Mbak Rita

I am talking about that Javier, the one who has just won his first Oscar for a best supporting role in No Country for Old Men, Yes, Senor Javier Bardem. Well, he is one of the reason I agreed watching that movie during JIFFEST week, last December. A friend recommended No Country as a must see. I reluctantly said yes, because I am no fans for the Coen Brothers, I mean, their famous quirk humor is cool but bloodshed movies simply scare me away, big time!

Well, at least I can always enjoy Tommy Lee Jones in it, I believe, this old soldier, Uncle Tommy Lee, does indeed never die! And of course there was my darling Javier Bardem in that movie. Well, I fell in love to Javier about three years ago, also in JIFFEST (Jakarta International Film Festival) where I watched The Sea Inside, Oscar’s Best Foreign Language Film in 2005. A based on true story movie about a Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 30 year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die. Javier played convincingly as Ramon, and I can’t forget his gesture when saying, “When you constantly rely on everyone else, you learn to cry by smiling, you know?” Oooh…….it simply melted my heart in an instant!

So I went for watching No Country for Old Men. But, yikes, I hated it! This movie scared me to death, I closed my eyes several times. Uncle Tommy Lee with his deep soliloquy–about dreaming his daddy who went nowhere but dark cloud– can’t help me. I even can’t follow the gems that written between the lines in those haunted dreams as the theme that refers to the movie’s title. I was simply too scared to think of anything..

What kept me being entertained on the show, ironically, was Javier. Well, at first  I can’t recognize him at that time, his character as a cold blooded murderer Anton Chiqurh who wandered everywhere with a very strange weapon that IMDB said was “a captive bolt pistol, which is also known as a cattle gun. The tank itself is pressurized air. Releasing the air valve powers the bolt when triggered”, was the reason I desperately hold my breath. He was the monster of the show! But at the same time he kept me awaken because I simply can’t help to notice his funny wig.  I bet, this is one of that famous signature of the Coen’s odd taste of humor. Well, yes I know that hairdo was a hip for the 80’s, the time setting for No Country, but the way Javier coiffed his hair was, for me, like a representation of the endless violence shown in the movie, that something good turned out bad and that it didn’t feel right. Or maybe, that was actually what it is all about? Because violence doesn’t have to be translating as bloodshed everywhere, an evil cut in your hair can simply speak so. Right?

By the way, congrats, Javier!

Well, not literally, I guess. It is because the official statistic said there are “only” 12000 street children in 12 millions Jakarta’s population number. It is far for being a million, eh? But, Honey, the number is increased like the new malls in the capital city, so high, and available on every corner of the town.

I certainly see this problem as our failed attempt to be a financially independent nation for having so much short-term economic policy. Those strategies simply give an obvious profit margin in a very short period of working for the government and its allies but in the same time kill the power of survival for the marginalized people, which in this country could be translated as our farmers and fishermen .  These groups have been losing their land and profession simply to survive their hard life, having nothing but a dream somehow there is a miracle in a big city like Jakarta like Harry Potter’s wand that could magically turn their miserable fate into a bright colorful one.

I can’t get enough of bashing those policies that in my opinion have deserted those people into sorrow ness, I mean, instead of empowering the main character of this agrarian country, by empowering our farmers and fishermen (or women ), the government have preferred to spoil the industrial community with those six-figure-US-$ easy loans, that later proved as the biggest mistake because it didn’t even pay off and instead, pulled Indonesia to its unfinished monetary crisis since 1997 with a high growing number of the getting-more-poor  society  plus 40 millions of unemployment in 2007.

Ah, what that I know about monetary crisis, I was only having a-standard-B-minus on my economic lesson in high school so I guess I am just talking nonsense here, right?

What I know for sure was the feeling of powerless when I saw this drama on my daily hectic Monday morning, from my window in the usual bumper-to-bumper-traffic-jam in town; there was a scream of a little girl. And then I saw her, being pushed by another little kid, maybe her brother, somewhere in a crowded boulevard. It seemed that she regretfully disagreed with that little boy but she had no choice. Later I saw her following him, jumping into a Patas AC Public Bus to work. Yeah, I can imagine she would sing in the bus with that little boy for a pitiful coin after coin from the bus passengers.

I am sorry, Kiddo….

Meet The Cangcuters!

This new band, by the way “cangcut” means the brief,  from Bandung has a strategically smart approach to steal a show by borrowing The Beatles old fashioned, (or is it very classic?), hairdo. And the funny show keeps going on. The Cangcuters not only adopt Lennon’s famous “half- of-coconut-shell-shaped” hairdo but also clone its English gentlemen attitude by always wearing a tailored suit in their music appearance. The “English lesson” even goes further as its lead singer shows off his Mick Jagger’s “ndower” signature lip every time the camera gets a close up shot.

Thank God, John Lennon has no chance to see The Cangcuters. He might wake up from his grave in a shock! And, maybe, he simply wants to join The Cangcuters, heh heh heh!

The best thing about living in Indonesia, the melting pot of all (mostly Asian) cultures, the “nusa-antara” or  “between islands”, is the various holidays that we have. Last month we celebrate Islamic new Lunar Year and today it is the turn for the Chinese new Lunar Year or the Imlek Day.  Millions of Chinese Indonesians will celebrate the Year of Rat with traditional barongsai dragon dance and a hope for a raindrop that, people said, represents good luck and prosperity.

Years ago when Imlek New Year was officially granted as a public holiday here, I managed to write an article about its traditional costumes. I made a call to fashion designer Chossy Latu who has a Chinese descend and famous for his cheongsam dresses for an interview. Chossy did mention about the power of red as the best choice for the Chinese big day because red represents courage and all the power to start such a long walk.

That’s why last year I wore red when being invited for an Imlek party in big restaurant. To my surprise, all of my Chinese Indonesian friends didn’t pick that color. Even, I was—with a male friend–the only ones who did wear red. Heh heh heh.

There goes the funny thing in this melting pot society. Those who have no Chinese heritage want to show a respect with wearing red while our Chinese Indonesians friends, in the other hand, simply want to celebrate the new year in a humble way, don’t want too much attention, by ignoring the eye catching red outfits. Look by yourself what I found on 2 live music shows today in our national TV stations; Indosiar and TPI. All the non Chinese Indonesian talent seems to underline the Chinese New Year by wearing red, but there is an empty red from the Chinese Indonesian artists’ side.

  In Superstar Show (Indosiar TV) we have the two MCs with a very red tie (Eko Patrio) and red-and-gold-stripes-shirt (Ruben Onsu). There is also Judge Hetty Koes Endang with red headscarf & tunic while Judge Ari Tulang shows up with red shirt under his black suit. The performers are also rich with red (and all of its variant colors) for their costumes like those worn by Duo Maia and Happy Salma.

Even Okky Lukman who hosts the traditional Dangdut show called DangdutMania  in TPI TV station is all red. The same thing goes to Dangdut judge Ira Swara and also adopted by co host in Dangdutmania, namely “Queen Mommy” Sophie Navita and “Princess” Kiki Amelia.

But look at Chossy Latu himself. The famous fashion designer who is acted as another judge for Superstar Show (a singing contest for celebrities in Indosiar TV Station), along with Hetty Koes Endang and Ari Tulang, doesn’t even having a single red in his outfit. Chossy humbly chooses a blend of dark silk with golden ball ornament for his shirt. The same rule goes to the famous Chinese Indonesian dr Sonia Wibisana who performs as contestant number 4, with her pal Vivi Buntaran. Dr Sonia and long haired Vivi pick yellow-orange-brown and silver with a little pink for their costumes. Not a single red is available on their stage. Funny, eh? I think it is a good sign, a warm communication from both sides, to honestly show each other a deep respect.

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Guys!

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Yesterday President SBY went to Karawang, West Java, to talk with farmers to gather first hand information on agriculture in the area. The way he conducted the meeting reminds me to his former boss, the late President Soeharto with his trademark “klompencapir” farmer show. On his way home, Pak SBY got trapped in Jakarta seasonal flood where his car had an engine trouble that forced the president evacuated to another car. Ahhhh…poor Pak SBY, let me help you a little, Pak :).

You don’t have to go far to Karawang (actually it is not even “really’ far, only two hours driving from Jakarta) if you only wanted to know how hard our life today under your government! Meet Pak Salman, he walks every morning from subuh (dawn) carrying plastic ware (well, he is definitely not a Tupperware salesman), for hours. He “borrowed” those stuff from a small retailer in Bekasi, West Java (about an hour driving from Jakarta) and got only around two thousand Rupiah for every piece he sold. The problem is, there are fewer buyers today. With big retailers like Carrefour popped up in almost every corner in Jakarta’s crossroads, people now tends to purchase stuff in air-conditioned-and- much-cheaper-big-stores, and simply leave their traditional seller far behind.

(I believe SBY’s aide will interrupt and yell something like; “Yea, good story but what does it HAVE TO DO WITH FARMERS?)

Oooh, yea, sorry for being carried away, you know, I love writing, and it tends to make my fingers dance with words and…ooh, yea, kembali ke laptop or back to the topic. About farmers, right?

Well, Honey, Pak Salman is used to be a farmer but forced to sell his tiny rice field simply to survive. He then started to work as door to door plastic ware seller eversince, “I did this for almost 30 years,” the 78 years old Pak Salman told me after I managed to buy a bucket (less than Rp.10.000 or equivalent to one US dollar) this morning. “I had a hope, once, that I will somehow manage to buy another land in Bekasi and being a farmer again but that dream never comes true, up to today. Even life is so much harder now; all of my son knows nothing about farming anymore. We are forced to learn a new skill to survive but it is not at all easy, “he added. Yes of course it is not easy for farmer’s family to live a life as non farmers, it will make them always left behind, getting more poor and neglected. And thanks to Pak SBY’s policy and the continuous disasters, it seems that we are going to have more Pak Salmans around.  So sad, eh? Phew…..!

(with thanks to Pak Salman, who has an honest warm smile during conversation about his hard life. I do learn a lot from you, Pak Salman!)

Photos:

The flood interrupted Pak SBY’s heading home from his “klompencapir show”; by Pak Abror Rizky, the official photographer for the Jakarta’s palace, January 1, 2008.

Pak Salman ; by mbak rita, February 2, 2008

I don’t know about you but I think Dhani Ahmad went too far this time. I am not writing about his  divorced saga with Maia (yeah, he went too far big time!) but his new single with band The Rock called Kamu Kamulah Surgaku
where he made a videoclip showing him kissing his sleeping three sons.

The sick part of the video clip was the way he kissed and touched the boys and ewww…. they’re all shirtless and covered with a white linen only. Ewww….. Dani…, eww..ewww!

What we can do for Ibu Mardiyem? It’s already too late. She was passed away last December, after endlessly fighting for her dignity as a human being, and a woman, that had been robbed by Pacific War (1941-1945). Ibu Mardiyem was a “Jogun Ianfu” survivor from Indonesia. And about Jogun Ianfu itself, people tends to translate those Japanese words as “comfort women”.

Comfort women..? Oh please, that term must be invented by men, right? I mean, it doesn’t even refer to the subject itself; those women. Instead it refers them as object, as the “comfort” for the Japanese soldiers in war. Those girls from the abducted lands, such as Indonesia, The Philippines, etc, were being kidnapped and sent to the barracks where they had the horror in their life, being forced as sexual slaves for the Japanese soldiers 

Years, and decades, after the nightmares that never ever left her, the late Ibu Mardiyem fought endlessly for her stolen life, asking simply for an apology; from both states; Indonesia which had failed to protect her and Japan that had officially ordered such inhuman act of slavery. But she accepted nothing.

After the Tokyo Tribunal and Den Haag final decision in 2001 that put Japanese Kaiser and its military top brass as guilty, there was an offer to give an “atonement money” for the jugun ianfus.  And there we had another humiliation; for every Caucasian, mostly Dutch, Jogun Ianfus,  they’re willing to send an atonement money of four millions yen but only its half, two million yen, for Asian ( Indonesian) Jogun Ianfus. (WHAT THE*%#!! The money is not color blind?!!!).

Sadly, the apology would just be given if the women ‘re willing to take the money first.

Honey, for the heroes, dignity has nothing to do with money! That’s why Ibu Mardiyem refused the money, because she wanted mostly to have the apology, period.  

It’s very clear for me, who is the hero, and which ones are the cowards. May you rest in peace, Ibu Mardiyem.

Photo : Ibu Mardiyem (left) and Mbak Ninuk Pambudy from Kompas Daily, pictured last year by Wawan H Prabowo/Kompas Daily, Jakarta

Actress Lydia Pratiwi was sentenced in jail last year, she got about 15 years in prison after proven guilty in Gonggom Hutagalung murder. Months in prison did make a change in her appearance. A couple of days ago Lydia was interviewed and abracadabra, now she has a brace. Wow, Indonesian prison must be very complete and luxurious with such trendy dental clinic inside. Cheers Lydia! 

Oh no, it’s already midnight and there is still another Suharto show on TV!

Gee, for the last ten days my TVs (all of them, about 9 national stations) aired the ailing former President Suharto almost every hour, night and day. I don’t know what is happening with those producers and editors who treated Suharto’s news with such hyperbolic coverage. I mean, surely, he deserves getting our attention and pray (oh course, Indonesian considered as a good and religous people…:-)) but not that much! Come on!

I am so sick watching that green blanket almost every hour everytime I happened to turn on my TV. And then a continuous scene starred by his head doctor, Mardjo Soebijandono, who addresses the press in daily basis. The news can’t stop here, it would go further, reporting the chaos in Pertamina Hospital (RSPP) where Pak Harto is treated, including a news about pickpocket in his VVIP floor (can you imagine of having a breaking news about capturing a pickpocket in a national channel?), and of course the long queue of his supporters.

Yeah, you can even easily find a report about elementary school children praying dramatically for Soeharto’s health.  Hopefully those adults who ordered such children take action in front of tv cameramen had also already told them to pray for floodvictims around the country, the twister’s ophans, those recently landslide victims in Papua, and hundred millions of other very ill Indonesians. In short, this media circus makes viewers, I mean me, sick! 

My partners in crime, Nicky and Bos Gondrong, have warned me of a nausea for too much watching Suharto’s news on TV. “Better turned it off during this week,” Nicky said.  “Except on 2 pm, time for Bondan Winarno’s gourmet show,” Bos Gondrong smiled. Yeah, we are surely not Suharto’s men, we prefer gourmet show instead. 

It was cold and I can’t see any stars in the sky. The night was so ordinary and thanks to my hectic day, these muscles were so tensed and I felt very tired. I finally gave it up at 11.30 pm, sleeping, with a nightmare about having a toothache. Ouch!  

Previously, in the morning, I made a promise to myself to stay awake, learning some verses from the Holy book and contemplate a little, the way my beloved Grandpa used to celebrate the first dawn of Muharam.

In the morning of Muharram the first, today, the new lunar year in Islamic calendar, I feel a little guilty, thinking about how the city life has made me powerless and kept me losing chances in my own self searching. Sitting in the porch with my morning mug, I tried to escape from such feeling by reading some stuff. A friend sent me this simple but very interesting idea, “How about forgiving somebody in the past as a New Year gift for our empty heart?”.  Hmmm, speaking about somebody, well, it could be me, right? And the magic of Satu Sura hit me, yeah. That’s it! I will start this very new day of 1429 Hijriah with a self forgiveness, my only way to make peace with my own conscience. Wanna join me?