Little Barry is back to inspire the youngs (?)

The statue of the young Barrack Obama made its public come back. Yup. The authorities decided to put it back back up prior to Obama’s state visit to Indonesia next month. But, to all booers’ rejoice, not to its previous place.

A couple of months ago I joined a Facebook group calling the authority to put away the statue. The group admins suggested that Obama is not one of Indonesian visionaries, so why should his statue put on display instead of local visionary figures say Gus Dur of Benyamin Sueb (Jakarta’s own Oliver Hardy). Not long after I left the group because there were too many jerks saying plenty of horrible craps.

Finally by court order the Little Barry statue was taken out from the public park.

Little Barry at Menteng park. Photo from DKI My City flickr page

The statue is now found a new home at the state elementary school where Obama studied for 3 years back in the seventies.

Islam in Indonesia is like a palate, ranging from moderate to militants. Despite Obama’s stern action with their fellow muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan, to most Jakartans, Obama remains Barry, their homeboy ( who’s now happened to have differnt nationality and is one of the world’s most influential head of state).

I didn’t find it brilliant at first knowing that there’s a foundation in Jakarta raising money to built Obama statue. One, the statue from pictures I found on Google, mind you that I haven’t been living in Jakarta for a while now, looked poorly made. The little boy statue didn’t resemble Barrack Obama at all, it looked more like a tuyul (or toyol to our neighbor Malaysians, Singaporeans and Thais – a mythical spirit invoked by black magic, still a common belief in some parts of Indonesia). It will definately discourage people to hang around in the park until late..hahaha. Bottom line, to me putting the statue at the public park is esthetically incorrect.

Two, if the statue was meant to glorify Barrack Obama as Jakarta’s greatest export, than that would be plain wrong and an insensitive move. It saddens me that local government disregard the public’s opinion when it comes to beautifying public spaces. Well.. not like it’s the first or final time anyway.

Despite my personal criticism towards him and what media have said, I still consider Obama a visionary figure. He’s no superman, and nobody should take him as one. Things could’ve been worse if uncle Sam has that creepy Colonel Sander’s at the oval office… yikes.

It’s a great to know that an initiative has been made by someone in whatever foundation to move the statue to the elementary school’s yard, allowing the Little Barry to inspire the young Indonesians, as cliché as it might sound, to shoot the moon.

Should more homes become mass graveyards?

This post is dedicated to commemorate of Blog Action Day ’09

Few weeks ago, an earthquake took place in Padang, hundreds were perished perished under the debris, while hundreds more were missing due to landslides triggered by the quake. The area where they built their houses lost most of its forests, so basically there’s so few roots that keep the ground steady. One unfortunate event turn the place they called home into mass graveyard.

People are becoming more and more defenseless at the lashes of natural disasters, especially those who life in island nations. Are we ready to be displaced?

Reports said that climate change could trigger massive human displacement and threatened national stability.

It strikes me, haven’t we all took advantage of the earth? And since everybody’s doing it one way or the other, does it make it okay?

Seriously, the thought was sad.

Here are the realities of our Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world.

Our own water world

We have some of the richest marine biodiversity in the world, yet we benefitour seas by poaching the fishes, use chemicals to make fishing easier, bombed and bleached our coral reefs.

Watching Nemo hundreds of times doesn’t mean that you’re well informed about the ocean and marine biodiversity.

Coral reefs are the lungs of the oceans. In Indonesia coral destructions are massive and this will eventually threaten our marine diversity.

Corals depend on other ocean creatures to stay alive. In many Indonesian waters unhealthy fishing practices caused irreversible damage and disruption to the ocean food chain.

Scissors beat paper, paper beat tigers

Indonesia is (again) listed on Guiness Book of Records  for the highest rate of forest devastation in the world, according to Greenpeace an area of rainforest about the size of Manhattan being cleared on a daily basis. And sadly, even if the government banned timbering altogether (forest moratorium), slowing down deforestation is nearly a mission impossible. Why? Because 90% of the ongoing deforestations are done illegally. See some compelling pictures on The Guardian by clicking here.  You might think, “there’s plenty where they came from”, well to think that is just dead wrong. The world is not getting any younger, and you can’t teach old dog new tricks.

An aerial photo by a French photographer Yann-Arthus Bertrand: Borneo land clearing for palm oil

When we were kids, some of us may know the game rock paper scissors. Well right now it’s rock beats scissors, while paper beats everything, including the endagered wild animals. At least that’s from the environment activists in Sumatra and Kalimantan, where many forests have been transformed, or going to be transformed into industrial forests that produce paper (yes, it includes toilet paper and pocket tissue, our forests go down to the loo so stop eating chilli too often), rubber, and palm oil.

According to Institute for the Studies on Free Flow Information (ISAI), Indonesia has lost 72% of its original forest. Terrible forest management and consession are to be blamed for all these losses.

So what can we do to make things better? You don’t have to do heroic things..

Try small, yet repetitive acts of humility that will go miles.

• When you spend, spend wisely, don’t put your cents to forest destructors.
• Choose budget airlines that concern about carbon footprints.

• Take time to update yourself with what’s happening out there. Be proud of science breakthrough, new species discoveries, support greener technologies. Read, learn, knowledge is power.

• Take your pushbike for a spin, if you happen to live in Jakarta where weekend is the only time to do it, then do it anyway.. Support Car Free Day, Bike to Work initiatives, use common transport 

• Last but not least, ask your leaders both in big league (Jakarta) or little leagues (provinces), questions their policies, ask them to sober up with their forest concession “giveaways”.

In my opinion, Indonesia as a country has bigger problem than poverty, economy – nature preservation. Let’s face it, the axis of our economy is nature.

Our esteemed leaders, your people are the best investment for the country’s future and the world’s.

Please stop fooling yourself by saying that you live in urban areas and far away from the “wild”.

Face it, in one way or many, people contribute to climate change and further devastation of this earth. So let’s start slowing down the destruction and allow the earth to grow back what it needs to remain our host. Because we are all guest on earth, let’s show some respect.

Smoke and blame: story of hipocrisy and ridiculous excessiveness

The clerics are getting “boo”ed, yet again

Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) held meeting last weekend in West Sumatra and issued on Sunday — seven religious edicts.

Besides ban on abortion, vasectomy, voting abstention during electoral season, marriage with minors if it was proven disadvantagous (I haven’t find explaination to this edict yet, once I do I will totally write about it!), the list of edicts also includes ban on smoking.

The problem is that Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest tobacco market and currently Southeast Asia strongest economy, the ever so thriving industry has contributed much to the country’s economic improvements.

In east Javanese town of Jember, the tobacco demands in 2008 increased to 17,032.18 tons from 14,763.18 tons in 2007, and the tobacco farmers, through Abdurrahman, the head of tobacco farmer’s association expressed their rejection on MUI’s edict. Abdurrahman said to Indonesian News Agency ANTARA that the farmers would not obey the edict and would continue growing tobacco to support their families.

“Haram has a relation to sin and so the mosques built by cigarette factories would also be haram, because they were funded by something haram,” said Syafiq Nashan the head of the ulema in the city of Kudus, a centre for the tobacco industry, as quoted by the British news bureau Reuters.

Amin Suma, chairman of the Edict Commission of MUI said that smoking for Muslims is between `haram`, or forbidden and `makruh`, an Arabic term which basically means that smoking is bad and it’s better that one quits it.

Reuters article indicates that there has been a heated debate during the MUI meeting and in the end they can’t decide whether to categorize smoking as ‘haram’ or the other one.

“Makruh means something that God hates, so how come the ulemas still smoke?”, questioned Fauziah Fauzan, headmistress of the Diniyyah Putri Islamic girls’ boarding school, where the meeting was held, said she regretted the decision.

MUI is the country’s largest Muslim body, it is aware of its strength to steer voices (and sometimes forces) of the Indonesian majority.

Fatwa could never be considered as law in Indonesia, due to the state’s secularity.

After major economic collapse in 1998, finally the small ray of hope of better life conditions growing stonger and stronger.

I strongly feel that MUI is a big party pooper for making the people who involves in tobacco industry to feel that whenever they serve their family and their country well, they have displeased God.

Let’s see: Indonesia is a country of 200-something million population, about 90% of them are Muslims. Despite being crowned Southeast Asian latest economic powerhouse, poverty is still a major issue in the country, counting 34.96 million or 15.42% of the Indonesian population (BPS, March 2008), as mentioned by the World Bank‘s website.

MUI counts 700 as members, who said to have acted because some big groups of people asked them to do “the right thing”, and this groups of people belongs to the 90%.

So if they act NOT on the behalf of the people who concerned (read: tobacco farmers, factory workers, etc) because there are some rejections, arguments (even within the body itself), then who did they act for? Who asked them to?

Putting things in mandatory would only extract the elements of education.

I’m pro-health, but I’m also pro-people. If banning of the tobacco was carried out for health-sake, then it’s far better educating people about the hazards of smoking, you know..the good campaign on cause and consequence, and THEN let them assess by themselves and choose what to do.

Or does the MUI feels that Indonesians are mere bunch of astrayed ignorants? And aren’t they Indonesians? From Indonesian families?

Though I’m not Muslim, and currently living abroad, I’m still Indonesian, I love my country and proud of it.

I’m gravely concern of what would the country become in the future when the country’s religious body tries to “purify” the people and the state using God’s name in vain.

Unclear and present danger for Muslim Rohingyas

The Rohingyas fled their country, fear of their life, in present and future. Hundreds of them aboard fishing boats to find hope in neighbour countries like Thailand and Indonesia.

All of them were born and raised in conflict torn areas in Myanmar.They were beaten and denied citizenship by th Myanmar authorities.

After all those years, they choose to float in the open sea into an unguaranteed hope than to live a definite misery in their native land.

Some five hundred of the Rohingyas were reported missing at the sea, some were dead of hunger, some were gravely ill due to lack of hygiene.

Can their “silent” plea be any louder than this?

Fresh water and a sack of Thai rice

Thai parlement decided to pass the refugee matter to the military who then send them back off shore with fresh water and a sack of rice.

The country is no stranger to ethnic refugees in search of asylum. Yet over the years, it hasn’t seen any improvement in terms of handling asylum seekers or protecting the rights of its own ethnic minorities.

Land of smiles, how Thailand is known for, has been stirred by political and social problems lately– the feisty Samak finally resigned; Abhisit now took office but not like his peeps are going to see the supporters of ex-PM Thaksin sit still and pretty for long; the Muslim region on the south is not getting quieter either, backpacks filled with explosives are still out there trying to make the “difference” (or to prove something); and with global recession, job cuts and other problems are appearing at the horizon of social welfare.

Buddhism is the state religion, however in southern-most province of Pattani lives the Thai-Muslim minority. In this province, bomb threats and explosions are still rampant, carried out from time to time by militants. Patani is poor, perhaps the poorest province in the country. The conditions can hardly change due to the destructive measures carried out by rebel group and little by little the Pattanis bare a status as the country’s “estranged” people.

They have enough problems for one administration already. AFP highlighted last month Thai goverment’s future plan to unveil a new tourism jargon “Apologies Thailand”. Perhaps the jargon will serve as apology of Thai government’s multidimensional oopses.

No room in the archipelago

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, it has the longest stretch of shoreline in the world, has the richest and most diverse marine reserves on the entire planet; the natural wealth of this country helped it to grow into fourth most densely populated country in the world, and religious freedom made Indonesia the most populous Muslim country.

All that statistic and more: one of the most corrupt countries in the world (has even called the most corrupt in the world, sometimes in the past), fastest deforestation in the planet (gone trees, gone in blink of an eye), its capital Jakarta is the model of Southeast Asian Megalopolis gone horrendous.

Few days ago, Aljazeera news said that the Indonesian government will repel 193  Rohingya boat people, stating that the Rohingyas migrated from their country due to economic reasons, therefore they’re not political asylum seekers.

… (speechless)

As Indonesian, having been raised with “shush!”, “watch what you’re saying”, “and don’t be a smart-ass”, I should be bother to think and feel at all, but sometimes I trully wonder if our officials’ grey matter and  their spirit of humanity align.

Perhaps in front of the Rohingyas, the authorities were subconsciously face to face with the country’s “estranged” people and problems and they did what they wish they could do to state problems — send them all out to the sea.