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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Sweet Seventeen

Happy Independence Day, Indonesia.

Can I ask you guys something? What are the things that make you proud of this country? Aside from food, batik and our rich natural resources?

I have no right to make any point that represents all Indonesians, or Indonesia as a country, because yes, I do spend almost all of my days only in Jakarta, and yes, this is just a personal opinion on how I solely feel as an individual. Everyday I witness ignorance all around, and it can get really depressing. Corruption is everywhere, and has somewhat become a culture. We talk about government officials being corrupt. But look around us. Even a parking attendant who clearly wears a uniform with the text "No Tipping" on his back still receives or demands drivers to give him tip. Even funnier when a parking space is hidden by parking attendants and said space will only be given to drivers who give them tip. I once had a debate on this, where the other argued that tipping parking attendants is 'okay' because it's simply a form of appreciation towards his 'help'. I believe, that when an institution has strictly enforced a regulation of "No Tipping", then we all should just comply with that. It's like a company not allowing their employees to receive gifts from their clients, because 1) it may cause bias and internal conflicts, and 2) it may grow into a (bad) habit. No matter the amount of money (trillions vs. Rp.2.000), corruption is corruption. It's about the mindset.

I have lost count on how many times my car has been hit by motorcyclists who ignorantly just speed away with no apology. Same goes to getting summoned on the road because traffic rules sort of change every now and then, but when I am willing to pay the fine, I am somehow "convinced" to just "settle" things in the illegal way. Then there are 3-in-1 car jockeys standing peacefully on the side of the streets just 10 meters away from a group of policemen. So what's right and wrong? What's legal and not? It seems fine to work out opportunities within the loophole in Jakarta’s traffic management policy, so why come up with the regulation after all?

I am always worried when I see people standing on the outer edge of the (door-less & boundary-less) elevated bus-stop exit/entrance point while waiting for the Transjakarta bus. It's so easy for someone to just fall down when being (accidentally) pushed by someone else on their back, because hey, there's no door or any safety guard, right?

Then seeing people getting punished / processed for expressing their thoughts on the internet, selling products online. What's happening?

I just wish things like these are not justified by 1) luxury, 2) the fact that there are many other less-fortunate people who go through worse things, 3) there are many other (more important) things to think about and take care of, and 4) people just need to make a living no matter how. Flaws are flaws, regardless the justifications and comparisons.

Good night, all...:)

27 comments:

kelimutu said...

I'm proud of wonderful Indonesian people just like you, maybe.
yeah, definitely!! ^^

http://gartenparadise.blogspot.com/2011/08/happy-independence-day-indonesia.html

Anonymous said...

yap! setuju banget sama kak di

"be proud of Indonesian" sometimes sounds meaningless ketika ngelihat kenyataan kalo "budaya" masyarakatnya begini :'(

Cicits said...

Love your though all the way. Pretty outside, smart inside.

Nurul Hidayah said...

banyak hal yg harus di luruskan di negeri kita.
ada kebanggaan yg tampak hanya dikala negara baik yg artinya kita hanya menikmati.
tapi ada kalanya kebanggaan harus diwujudkan melalui upaya untuk membaikkan negara dengan action kita dalam memerangi yg tidak baik

uchie suci utami apsari said...

agree

http://ribbonpolkastethoscope.blogspot.com

Ode to Baekhyun said...

lets start from ourselves.
if everybody do so, we'll be a better country ;)

andinoeg said...

selamat berpuasa

hanny arianty gultom said...

gw bangga sama orang-orang pintar yg gw tahu maupun gw kenal, kaya bintang2 tamu di kick andy ataupun dosen2 yang gw kenal, yang rela meninggalkan ketenaran dan kekayaan mereka di luar sana dan memilih untuk balik ke negeri sendiri walau tanpa penghargaan dan pendapatan yang rendah.

walau secara materi mereka ketar ketir (mungkin), tapi di hati dan sanubari, setidaknya mereka bahagia saat mensharingkan sedikit ilmu dan pengalaman mereka ke beberapa pemuda yang mau belajar mandiri dan semangat memulai perubahan.

Skarang mungkin belum ada hasilnya, tp gw yakin usaha tulus dan mulia mereka akan menghasilkan suatu saat.

Angkat gelas buat merekaaa.. :D
MERDEKAAA.. ^^

Manda said...

There is no.
Everyday people horn n honk on the street (make me upset).
Everywhere people throw rubbish.
Smoking people everywhere.
Yah gitu deh. Untung ada blog diana hehe

Karina Dinda R. said...

Always love your though kak Di ^^

Cheers,
Nces ♥
BLOG | TWITTER | SHOP

Aul Howler's Blog said...

yup yup!

agreed

Mustika Hayati said...

mari kita majukan bangsa Indonesia tercinta! maju mundurnya negeri ini tergantung pada kita :)
lets do dbest!! :D

Ade Kurnianingrum Handika Putri said...

agree !!
MERDEKA !! :)

Adeline Yang said...

you're deep and i like it!
sometimes, i think why this country can't be as goos as other countries? why there should be this and that, why it can't be like this and so on. but then, i chose to redeem those thoughts and think about what's good. and i came to a conclusion that every country has its own plus and minus (of course). i know it's a very very general and simple-minded conclusion, but then again, it's true. so maybe yeah, some people around us are ignorant and don't know how to queue, or honk like a maniac, but they also know how to be polite, respect the elders, the culture is somehow still conservative and not too vulgar in general. plus and minus :)

Joan Shannon said...

Mungkin pelajaran Budi Pekerti perlu diadakan lg...
Merdeka di Indonesia sprtinya hanya dinikmati sedikit orang... Orang-orang korup(sigh..)

Joan Shannon said...

uMungkin pelajaran Budi Pekerti perlu diadakan lg...
Merdeka di Indonesia sprtinya hanya dinikmati sedikit orang... Orang-orang korup(sigh..)

Mbak Eskrim said...

Saya berusaha keras pada diri saya sendiri, dan orang-orang yg sekiranya bisa saya beri pengertian, Di.
Dimulai dari hal-hal kecil: saya tidak menonton film bajakan, tidak mengunduh film dg ilegal, tidak membeli/meminjam barang bajakan, membayar pajak, etc.

Banyak yang bilang saya munafik atau naif. Biar deh. Yang penting, apa yang ada di tubuh saya & keluarga saya halal. Insya Allah.
=)

http://vinkamaharani.blogspot.com

Mbak Eskrim said...

Saya berusaha keras pada diri saya sendiri dan orang-orang yg bisa saya beri pemahaman, Di. Saya mulai dari yg kecil: tidak menonton/membeli/meminjam/mengunduh film bajakan, membayar pajak, jujur sama klien/pembeli, etc.

Banyak yg bilang saya munafik & naif (terutama tentang film). Biarin deh yaa. Yang penting apa yg ada di tubuh saya & keluarga, halal. Insya Allah. =)

http://vinkamaharani.blogspot.com

babalisme said...

Maybe, Di, Lots of people would say, "shut up, you're already rich! you don't know what it's like to lead a perfectly clean life in my state"

so I guess, people won't really care if we (and Prita and Dian and Randy) got robbed or falsely executed. You own a car! you're rich. You're selling an ipad! you're rich! so it doesn't matter if you are "accidentally scratched" by a motorcycle or got pulled off and "fined" while you're driving.

but what I am really really proud of Indonesia is, no matter how corrupt our people are, the whole country can endure it. I read once in a newspaper, if, Singapore went to the same state of corruption as Indonesia, Singapore would be bankrupted in less than 5 years. Logically speaking, after decades of corruption and we're still hanging here? We're all damn rich.

asop said...

Hmmmm apapun kekurangan yang masih ada di negeri ini, tetap kita harus bersyukur dilahirkan sebagai orang Indonesia. Haha... :D

Jessica Xu said...

I'm glad you wrote this, Di, instead of the usual cheery Happy Independence Day post or something like that... because I'm concern about the same thing :(

Lisa and Kirana said...

INDEED AND ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH YOUR OPINION!!!!!!

thatmeltingcheese.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Happy independence day..May this country evaluate itself and become better starting today. May the helpers become true helpers, the media speaks honestly and stands on no side and may we become a better person for our country
Merdeka LOL...;DDD

Ecky Agassi said...

i like your point of view :)

Pramudita Puspita said...

I really in love with your tulle skirt!! :)

Anonymous said...

You know why there are corruption... because of poverty (and power hungry too, I guess). If the country has happy, well fed citizens, e.g. Denmark, Singapore there are less corruption. But then again tax would be high and you can't get away from it, unlike here (hey, it's the truth).

I would say there is no way Indonesia would get any better. To imagine it with no corruption is too idealistic. Even the KPK committee is corrupted.

Admit it, we are living in a hell hole. If life is a movie, I would imagine it like that final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where there is an open gate and Hellmouth drags down into it and gone. To make myself feel better, I would think this and that comforts me a little.

What I'm saying is, to erase corruption and all the bad things of our country, you have to destroy it first. Then peace will come...for awhile. Take a look at World War 2, what happened with Germany and Japan.

Mary Andrikus said...

You just answer my answer for that question. I think the top three reasons why I still proud of Indonesia because foods, batik, natural resources... (i can't think anything else)

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