my Indonesian aunts and we stopped for bathroom break and food. As they all got out of the car one of them stretched her body and loudly proclaimed that: "Waduh, pantatku panas sekali!"--obviously from sitting in the car for too long. I wasn't able to contain my bemusement and just burst out laughing right then and there while my aunts looked confused. I later told them what pantat actually means in Malaysia and they then made a vow not to use that word in front of me again or when they are ever in Malaysia.

I also talked about the food in both countries and I told the audience that by far I believe that Malaysian food is better than Indonesian. I wasn't actually talking about the quality of the food itself but simply the choices one is being presented with, and the accessibility and affordability of these choices. At the risk of sounding hyper-nationalistic, when it comes to food Malaysia simply has many more choices--and better ones too. As a big fan of mamak stalls, I gave the example of Indian food. Even in such cosmopolitan city like Jakarta it's really hard to find cheap Indian food. And also due to Malaysia's close geographic proximity with Thailand there is a heavy Thai influence in its cuisine. Thanks to the sizeable Chinese population Malaysia is known for Chinese cuisine, especially the southern variations. The Indo teachers feigned annoyance when I expounded on the food differences and "warned" me not to ever come to their office again to eat--they all take turn to cook and bring food to the office everyday. Despite the stern warning--in the middle of the talk, mind you!--I still went up to their office after my presentation to eat lunch.

One final observation is about people and I told the audience that, based on my experience, Indonesians in general are more patient. The example I used was traffic jams. Ever seen those angry faces of KL drivers during the evening rush hour? Now, try sitting in an Indonesian traffic jams (macet) and observe how patient and calm the drivers are in general despite all the honkings and high-beamings. This slice of Indonesia never ceases to amaze me however many times I'm there. I also made a point that Indonesian girls, especially the Sundanese, are much more approachable, friendlier, and less stuck-up--and in my opinion, prettier. This observation is, of course, my own and has no empirical basis at all. Before any of you Malaysian girls send me death threats and hate mails I'd like to provide two perfectly good reasons why I said what I said. One, of course there are many pretty girls in Indonesia because its population is ten times bigger than Malaysia. Duh! Second, since all four Indonesian language teachers are female, I see my statement as a form of flattery and also as a way to make up for my previous critique on Indonesian food. Yes, I was trying to be slick but I still think there is a grain of truth in my assertion. So guys, don't just take my word for it. Go to Indonesia and find out for yourself.

Anyway, I'll be leaving for Indonesia in two days and I simply can't wait. Packing is such a drag and I'm sure that I'll be paying through the nose for excess baggage.

In becoming teacher-santri

I was just informed by Fulbright's Indonesian host, Aminef, that I'll be assigned to teach English at Pesantren Darul Hijrah Putra in Martapura, South Kalimantan. Fulbright in Indonesia, along with the American Embassy in Jakarta, is now starting to expand its English teaching program by including Islamic schools (pesantren) in its school network. Well, I can sense a certain agenda with this expanded approach, similar to the USAID's channeling funds to liberal Islamic groups through the Asia Foundation, which I will touch on later. Not that there's anything wrong with it, as long as there's no "ideological propagation" involved. I'm actually very excited to teach at a pesantren in Kalimantan, which I've never been to before.

To those who are not familiar with Indonesian religious education, pesantren is essentially a traditional religious school. Presently, it's instruction is not so traditional any more since most pesantren now include modern subjects such as science, English, and Math as part of their curriculum. Nevertheless, it is still traditional in the sense that it adheres to the traditionalist--as opposed to modernist--school of Islam, which revolves around studying and memorizing ancient Islamic canons (kitab kuning) and following the leadership of charismatic ulamas (religious leaders). The reason I am assigned to a pesantren is because of my academic background and by being a Muslim, of course. My Masters thesis deals with the topic of Islamic revivalism in Indonesia during Suharto's era (1966 to 1998), and one-half of it involves the study of the two main Islamic mass organizations in Indonesia, the traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the modernist Muhammadiyah. While I have visited a couple of pesantrens in West Java before, the prospect of actually living and teaching in one for a year is very attractive indeed.

In terms of location, I have no clue whatsoever of the whereabouts of Martapura. I had to Google it up just to get a brief idea of what the place is like. From what I've gathered so far it's a diamond mining town about 25 miles or 40 km from Banjarmasin, the closest big city, which is also the capital of the South Kalimantan province. My sense is Martapura is out in the boondocks, with not much else going on except diamond mining and Islamic learning--and I'm perfectly fine with it. It's a good change of pace for now. It's also a comfort to know that the closest "city," Banjarmasin, is only 40 km away and easily accessible by abundant of public transportation, which also has a regional airport, in case if I feel like temporarily escaping to Java or Malaysia, for that matter. What I also need to do while I'm over there is to find good diving spots. I briefly read about the two major islands in the vicinity, Pulau Kembangan (?) and Pulau Kaget, which I hope offer good diving opportunities.

Boy, am I psyched...

Gamelan and Javanese Dance Concert

The slamatan before the concert. Andy (our gamelan teacher) and his wife, Peggy (the Javanese dance instructor), led the ceremony.

Rearranging the instruments on the stage, which include moving the heavy and highly sensitive gongs.

Moving the gongs. What a team effort!

The second act: Lawung Jajar

With my boss, Mary Jo; my Indo comrade, Dadit; his son, Fasha; and his wife, Heni.

At Sinae's prodding, posing for photo Korean-style, with Andy and Mary Jo.

With Isabel and Yosef.

The Malaysians who came for support with Huda still in her dancer costume (on the left).

Post-concert photo with the Malaysian guys and one-half of the kempul. Tonight was the first time I had worn batik shirt in years, which I had to dig out of my closet the night before.

Last night was the annual University of Wisconsin's Javanese Gamelan and Dance Concert, and I was one of the gamelaners. The concert has always been held on the last Saturday of April at the Mills Music Hall in the Humanities building. I have to say that I was nervous as heck. I have only been playing gamelan for two semesters and now I had to perform on the stage in front of hundreds of scrutinizing eyes. I was also playing the gong for the first three songs, which made me even more tense because gong is the central instrument of a gamelan ensemble. Well, some people say that playing gong is easy because it does not get hit that often. True, but therein lies the pressure. If a player hits the gong too early/late or with the wrong pitch (too loud/soft) or simply hit the wrong gong (there are four different gongs but we're only using three), then the result is disastrous because the mistake is so obvious and very audible to all.

We gathered at 4pm to carry the instruments out to the hallway in the back of the stage. After the gamelan room was cleared, I was told that because this was my first gamelan concert, as a hazing ritual, I had to vacuum the room to get it ready for slamatan. Slamatan is a traditional Javanese feast to commemorate important events such as birthday, birth, farewell, good luck, etc. As in every year, the food for slamatan was provided by the one and only Indonesian restaurant in Madison, Bandung. The slamatan in this case meant as a good luck to all the performers before the show. Mary Jo (the singer or pesindhen, and who is also my boss at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies), made roasted chicken decorated with flowers and leaves as an offering to propitiate the spirits. Every gamelan ensemble, and especially the gong, is considered as pesaka, a sacred relic animated with particular spirits. A couple of incenses were stuck into the "spiritual setpiece," lit up, and placed in front of the big gong (gong ageng, which is the most sacred instrument of all), which annoys the hell out of me because the smoke was suffocating.

There was a brief practice run on the stage an hour before the concert. Everybody then had the chance to change clothe about 20 minutes before the performance; instead I went outside to smoke kretek (clove cigarettes) with Pak Ben Arps, a linguistics professor from Leiden University, who was also our guest player. The concert started a little bit after 8pm. The first song, which had a few extremely long gongans (beats between gongs, 256 beats in this case) went without a hitch. The second song I managed to screw up twice: once I hit the gong too late and the other was too soon. In my defense, the acoustic in the hall wasn't that friendly to a gong player like me because I sat in the back row while all the sound traveled and dispersed forward toward the audience. Gong players have to listen to other instruments for cues and it was hard to hear what notes other instruments were playing when the sound was kind of faint and mushy at the same time. Also, the second song (Ladrang Srikaton and Sukma Ilang) was a gong-intensive piece, where I had to hit the gongs on rapid succession during the ayak-ayakan, sprepagan, and sampak parts, which is a bit unusual for gamelan. I screwed up once during the srepegan part, but fortunately recovered in time to not lose track of my place in the tempo. The third song was uneventful (meaning no error on my part), and then it was time for intermission.

There were four songs in the second act, which were played concurrently with a series of Javanese dances. I played three different instruments, and none of them were gong; I played saron pelog, demung, and gender. The good thing about playing these instruments is that mistakes are not that obvious and can be easily covered up, which happened to me quite a few times. I had the most problem with gender since I just learned how to play it last week. But overall, everything went well and we received thunderous applause from the audience. After the concert, as usual, the audience spilled over onto the stage to congratulate (and take pictures with) the performers. I'd like to thank the Malaysian students and others who came tonight to show support. Including me, there were three other Malaysians performing in the concert: Farah, Fahrol, and Huda (who did both playing the instruments AND dancing!).

I was so famished after the concert since I didn't eat as much during the slamatan. I always lose my appetite when I'm nervous, so naturally I can't wait to go to Andy's house after the concert to eat the leftover food.

I will try to post some more pictures of the concert beside the ones here. It's a bit hard to take pictures while performing!! I'm also trying to see if I can get the video of the concert, so I can show it to my mom. Yes, I'm a momma' boy!

Note: Check out Bern Jordan's website, a member of the UW gamelan group, for a good intro on the music and its particular ensemble here on campus. Bern is an especially adept bonang player and has been playing gamelan for the past six years--currently a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering.