Free Prita Mulyasari

I took the banner from this blog. I'm joining the cause to free Ibu Prita as I think it is important to keep freedom of speech.

There are some notes that we should take as a lesson from this case. Notes that would probably asked netizen to be more careful in writing out their complaints, not for being afraid to be sued like Ibu Prita, but to keep in mind that we are also prone to make mistakes. If we are the doctor whose name happened to be mentioned in a complaint letter published in the internet like that, wouldn't it ruin our future career? It could happened to anybody, not only to doctors, but to politician, to teachers (like the one I've mentioned in this post), to architects, to journalists, or to other professions. Young doctor could have his/her career terminated because of our emotional reaction.

I've seen the different effect coming from unedited letter to the edited version. Yet, as a costumer and as a citizen, I feel that Ibu Prita has the right to be angry. She was probably writing out her letter because she was not informed sufficiently by the hospital about her illness.

Lots of interesting articles shown both in the printed media and in the cyber space. I like the opinion from a medical record administrator printed in daily Kompas (Tuesday, 9 June 2009), "Prita, Apa Salahmu?". The medical record (or Dokumen Rekam Medis/DRM) is actually paid by the patient, and belong to the patient (family). As a costumer we have the right to have the copy of the medical record. Keeping a medical record to the hospital is something common here. Not only OMNI Hospital did it. A friend of mine was forced to lie that she was going back to Germany to get her medical record copy released by a private hospital in Jakarta. But, it was a long time ago, may be it is not happen anymore there (hopefully).

The opinion article gave us more insight on what should happened, and how it create the misunderstanding between patient and the hospital.

The basic foundation of relation is always TRUST. If the patient trust the doctor and the hospital, and the hospital (and doctors) trust the patient as their potential costumer in the future, then we can minimize communication problem. If the hospital treats its patient as a human being who deserves explanation of what was happening, then the letter would probably never written.

There are a lot of notes that I noted from this case; the freedom of speech, the costumer right of good service, the judicial procedure, the education sector, marketing effect, and also about citizen journalism (or at least about editorial of a blog post or an article). I hope I have time to talk about it next time. With the school vacation starting tomorrow I can't make any promise right now...

From a cyber letter into a real prison

A letter sent through the internet can lead you into the prison. The case of Prita Mulyasari, a mother with two little children, has proven that a personal letter through the internet could be a subject of the 2008 Law on Electronic Information and Transactions, article 27.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009, the Jakarta Post posted "Don't blame Internet law for Prita's detention: Official"

The legal adviser for the communications and information minister, Edmon Makarim, said Wednesday the libel case implicating housewife Prita Mulyasari could not justify calls for the revocation of the 2008 Law on Electronic Information and Transactions due to suspicion that it would stifle freedom of speech.

Prita is charged with Article 27 of the law after she sent an email containing her complaint about services at Omni International Hospital Alam Sutera in Tangerang, Banten.

“Don't judge the law if you don't know exactly what happened. The trial has not even started yet,” Edmon told a seminar at University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java.

“Who knows if there was a conspiracy behind the case? We know that the hospital business today is full of competition,” he added.

“I don't want to comment on Prita's particular case. The point is, if you transmit slander through the Internet, you are subject to criminal charges,” Edmon said. (bbs)

Prita was already in prison since May 13, 2009 (printed Kompas, June 4, 2009 "Kronologi Kasus Prita Mulyasari"). So, from May 13 to June 3, she was already in prison charges to the civil law. Which one? I don't really know, but to enter a prison (before the whole trial finished) should only be possible if the charges will put her more than five years in jail. The UU ITE charges is six years, so this is the law that put her into prison before her temporary released on June 3rd.

According to printed daily Kompas, the story started from August 7, 2009 at 20.30 WIB when Prita went to the emergency room of an international hospital in Alam Sutra, Serpong. She was having a fever for 3 days. Then, had her blood checked and the result was a very low thrombocyt, 27.000 per ul. She was diagnosed as DBD (dengue fever) and need to go for inhouse treatment in the hospital.

The problem lied in the result of the thrombocyt test, it was revised as 181.000 per ul, and the hospital could not produced the test result of the first informed 27.000 per ul. On August 12, Prita left the hospital and went into another hospital. I think the detail is not very important, if Prita accused the first hospital that her treatment there made her suffered and almost lost her sight, it should be proven by the medical record. Yet, she (and her family) agreed to be hospitalized in that hospital was probably on the basic of the low result of her thrombocyt test. They don't have the chance to think of other alternative. I think by spending five days in the hospital, they have shown that they trusted the hospital and their medical team. It turned out that they received only disappointment, in term of medical status, and in the communication with the medical team. Lots of hospital cases was actually made Indonesians prefer to go to the hospitals abroad. It is no use using "international" brand name if the service is not international class.

The story became more complicated as we do not know if the mail used as the evidence of this case is the one posted by Prita herself. She admitted sending a personal letter to her friends via e-mail, but how it ended up in the mail-listers' box was not even clear. A letter shown in detik.com was already edited, but the letter that was discussed in kaskus was still unedited.

As a citizen reporter, I think it is not very important who posted the letter. It is the right of the citizen to know such a bad treatment in an international health service. The important thing is that the letter was written by the person who experienced the hospital treatment. It is urgent that we know what was happening. I also prefer the real letter as it conveys names and position clearly. So I don't need to make a wrong guessing game, and it also helps me to know the real situation. If it is not true, then why don't the hospital write their own version of the story in the comment section? That's how a patient feel after the treatment. It is the task of its customer service to provide service that will make the patient and her family feel the essence of being a customer.

I think I would also feel being cheated if I was told that my test result was very low, and after signing the agreement to be hospitalized I could never assess that result test again. Did the hospital admit that their employee gave wrong information? How would they reacted if it happens to an expatriate or a foreign visitor?

I know that Dengue Fever needs some days before a doctor could really point it out as the reason of illness, but the thrombocyt result is important. Low thrombocyt could need donor. My husband had thrombocyt transfusion when he was having Dengue Fever. Yet, my brothers survived it in the 70s when the treatment is limited to help the body healed itself (they already had blood came in their urine and from the nose, we thought they won't survive it). My cousin was having Dengue without being hospitalized, but still under a doctor's control.

I think Prita and her family had the reason to be upset, and voicing it out as readers' letters or as a blog is nothing to do with disgracing a name of an institution. It should be viewed as a critic, and answered by giving better treatment to other patients. Using the ITE Law as the basic charges for treating a costumer complain is like threatening citizen from speaking out our critic, not only to private institution but also to the government. That is how we, as blogger, see that UU ITE is not really serving the people. May be the intention when composing it is good, but the implementation could be used wrongly and made people afraid to voice out their voices. Yes, the cyber world could bring you into the real prison...even if your cyber letter intended to warn people for a good reason!

Note:
A senior high school student contributed the news about the hospital intention to file a law suit in wikimu last year, see it here. The link in the article came from the readers' letter section in detik.com.

Prita spent quite some time in the prison before her temporary release, so I do think that journalists did not really continue covering the story. Without the cyber world this story won't be existed, but as citizen we will also loose our chance to know the news that we need to know. Without the cyber networking, we don't have the strength to voice out our support.

Other links:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/06/04/experts-testify-against-prita-ago.html

http://www.kaskus.us/showthread.php?t=1037126

http://web.bisnis.com/senggang/kesehatan/1id18956.html

Menilik Akar, Nusantara Art Exhibition 2009

I went to Pameran Seni Rupa Nusantara 2009 only a day before the closing day. I did not have the chance to join the discussion. Usually I've got my father who will help me with to pick up the boys and look after them, but after his surgery I don't want to bother him too much (I still left the boys for some hours on week-end in my parents' house:)). The school's examination made my schedule tighter than ever...this year I've got three boys to prepare. I'm also going to miss the yearly seminar on environmental issues led by CCF(French Cultural Center) and some other institutions.

The exhibition was really something (read the article from the Jakarta Post here). The most important thing is that artists from all over the country have their chance to exhibit their art work in Galeri Nasional. I love one particular piece, Senandung Alam Pegunungan III. The Dayak girl and her musical instrument, together with all those symbolism on the design of her tattoo, her clothes, and her musical instrument attracted me. I've uploaded it to my picture in Face Book, and a friend from Kalimantan gave me the local name; sampe for the musical instrument, and hudong for the mask. Using Face Book this way is very useful, we are exchanging news and knowledge easier and faster. Why should forbidding people from using Face Book if we viewed it through the positive way?

I was also smiling when seeing a chess board with a little girl on it. This little girl is trying to pick up some lollies. The candy's wrapped by pictures of political party. Which one to choose? Will it taste as sweet as the promise it gives on the wrap? I've got to crop it for my Face Book photos (hoping that the artist won't mind that)...the cropped version shows the lollies closer...and made my mind wondering if the artist is giving a specific meaning by the position of the fingers, but seeing the whole painting is surely how it caught my attention in the first place.

I intend to write about this art exhibition for wikimu, but instead I wrote about Pancasila. The 1st June is the birthday of Pancasila. A friend was sending me an invitation to come to an event prepared in Fatmawati's house. Surely I couldn't go...freedom to go and and join all the activities that I love is not mine now...I've got lots of responsibilities so I've got only freedom to choose priorities.

Following my wandering mind, I wrote about Pancasila for wikimu.com but using the image of Super P-Boy (Super Pancasila Boy) that I found in Pameran Seni Rupa Nusantara 2009. The picture was chosen as the icon of "Menilik Akar" (main theme of the exhibition), and it does fit in the article. Seeking for the root also means that we are talking about a tree. If we are going to keep the growth of the Nusantara tree, then it is surely on boys and girls, the adult of the future. Then, we've got to remind ourselves about how important education is. And to remind ourselves about those who are responsible to ensure the education...ourselves!

Actually I've found a lot of interesting art pieces in this exhibition. And as I was there after my monthly visit to the National Museum, I became more interested in those who convey symbols. That's how the statue Tameng Bhuwana also came into my face book's pictures. I am wondering about the symbol it conveys. A few minutes before facing this statue, I was walking in the new ethnic room in Museum Nasional and found stories about Garuda and the fight for the holy water and some other symbols in Balinese art. So, I was curious about the special meaning of this statue, I found some information here. It tells about the guardian of the earth (bhuwana). Bhuwana agung (the environment) and Bhuwana alit (human being) should always in harmony. The weapon "Dewata Nawa Sanga" representing the Gods who guard each cardinal and intermediate directions.

The Dayak girl and the Super P Boy came from artists resided in Kalimantan, while the Tameng Bhuwana created by a lecturer from ISI Denpasar (Bali). I hope the internet will help talented artist to develop themselves without the need to migrate into big cities (especially not only to the capital city)...

Note: photos will be uploaded later.

The Victim of the System?

I know that being in the governmental circle is difficult to keep being clean and idealistic. And so does being a president. It should be taken as a sacrifice to the country to learn how to keep one's self doing their responsibility to the country and to the fellow countrymen without changing idealism...as it would be a very hard task!

Today I was greeted by the morning printed Kompas with its headline about the death of the former South Korean President, Roh Mo-hyun. It is something shocking as he was committed suicidal jump. Going to the online edition of Kompas I can read that Indonesian people is respecting him as this action show that he was really ashamed of the corruption he was accused of, and hoping that Indonesian officials can learn their lesson from him.

I don't know much about the late Roh Mo-hyun, but it is essential that whoever came into the political power, even as a legislative, remember that they should serve the people and be careful that they won't be the victim of the system. Money, power, and respect are the aspects that trigger people into temptation. Yet, they sometimes forget that gaining respect through money and power wouldn't last long...The saddest thing is when we can't make peace within our own heart...

Additional note (May 25, 2009): I've read this piece from OMNI, reciting the similar story from France, the suicide of the ex PM Beregovoy. I've noted this word from the citizen reporter "Suspecting him of corrupt behaviour was denying the man's core value, which proved fatal. Later investigations would find Beregovoy clean of any wrongdoings."

He then continues:

At his funeral, Francois Mitterrand, the president of France, gave one of his most powerful and personal speeches as tribute to his lost friend and lifetime political companion, and as warning to the dangerous path France was taking:

"No reason in this world can justify that the honor of a man and ultimately his life were thrown to dogs. His accusers have failed two fundamental laws of our Republic: to protect the dignity and liberty of each and every one of us."

By "dogs," Mitterrand meant the media. I remember watching him saying those harsh words with a voice shaking with emotion. Was Mitterrand overreacting? As a young student interested in the political life of my country, I also read critics of the President, arguing for the media's duty to uncover untold stories. I wasn't sure who was right.

I think as long as the media keep itself being objective, then the investigative story won't be leading into a false accusation. Citizen should also learn to judge news critically. Citizen journalism in this part is a way to share opinion, to give another way of seeing things, and to help the media to see another perspective from the citizen.

Learning More about Citizen Journalism

Hectic schedule made me a bit frustrated on providing time to write. I've still contributed some pictures but yet some other plans are kept in my mind...

I'm happy that a journalist based media worker had given me some questions on two articles I wrote for wikimu. She is doing her research for her master degree in journalism and was interested in analyzing those two articles. I'm happy because that way I can see which type of writing that took the interest of readers. Actually it would be nice to be able to know which type of article is interesting for common readers, and which one is interesting for those journalists. She promised me to send the soft copy of her thesis. At least I can see how interactive the article for her, and how did she grab my answers for her questions.

I've been watching how the media reacted to citizen journalism. I've also experienced how some media tried to use citizen journalism but only for their own sake. I'm not going to say which media are they. From the positive token, I think the Jakarta Post is an example from the media who used citizen journalism as a good interactive communication with its readers. An example of their balance reporting on opinion can also be seen in the articles about the annual memory of May Riot. After publishing an opinion writing that the writers have not forgotten it, which I paste in my previous posting, it was also published another opinion in a routine column of its Sunday edition.

Our national celebration of amnesia

Sun, 05/17/2009 1:36 PM | On the Town

As a scrawny high school kid in my red-checkered uniform with my black solidarity arm-band, I witnessed history in 1998. The euphoria of people-power was thick in the air of Jakarta.

We demanded reform, and we demanded the smiling tyrant be toppled from his 32-year reign. May 12 was a day of chaos. The streets of Jakarta were a battle ground. People screamed and threw rocks, while others looted everything from television sets to mattresses' and shampoo.

As the protest and mayhem escalated, the demand for Soeharto to step down reign was finally met. He announced his resignation with a big grin. The look was insulting: it was as though he believed he had done nothing wrong.

The old man proclaimed "ora pate'an", a Javanese phrase which means "nothing to lose" (whether he was president or not). Millions cheered in victory, but the damage was already done.

Contrary to Soeharto's claims, much was lost. Lives were lost. Buildings and businesses were destroyed. And my sisters were never the same after being violently raped.

Following the turmoil, blame games and cover-ups were thrown about on our television screens. The words "provocateurs" and "anarchy" suddenly became popular. Claims the mass action was provoked by a treacherous group connected to military generals was the word on the street.

Change, you ask? Reform became just another word in our history books. Certain parties reaped benefits from the revolution, while the majority of Indonesians gained nothing.

2009; eleven years later, some of the student activists who demanded reform have now joined the comfortable ranks of government, working for the very things they fought against in 1998.

The murders of university students during the protests remain unsolved to this day. Eleven years is a long time to wait for justice. However, it is not long enough for us, the generation that experienced it, to forget.

We were there. Why have we forgotten? Why have we ignored it, as if it never happened? Was it all in vain?

Last August, in celebration of Independence Day, a television station aired a 30 second bumper about national heroes. Along with Tjoet Njak Dien, Diponegoro, and those who fought against the colonialists for independence, was one man who made my heart stop: General Soeharto. Eleven years ago, he was a villain, a mass murderer, a man responsible for chaos. Now he is officially a TV hero. Men who a few years ago were implicated in the death and disappearances of students are now candidates in the presidential race, and they have a significant number of supporters.

Have we forgotten, or have we been conditioned to forget?

I have contacted several people involved in the 1998 riots and asked them to recall the events.

My then boyfriend was a high school student back in 1998. He wasn't an activist, nor was he directly involved in the action. But the atmosphere of the moment encouraged him to get involved in the euphoria.

"My school mates and I went to the University of Indonesia to join in the action, but we weren't taken seriously by the students. On our way back, we passed through an area where we saw a mass of people, got off the bus and joined in," he recalled.

Now he is a business executive. He hardly ever thinks about 1998 and is cynical of terms like "change" and "revolution".

"I think people who experienced 1998 have a reason to be apathetic. We saw that nothing really changed after the reform. Now we just do what we think is best for ourselves. The government will always remain the way it is," he said.

Lisa was also affected by the events of eleven years ago. She had her home looted by bunch of strange men. They broke in and accused her of hiding people in her house that was located near a big university.

"They kept asking *Where are you hiding them?' but I had no idea what they were talking about. We had an young son and we didn't want to fight back."

Now the Indonesian Idol fanatic claims to be disgusted by anything political. "Whenever there is political news or anything confronting on TV, I just change the channel. I don't give a shit. I just want to be a good wife and mother. As long as my family's happy, I'm happy." she said.

The "magic box" and its mind-numbing programs have proven to be an effective yet subtle lobotomizing tool. But can we blame apathy on the media alone? Every year, newspapers print stories related to the events of May 1998. Televisions air bumpers with dramatic musical scores portraying the events. As long as things remain the same, why should we expect people to care? Here in Jakarta, aside from a few political activists demanding justice for murder and rape victims, it is business as usual. Just yesterday, I served a coffee and a croissant to my regular customer, Rika, a senior student at Trisakti - the university where four students were shot dead on May 12, 1998. I asked her if her and her friends were commemorating the tragedy. "Maybe..I don't know. That's way before my time," she said hesitantly.

Oh well, can you really blame them for their apathy? For those of us who still care, families of the victims demanding justice for their losses - people who are still struggling for change you have my respect and support.

Keep loving and keep fighting.

- Kartika Jahja

That is what I do like from a media, the objectivity of seeing one topic. Both articles are against public amnesia, but the way it was presented were different. The second article was also including how the public amnesia could be developed.

Actually these other way of presenting stories made me thinking back into the case of our military action in East Timor and the truth that was seeking by the family of the Australian journalists. I've made a note as a citizen journalist before, and I think we can learn a lot of things if media keep their objectivity open to the public, and also hearing and digging into public opinions as well. And public opinion is actually the content of citizen journalism outlets.

The National Awakening Day

Today, a year after the centennial celebration of the National Awakening Day, we are facing another airplane accident. A military plane crash and killed 98 persons in Madiun (see the Jakarta Post today). The Jakarta Post published the comment of Indonesian Military chief, Gen. Djoko Santoso. He denied the accusation of commercialization of the flight service. While the general pointed out the unpredictable weather, it seems that rumours are gossiping about the lack of spare parts availability. Aren't we the nation who can build our own airplane? Why couldn't we produce our own spare parts?

Forgive and Forget

This one is taken from yesterday's printed JP:

Eleven years after the May riot: We have not forgotten

Maesy Angelina and Ricky Gunawan , JAKARTA | Tue, 05/12/2009 10:08 AM | Opinion

On this day (May 12) eleven years ago, Indonesia witnessed the killing of four Trisakti University students in an incident known ever since as the Trisakti Tragedy. This horrific tragedy was soon followed by an appalling riot.

A national and international audience watched the national tragedy on television, but the terror was much closer to Indonesian hearts. The killing triggered nationwide protests, which eventually forced Soeharto to step down from his 32-year dictatorial rule.

As Indonesians of Chinese descent that lived in a Chinese neighbourhood, we witnessed our parents and neighbours attempt to defend us by raising barricades around the complex as we felt the panic rising as the riots moved closer to our area. The fear was not just that our houses would be raided and scorched, but that Chinese women and girls would be brutally raped and that the men would be violently attacked.

The phone rang constantly – either from relatives asking whether we are safe or from neighbours warning that the rioters were nearing. We were lucky though, as the closest riot took place a few hundred meters away from where we lived. However, not all Indonesian Chinese citizens were that lucky.

Many people disappeared. Hundreds of houses and commercial buildings were burnt down and thousands of people lost their livelihoods. Worse, it has been estimated that thousands of people were killed during the three-day riot.

Hundreds of women were victims of extreme sexual violence. Those who were not directly affected suffered vicarious trauma and many fled Indonesia.

It took a while for the government to respond. It commissioned a fact finding team, which released its report in October 1998. The report acknowledged that the above atrocity took place, that a majority of victims were Chinese Indonesians and that the number of victims was not verifiable.

Both of us were teenagers back then, yet the tragedy has remained with us and to a certain degree influenced the paths we chose in our lives. Now that we are young adults who understand what human rights are, we want to ensure justice is served. We want the state provide reparations for the victims and see the perpetrators dealt with. Unfortunately, this has not happened yet.

Only two of the eight recommendations presented by the fact finding team have been addressed by the state. The ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Convention against Torture, as well as the passing of victims and witness protection law and the subsequent establishment of the agency are indeed progressive steps.

The support for the formation of the National Commission on Violence against Women is also appreciated. Even so, these things did not directly address the tragedy itself.

Direct recommendations, including a commission for the further investigation of the incident and the establishment of a database for victims have not been properly followed-up. Moreover, the two most crucial recommendations of prosecuting alleged perpetrators and providing remedy for victims have been blatantly ignored.

Some of the alleged perpetrators have been named in the report yet none of them have been effectively brought to the court. This clearly signifies the absence of the state’s good will to resolve human rights violations. If the state fails to comply with its obligations, it is crucial for society to take action.

While civil society has tirelessly urged the state to fulfil its obligations, it is essential public amnesia of the tragedy is actively prevented. Campaigns against amnesia on the issue are of the utmost importance. The fact that alleged perpetrators even gained significant support
in this year’s legislative election show that the public is either uninformed or does not care enough to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

Initiatives such as the annual candlelight vigils or the weekly Silent Thursday (Kamisan), which are relentlessly attended by the families of the victims, are good examples of what have been done. But more importantly, advocacy for the inclusion of the May 1998 tragedy into the national educational curriculum is urgently needed to raise the awareness among younger generations.

We hope that voters do not to vote for alleged perpetrators who are running in the forthcoming presidential election. Casting your vote for such candidates would send a message to the state that the public does not consider the trial of alleged human rights violators important. Aside from condoning impunity, this also poses the threat of having human rights violation reoccurring in the future.

We consider this piece not mere opinion, but a principal message worthy of being spread by any means possible to as many people as possible. Those who survived, witnessed and remember the tragedy bear the responsibility to say never again – or nunca mas, as the Argentinians say.

We shall not forget, we shall not forgive — until justice is achieved.


Maesy Angelina is a feminist, youth activist and development worker.
Ricky Gunawan is a human rights activist and has an interest in the issues of civil and political rights.

Perhaps the only fact that I can add is that I am a nationalist, and hopefully will always be...yet that tragedy made me thinking so hard about where I stand, who am I, and it did shake me...

It would be easier to forgive those intellectual actors behind that tragedy than forgetting their sins, but the wound won't be healed in a short period of time...so forgetting this won't be an easy task...even after forgiving (whom to forgive????)

Actually I am speechless...

After the opening of the new Ayodya Park (ex Pasar Bunga Barito), I've no chance to visit it yet. I've seen the picture in wikimu, and today I've read this in the Jakarta Post:

City should involve stakeholders in managing Ayodya Park: Councilor

Triwik Kurniasari , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 05/13/2009 5:59 PM | Jakarta

A councilor of the City Administration suggested the city involve private stakeholders in the upkeep of Ayodya Park in South Jakarta, which was costing the adminstration around Rp 60 million per month in maintenance.

"The administration should go hand-in-hand with stakeholders to maintain the park. It will be hard for the administration to manage it by itself due to high maintenance costs," said Sayogo Hendrosubroto, head of Commission D overseeing city development, on Wednesday.

"Most of the upkeep expenses went toward water and electricity," he said, after visiting the park on Tuesday.

The 7,500-square-meter Ayodya Park was officially reopened to public on March 15.

The restoration project was part of the city's program to restore green areas in the capital, which have been decreasing over last few decades due to a massive increase in land development.

So, after relocating those longterm private stakeholders (the flower vendors, and the fish vendors), now the government are going to invite another private stakeholders...we'll see what are they going to do...

After rejecting the community development proposed by those vendors, now they are complaining for the high expense...Didn't they have planning? Did they have a financial projection before sending those old private stakeholders out of that park?

I Missed the World Press Freedom Day

I missed the chance to write for the Bloggers Unite on the World Press Freedom Day. Last week I've had a bad experience with my household helper. She broke into my locked drawer. I fired her just when I was mostly in the need for an assistant's aid.

I managed to write the second article of deFACEment, an article about how I viewed the exhibition. I did not have time to work on the third...something that would need interview with Teguh Ostenrik as the artist.

I had to miss the excellent chance to share a report on an international seminar "Permacity". I'd really love to go and listen to the speakers, yet I had no luck this time...(Strange, why my luck seemed to diminish every time it is something on architecture and the city?!)

I had a chat with a friend about education on the day of our National Education Day. Making it simple, a kind of a diary style writing, I wrote an article for wikimu.com...just to share some thought on education in Indonesia.

Then, struggling through time schedule I managed to come to the discussion forum hosted by the Minister of Research and Technology in Serpong. A neighbour for me, but an unknown neighbour... Actually I was more curious about the safety of the small (?) nuclear research of BATAN than the existance of Puspiptek itself. Yet, I found out that Puspiptek has a small forest of Indonesian plants, including those plants that became our incoming devisa. The fresh air, the green of the trees, and the birds' songs were all welcoming me. It seems like a nice oasis hidden in the middle of the hectic and jammed street between BSD to Bogor. I wrote an article titled "Dari Nyanyian Menristek Hingga ke Simfoni Inovasi" sharing my short time in that event.

Living in the real world make it difficult for me to keep my promise for the Bloggers Unite on the World Press Freedom Day. Actually I would like to prepare an article to share the day with other bloggers. I've even prepare the introduction in my previous entry about quality journalism. I was also lcuky to meet Mr. (pak) Wardiman Djojonegoro, an ex Minister of Education when I was waiting to have my eyes checked in Aini Hospital. I knew him, greeted him, and we talked about citizen journalism. Actually I would like to mixed the content of my conversation with him, and the previous conversation with Mr. (pak) Jakob Oetama, the Chief Executive of Kompas Gramedia group (also one of Kompas founders) when I've got the chance to aked his opinion about citizen journalism in the Indonesia Japan Expo 2008.

Those two men were a bit skeptic about citizen journalism. Pak Wardiman stressed out that the citizen voice would be better to go through the NGO. Both men were questioning the filter for news coming from the citizen. Sometimes I was also afraid of this aspect, but I think by making it open then we are learning to share ideas and to show how news are grabbed by citizen's mind. The commentators are the filters. That is why we do need the comments from real experts, or directly from the concerned party. It is nice to see that our Navy responded very quick when a citizen uploaded her question on a picture she saw in the Tanjung Nusanive-973, one of our Navy's ships. An article from the captain of the Nusanive ship expressing their gratitude for being appreciated by the community of wikimu is also the first article uploaded after the trip to the ship on Sunday. I think it showed that our Navy is also modernized (even if their ships are old...) and open to the citizens.

Yes, that Sunday I missed two important events...one is the family gathering of our Church small community "Lingkungan St. Ignatius", then the World Press Freedom Day. But for the press freedom, I think we do not really need only a particular day to talk about it. We can do it every day, every time we need to warn others about the important support we can give for the freedom of the press. This one special day, May 3rd, is only to highlight how we all share our attentions to the freedom of press.

Note: my token from the trip to the KRI Tanjung Nusanive 973 and KRI Teluk Langsa was written in admiration to the Navy for their hospitality to us as a community of citizen reporters (or may be bloggers and family?) in "Kapal Perang, Hari Kebebasan Pers, dan Generasi Muda" (War ships, World Freedom Day, and the young generation). We can't really predict what would the citizen write. So giving us the chance to visit and uploading our comments in our articles meaning that they also give us freedom in the world freedom day. Hopefully in the war zone, they will also respected the professional journalists who tried to cover the news. Yet, deep down my heart, I'd be more appreciate the world without any war.

Additional note: Another article came out from the visit "Para Seniman di KRI Tanjung Nusanive 973" sharing about the artistic activity during the visit.

Our visit and articles became more meaningful after the accident of C-130 Hercules. The Hercules' crash made the journal paid attention to the weapon system's main instrument (alutsista). As citizens we've witness the Navy's weapon system's main instrument, we've voiced out our concern about it. We acknowledge how important for us a country of more than 17,000 islands to have a proper and renewed alutsista/weapon system's main instrument. We only hope that on planning and executing the plan to renew "alutsista", those who are involved in it would not use it as a way to increase their personal income.

Let's join our candles for hope

I don’t know how to start talking about poverty today. I’d written an article for OMNI on October 2007 Indonesian Speaks Out Against Poverty. One and a half year gone by, but the issue is still the same...economic situation doesn't seem to be better. Poverty is still spreading all over the country. It feels even worse although the number provided by the official data said the contrary. Poverty is one subject that is always in my concern, that is why I’d like to join Bloggers Unite in “Unite for Hunger and Hope”.

An article from Economist.com showed, at the end of the year 2006 the number of officially poor people in Indonesia was increased from the number officially produced in 2005. 4m more people become poorer in a year, not to mention those who were not counted in. It was 18% of the population of 220m. According to the article the numbers will be bigger if there were no cash handouts (BLT). The article also claimed that Indonesia will have more than 80m Indonesians in poor status if the government used the US$ 1 a day as a measurement. The goverment used the measurement below US$ 16.80 a month as the starting point of the poverty status.

That was before the global financial crises came. News uploaded in January 2009 from Rohmatin Bonasir, a journalist from BBC Indonesia, in a compilation of poverty stories, showed a better standing- 15% of the total population as the data of 2008. Yet, the financial aid was already 4 times the aid given in 2004. Bonasir reports are in Bahasa Indonesia but she also showed pictures. Some are in these series: poverty series, poverty 1, poverty 3

What I saw in practice is the huge different life style that we can feel when entering a mall like Grand Indonesia or Senayan City to the real life of most Indonesian people. In those malls we do not really sensing the financial crises. People go out and buy things with high prices, or queue up for discounted prices that were probably still a month salary for an Indonesian teacher in a public school, or even for a middle class private school’s teacher.

Life is difficult for most Indonesians. When poverty is spreading, then the most affected sectors are healthy food intake and education for children. It is sad as healthy food and education are also the way to change their “destiny”. Healthy food is the intake to help the brain and the body function well. Education is the way to improve their talents into creative actions. Children need both health and education to be able to improve their standard of living in their adulthood.

It is not strange that some poor urban kids are having only rice and noodles. Healthy food like eggs and meat are not in their mother’s list anymore. Salted fish and “tempe” (fermented soybean patty) perhaps are the most common healthy food for them. But, there were times when the price of “tempe” and “tahu” (tofu) are also augmented because of the rising soybean’s price.

The price of good education is also soaring up. Then, chances for these children to upgrade themselves become more limited. Usually in this case, girls are the first excluded from the pathway. Indonesian family, who are patriarchal, will prefer schooling for boys than for girls. While actually girls also need good education to be able to continue teaching the younger generation. It was the struggle of R.A. Kartini, Dewi Sartika, two of our women heroines, to provide education for girls. We also need an improvement of education system in Indonesia so that we can give chances youngsters to be ready to run into the workforces even if they do not have enough capability, either in financial or in their interest/capability to study in the university.

Hunger is not always only due to lack of food. There is also hunger for love. For middle class citizens who can still afford healthy food for their children, it is a struggle to provide time for their beloved kids. Sometimes both parents should work, not only from eight to five but also long after those working hours. The problem of traffic can also cause delayed time to spend with their family. The stress of overload of works can also popped out anger at home. Then the hunger of love is taking over the hunger of food. It could also drive children into drugs or other worse possibilities.

I don’t want to venture more into the dark side of the life road. Now I want to share hope. There is also hope. We can see in churches, mosques, or temples the health services provides for those who need cheaper or even free health services. Then there is also the action of being foster parents, giving donation for kids to continue their studies. These days more and more provinces are providing schools for free (at least 9 years free public education). I do hope that the universities will not close their doors to students who are not able to pay the large amount needed to enter their university.

Some people are opening “rumah baca”, a place to read for free, or giving free tutorial for kids either in enhancing their talents or in creating new ability to support their living. We are lucky that there are always existed people who care about others. Hopefully it won’t fade away by global financial crises. Even a small candle can share its light, so we can join together sharing our small lights together to make a brighter light of hope in the world. Whatever small deeds we can do in our nearest environment will add something to the world. Let’s join together and act something…

Looking for a quality journalism?

How to eliminate honest journalism,

Tom Plate , Los Angeles | Sat, 04/25/2009 1:33 PM | Opinion

It seems that quality journalism is becoming more conspicuous than ever by its absence. But the causes are complex.

Sometimes governments are the fault. In Sri Lanka, convulsing in civil war, independent journalists have not been permitted near the fierce zones of conflict between government forces and beleaguered clusters of minority Tamils.

Many are deported. Earlier this month, Jeremy Page, of The Times UK, was kicked out and put on a plane back to England. That was nothing. In January, editor and Sri Lankan government critic Lasantha Wickrematunga penned and published his own fatalistic obituary, writing: "When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me." Three days later, he was murdered, and arrests have been made yet.

Thus, no one has a clear idea of whether Tamil civilians are being held as human body-shields by what is left of the anti-government terrorists among them, or are huddled in fear of possible ethnic cleansing by the government.

No one knows much - except that the crisis is "nothing short of catastrophic," simply says the International Red Cross.

Similarly, journalists were mainly kept away from the recent fighting in Gaza. They were limited, by the Israeli government, to perching, gawking and squinting at the action miles away. It was impossible to confirm whether Gaza's civilians were in greater danger from Israeli guns or from Hamas' Machiavellian tactics that seemed to taunt for Israeli gunfire. Quality journalism could have cleared the issue up. That's what it is for.

Journalism, at its best (which is not always what it is, to be sure), tells the truth about power and tells the truth to power. The practice is decidedly unfashionable in places that cannot handle the truth -or care only about staying in power.

North Korea snatched two American journalists on its border with China, threw them into a Pyongyang hellhole and charged them with espionage in March. Euna Lee and Laura Ling, a former super student of mine at the University of California, Los Angeles, are professional American journalists. If they are working for the CIA, as the North Korean government is suggesting, then I am prepared to state that I am the real James Bond.

In Iran, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi just got slapped with an eight-year spying sentence. As with the North Korean case, the proceeding was held behind closed doors. An unnamed Iranian judiciary official put it in these words: "Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced Roxana Saberi to eight years for espionage.

She can appeal the sentence." Saberi has two masters' degrees, from Cambridge in England and Northwestern in Chicago. She is a former Miss North Dakota who she made it to the final ten in the 1998 Miss America contest. She reported for the BBC, National Public Radio in America, and Fox News. Not bad, eh?

It should tell us something obvious, in fact, that aggressive journalism is reviled in places like Sri Lanka, North Korea and Iran. What's surprising is that the power doesn't like independent journalism, even in Thailand - even before the latest political chaos.

To be sure, governments aren't the only reason quality journalism is increasingly absent; journalist institutions are themselves contributing to the crisis. They are cutting budgets, firing journalists, eliminating whole sections and in some cases are shutting down entirely.

This is surely the case in the United States, the titular head of journalistic freedom. Even our industry leader, the New York Times, is looking more and more like a Big Three auto company in need of a government bailout. That's not going to happen in the United States of America, of course. It's too bad: If anything should be declared too big and important to fail, it should be the country's leading daily newspaper.

The other day the New York Times was awarded five esteemed Pulitzer Prizes. This was good to see. It remains a tremendous newspaper. So is The Wall Street Journal, even under its new owner, Rupert Murdoch, who may not deserve the oh-so pious bashing he got (from critics like me) when he brought the paper. After all, at least Murdoch understands - and loves - newspapers.

Someone who clearly doesn't is Sam Zell, who engineered a buyout of The Los Angeles Times (and which this year won but one Pulitzer, below its usual) from the Tribune Company. Commented Zell, "I haven't figured how to cash in a Pulitzer." This is a big part of the problem: Newspaper proprietors who fail to understand that quality journalism is priceless. What is the ultimate cost to peoples and societies when the truth is hidden from them?

The writer is former university professor and author of Confessions of an American Media Man, was Editor of the Editorial Pages of The Los Angeles Times (1989-95).

My comments:

According to the article above (taken from the Jakarta Post), there are at least two reasons of the absence of quality journalism: the government and the journalist institutions.

If it is the government who did not give access to journalists, then the citizen can fill in the function...That is how citizen journalism is important.

If it is the journalist institutions who cut down budget, eliminating sections, fired journalists...then we can really be mourning, as there will be no example of how to achieve quality journalism...

Citizen can fill in the gap between government to media, or between journalist to grassroots, but to have quality journalism - just like other professions - journalists need practice and experience.

Being a citizen reporter made me realize how much investment should be done by a journalist institution to build their community, to gather the most fresh but verified information. It is something that would probably difficult for a standing alone citizen reporter.

If the company is cutting budget, then perhaps it is also cutting the chance for its journalist to cover a story within a deep and objective perspective.

Eliminating sections means that some readers are not getting their right of knowledge, as unpopular section will be eliminated...sometimes those are the qualified but unpopular one. I can see through wikimu that it is not the quality of presentation that attract the majority of readers. The title and leading paragraph yes, but that's only one aspect. Sometimes articles that I wrote just to kill time, something that is actually "empty" for me, is more popular than the one I prepared with full attention and research.

Firing journalists, either for the different idealism or for financial reasons, will also degrading the quality of journalism. To be professional, it is important to stay focus in the subject or work we are facing. I can write, but I do need my time to be a mother of three active boys, and to share it with my social life too. I love writing, but I do need to think about the financial consequences that will follow my decision of time table...which one is more important, write as a volunteer citizen reporter or concentrating in a personal business to help the family financially? I know that those professional journalist also has the same amount of time to share with their family or their other social activities, but their prime concentration is in the journalism itself. I think it works for every professions. A doctor should be concentrating in healing his/her patients, and if it comes to citizen journalism then it should be his/her way of communicative approach to the other citizen, either as a doctor (professional) or as a mere citizen. Yet, a proffesional journalist should concentrate on communicative approach toward the readers, and hopefully that is how they also make their living...so they won't need to think of other sources.

Only by enhancing the communication between citizen and the journalism institution (as the representative of the professional journalists) then we can have a better quality of journalism...the one that serves the need of its readers.

Teguh Ostenrik's art exploration: deFACEment (1)

Senior artist Teguh Ostenrik is eccentric, not in his way of dressing or physical performance, but in his bravery into doing something different. His future solo exhibition is going to be performed in the National Archaive Building next week will only be held as a two days exhibition. Something odd for a contemporary art exhibition.

The discussion was already taken place last Saturday, a week prior to the exhibition. Instead of featuring artists or art critics, he invited a marketing expert and an urbanist as the speaker who share views on his work.

I wrote about the discussion for wikimu in "Penjelajahan Seni Teguh Ostenrik: deFACEment (1)"

The glorious tradition shines through the ages

I'm reporting the traditional textile and headdress exhibition which is held in JHCC or used to be Balai Sidang Senayan for wikimu.com (Adi Wastra Nusantara, Kemilau Tekstil dan Perhiasan Nusantara).

Thank You for Reading My Blog

Today I feel the need to join with friends from all over the world who would like to thank our blog readers.

Readers for me are those who are encouraging me to keep writing. As a diary, this blog is actually to keep tracking my mind while doing citizen reporting. So, actually I do not really write this for public. Those who shares the same interest can come by and drop his/her comments...all are welcome, but I'll keep writing even if nobody is visiting. Yet, I've got to admit that having readers is boosting my energy to write. And readers who gave their comments are enriching my thoughts. Readers' comments were also encouraging me to write more into me. As a citizen reporter I am not really keen to write about my self or my family, but as a blogger I sometimes did. Then, incoming comments made me want to write more personal articles. Readers are those who make me wondering, "Should I keep reporting or should I start writing my own personal stories?"

I'm thankful to those who read my articles, either in OhmyNews International (OMNI) or in wikimu.com, who specially come to visit my blog and share comments. Positive comments (including positive criticism) are valuable things that would provoke my mind to think and explore more. It can also help my mind to keep focusing in one topic. My wandering mind is my talent but also my weakness. It is a real talent as I can jump into any topic with ease, that is also helping me in my social life. Yet, it is also my weakness as I am easily distracted from one topic into another one. Details are also something that I usually missed. In this interactive activity I found that readers are enriching, they also gave me in-depth views, they also gave appreciation of my work. That is something that I won't usually find when writing for printed newspaper.

When my article was published in a printed newspaper, usually those who know me will mentioned it, usually in a praising tone. That's all. But, here in my blog I can have direct interactive communication with my readers. I can have criticism, I can have compliment, it depends on the readers' appraisal. Those readers who already know me would probably find another new side of me here, and their comments can also help me seeing the other side of them that I probably did not know before. But, the most fascinating thing is to gain new friends who share the same interest as me...

One of my cyber friend did not want to continue her blog, saying that blogging is wasting her time. Actually as a reader I missed her blog. In her blog she shares her journalism knowledge, and also a little bit of herself. Yet, I'm not a regular reader or visitor to a certain blog. Perhaps wikimu.com is my bigger nest that I regularly visit (sometimes not daily). I'd like to visit other blogs as well but time is my limitation, that is why I like citizen journalism websites like wikimu and OMNI. They are the crossroad of bloggers, places to meet and to hear something in others' pint of views. There are a lot of citizen journalism websites, but until today I can only manage to write for these two websites. I've got to admit that writing for blog and citizen journalism websites is not really encouraging me to write for the printed newspaper. Why? It is simply because of you...readers! These interactive communication with readers is something that lured me more into blogging.

I've got to thank you for sharing your precious time to come by blogwalking here and share your thoughts. I'm also thankful for all the knowledge that you share with me, and would mostly thankful for knowledge that you've shared through your own blog. Your appreciation words are something that help fires my courage to write, to steal time from my real life into this cyber world. Yet, as I admired an Indonesian poet named Chairil Anwar, I knew that my blogs are also my way to live a thousand year...thanks to you!

Please keep reading, keep commenting...
You are welcome to come anytime you've got time...
You can come when you're happy...
You can come when you're feeling blue...
Thank you for trusting me as your cyber friend...

Digging into a special child's talent is building his power to face the world

Menggali Bakat Anak Membangun Kekuatan

News Between Citizen Reporters

Amin George Forji, a friend I've met in Seoul, asked me about the Indonesian parliamentary election. It was something hard for me. I don't really like to talk about politic. But as a citizen reporter it is interesting to know what questions would he asked me. So, I let him posed his questions and breaking my promise to let off my computer during the Good Friday.

It is amazing to know that he has researching into the Indonesian election. I've warned him that I'm not a political observer, neither do I have real interest in reporting political news. Yet, his questions made me revealed some opinion as a mere citizen.

This is the interview:

[Interview] Election Means Many Things in Indonesian Politics

Citizen reporter Maria Margaretta V.N. Hakim shares view on country's recent legislative elections

Indonesia has just concluded its parliamentary elections, and although the final results would not be known before two weeks, early returns from the poll however indicate that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is well placed for re-election. With the credit crunch looming, most candidates could not resist the temptation of re-branding themselves as Obama-the man now believed to solve the current global economic meltdown. How has this played down with the electorate? What are the expectations of Indonesian voters?

I posed some of these questions to Maria Margaretta Vivijanti N. Hakim, a fellow citizen reporter in Jakarta, via email. In her answers, she told me that the people obviously want change in reforms as well as big results. Despite the skepticisms of the past, she argued, Indonesian politics is finally on a sure path, as the country take cognizance of world attention.

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Indonesians are currently queuing for what has been described in some circles as an Easter Parliamentary election. How important is this present elections in your country's political process?

This is the third election after the era of reformation, but this is also the first time we can vote our own legislative by name. Personally I like this new system, because we can choose names that we do know and we can ask their commitment for their promises. If we do not know any of those legislative names then we can also relying on the party that we trust will represent our voices to the government. I think it is important that people choose their own legislative. Sometimes votegetters did not receive their seats as they were not in the elitist circle of a party, while actually people trusted the party because of those votegetters' hardwork and commitment to people.

Yet, this new system is also confusing for the grassroots as we do not always know those legislative track records. Some said in Indonesian expression "Membeli kucing dalam karung" (it is like buying a cat in a bag), we don't really know who we are voting for. But, I believe that once this system is working, then people will learn how to watch and choose their future legislatives. And legislatives chosen will be careful as people can give their votes to any name in the party. They are representing peoples through the political party. If a party is not loyal to the interest of the grassroots, they should be the internal voices to remind their party about our voices that was given to them. My only concern is the possibility of money politics, as this five minutes vote will affect us for at least five years consequences. But, the first step is always the harder one.

Maria Margaretta Vivijanti N. Hakim
©2009 Maria Margaretta Vivijanti N. Hakim

Easter holiday also made some citizen away for holiday. The election system this year doesn't supportive for those who are not in the district where their ID card issued.

Indonesian democracy is just 10 years old. With 38 political parties taking part, without any clear agenda, would you say that the democratic process in Indonesia is still struggling to discover itself, or people are not just so inspired with politics?

I wouldn't say that Indonesian democracy is just 10 years old. Indonesia was born together with our UUD'45 (the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Indonesia). Constitutionally the power of people is recognized, and we are giving our voices through the electoral process to our representatives. We went up and down in democracy through the years. We can say that we are facing a struggle into a (hopefully) more mature democracy. We went through the previous nine elections, each with its own problems. From the first election (1955) women were already exercising their right to vote. Yet, we might be in the process of a new democracy, where freedom of speech is really granted. Where communication is really interactive and universal, acknowledging that the world is really watching us.

For more than 20 years, we only have had three political parties. We are re-learning how to perform our freedom to choose our own legislatives, we are studying the commitment of all those new parties. In the other part, we were also disappointed with the result. We are living in an instant generation, we would like to harvest as soon as possible. It would take time...Yet around 40 percent of the voters are 'golput' (white party, not choosing any party). This time there are also people who become 'golput' by administrative mistakes.

Most candidates have produced posters identifying themselves with celebrities and eye catchy names such as Obama, Beckham, James Bond, etc. What is your take on this? Does this make them questionable or connected to the public?

Hey, it's interesting to know that you are aware of that. I don't know about Beckham and James Bond. But I do know that President Obama made a lot of impact here. I will send you a picture of a legislative using Obama as his catchy name. For me, it would make those who used names like that questionable. Are they seriously working for us, or they are just trying to make us laughing? Through the years of Soeharto we were facing the electoral period as a democracy party. It was a party, we went out in mass to show our support to a certain political party, a time that we can exercise our freedom to vote (perhaps those in working as government officers and PNS and or their family were not really experiencing this, so this is really personal opinion). But, we are developing... at least the new generation needed more than that. We don't need false promises, we do need action, we need to hear mission, planning, and then action. Perhaps that's the reason behind the increased white party voters.

As a citizen journalist, what has been your personal observation of the process? Has the mainstream media been balanced in coverage? What has been the role of citizen journalism in this year's poll?

Personally my interest is more to art, culture, and education. I'm not really keen on politic, but a lot of art, culture, or education issues will have a direct correlation with the new legislatives. So, I'm not really observing the whole process, but I'm not being indifference too. We have a lot of media, printed media and online media, so we can choose a lot of sources of information. Citizen journalism is an important bridge from citizen to the conventional media. Our voices are the support for the mainstream media to develop their own articles. It is a win-win solution. We are free to say what we have in mind, and the mainstream media can help explain things or situation that is not yet in our perspectives. Wikimu (the local citizen journalism website that I joined), together with vivanews.com made a special writing competition about the election. Vivanews has a u-report section, a citizen journalism part of that online media. That section will show article from Wikimu's contributors. Wikimu readers can also read those articles uploaded by Vivanews' citizen contributors. Articles went through an editorial decision in cooperation between both websites.

New citizen journalism websites were also emerging like Politikana, or pilahpilih. Mainstream media who have citizen journalism section in their online website are also giving more rooms to show opinions on this political event, the example is Kompasiana from Kompas group. The most amazing up-dated news perhaps came from the social networking like Face Book. We can read all those angry "administrative driven golput" grumbling in Face Book, or who went out after the election to have a free cup of Starbucks coffee (and having a small reunion with friends there) only by showing the tinted finger (sign that we have voted), or more serious questions and opinions coming from citizen to candidates.

President Obama has proven the strength of the new media, and it seems that Indonesian legislatives are also turning their head to the new media. Yet, we are still learning to face the new media in its own stand, changing our way from viewing it only as a conservative media going online. And there is still the need to accommodate the opinion from people who are not connected to the internet.

What are the expectations of the electorate? What in your opinion would be the mistakes at the poll?

I think every time citizen give their votes, what it actually means is that they want a better life. Facing the global financial crises is the most difficult task that the new elected legislatives (and the new government after the presidential election) to handle. Security in term of financial and human right exercises is most important facts that we need. That, I think, is also a universal need.

For the last question, I'm going to use the answer from a scholar who is also a politic observer, Anis Baswedan. He said that the most important thing is that those who lost in this election should accept that and help those in the position to develop the country. I agree with him. So, in my opinion, the mistakes would be: if we are angry with the situation and do not follow the judicial procedures. We are in the process of learning this new democracy; hopefully we won't ruin the success that we had in the 2004 election by exercising violent protests. This is a step of learning for the presidential election in July, and for the next election...five years from now.

Your last remarks?

This year, the General Elections Committee has made a lot of unprofessional mistakes, but I do hope that it won't ruin the process of learning this new democracy. I hope we are going to learn from our past and present mistakes as a foundation to a better tomorrow.

********

Actually I gave him another additional remark, that this Friday is the first time I received printed media on Good Friday. One of his questions mentioning "Easter Parliamentary election", it made me reflected on another letter from the mailing list that I've read. The Church has refused to make a ceremonial Easter celebration with governmental department this year. The decision came as the joint Christians Religious leaders thought they do not want to have this event be politicised.

The reflection made me produced another article for wikimu. "Kejutan di Hari Jumat Agung" or "A Surprised on the Good Friday". As a part of the Church we are asked to follow the religious rituals. For me, as a Catholic, this holiday is not a long weekend. Since Thursday evening, those who had responsibility in the Church's activity should be really busy. I've also read in Face Book people coming back from counting the ballot at night, some even has to stay after midnight.

My father used to be active as ketua RT (chief of the smallest organization of the citizen community), and we (his children) were used to stay watching throughout the counting of votes. I knew how busy it was. I also knew how important it was, to observe the genuinity of people's voice that would be reported.

Then I remember my neighbors who were seen at the ballot helping out the election, some of them are also friends from Lingkungan (the smallest organization from the Church). I was not thinking of the consequences that they have to face, even after reading the letter in the mailing list. That night we should be attending the Last Supper celebration in the church. Hopefully they were finished early, but as I've read in Face Book, in some area people need a longer day to count the voices given...So, there is always the possibility of people who should be choosing between his duty to the country and his duty to the Church.

I had to postpone answering Amin George's questions because I need to go to the Holy Thursday mass which lasted very late at night. Then, after revisiting "via dolorosa" through the stations of the Cross (Friday Morning) I started answering the interview. I broke my promise not to work on the internet that Friday. Actually the choice is with me, I can tell Amin that I'm not interested in answering his questions or I don't have time to answer it. Yet, it made me think of those who need to perform his/her professional task (for the media reportage, for counting the ballot, or for the analyze of the quick count, etc.) That was the reason why I wrote my own piece after answering his interview. I was thanking the printed newspapers for giving me a very nice surprised by their presence on a "red date" (holiday) but also revealing my own reflection of the bible on the tribute to Caesar "Pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar-and God what belongs to God."

I am lucky as I did not take a lot of responsibility out side my house, the only task that I was committed to is the children's Easter Mass this Sunday morning...yet, this year there are those who had to choose between focusing his/her heart to the preparation of the Paschal Triduum and his/her responsibility to our country. Thank you Amin, you've brought me to that revelation...

Revisiting the Last Supper

"Revisiting the Last Supper" in the 21st Century ("Revisiting the Last Supper" di Abad ke-21)

I'm still rewriting it in English. I need to split time between writing, election day, and holidays (meaning going to the church).

Parents as the main censorship institution

Orang Tua Sebagai Lembaga Sensor Film yang Utama

Coordination is very important

Pentingnya Koordinasi Bantuan Bencana was written as my students who went to Situ Gintung bringing some clothes, books, pencils, food, etc. to help those who were loosing their home and family in the tragedy a week ago, were facing rejection. Those in charge in the rescue post would only receive cash.

Actually I had planning to go with them, but my son's schedule was changing so I could not go. Other than that, Friday is usually a hectic day for me. I don't know why, but Friday is always seems shorter than other days. I was not going there as we've got representative, but my heart went with them. Hearing the rejection shocked me a little bit. Then I saw in the printed daily Kompas the mountain of goods donated for Situ Gintung, and underneath I can read the comment that they have to throw away instant food and used clothes as they've received too many. Hey...we were trying hard to collect those things, and there are a lot of people out there who might still need it. There are those who are also flooded in West Sumatra, or others who really need help.

I think that those working in the Social Department should be responsible to coordinate all the donation to go through the right direction. They should be ready with a system on how to coordinate help, physically (together with BASARNAS), and financially (including those food and clothes donation). Used clothes donated are usually had been selected to a usable clothes, sometimes there are also new clothes. The internet with its social networking such as blog and citizen journalism website could be the best place to put updated information on what they do need in the location, how to help, who should we contact. Because we are facing the election day, so it seems that everybody are showing up with their donation, showing that they care...so donation came in mountain, let's see two months from now.

Today (this is not included in the article that was published earlier. This post is a little bit late as I've got no time to write) I've heard that from all those people who were moved out from campusses, not all of them get a place in the new shelter, some are given tents for sleeping. I've tried my best to help, and the only important help that I can offer them now is praying. I would like to be there helping too, but I knew that we do need to make priorities. If the Almighty needs me there, then He'll show His way...for the time being: " Dear God, please blessed all those mourning people and also those rescuers who were doing wonderful services to people and to You, God. Please help us walking out of the temptation that could make us against Your love and the spirit of peace.

Old buildings and historical sites

"Tidak Kenal Maka Tak Sayang"