Renaissance

Below are journal entries from my trip to Manado (also my first entry in this blog)

Jakarta, December 28th 2007 (05:13pm) – Soekarno Hatta

If anything, this is the first time I traveled alone in my own country, destination: Manado. I set out to make this lonely journey (odyssey might be too big a word for it, but who knows what I will find in my journey this time) in search of that elusive sense of purpose and drive which has been dormant for God knows how long. It’s been almost 2 years since I first went back for good from US, and now I‘ve been working at MetroTV for more than 17 months, so I guess it’s not so preposterous for me to raise these questions by now: Have all my dreams of what I want to accomplish has been realized by now? How far am I from the goals I set when I was in US on the eve of my return? And the ultimate question would be: Am I Happy with my life here?
I can give all sort of justification for my current state of being, appropriately called “floating purposelessly” through life. Don’t get me wrong, there are nothing tragic or bad happened to me these last 2 years, and reflecting from the way of life I led in Jkt so far, people can say I’m having the time of my life, being single and free to party and all those glam offered by a big city, something that I must admit was rather alien to me when I lived in the US. But going back to the answer of all those questions above, I’m afraid I have to say the response is a big “NO”
That “NO” has triggered me to rethink and recalibrate my hope and dreams through a personal odyssey I undertook this time. It’s been a while since I wrote something that resembles a diary or reflective notes such as these, I have to admit, it’s been somewhat therapeutic to be able to pour out your thoughts in writing (so much for a person who claimed to want to become a writer someday). So many personal struggles and stories that I want to convey in this first entry of my personal journal, hopefully I’ll be able to sustain this passion to write, or even better idea, let’s make it my personal resolution for 2008 that I will start writing again, either through this medium or other mass media.
On the news: Last night Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan was assassinated allegedly by Islamist militant threatened by what her return to the country represents (DEMOCRACY through participation in the general election against her arch-rival, President Pervez Musharraf.) It has been sometimes since the phenomenon of political assassination seems to manifest itself with such fury and what promised to create geopolitical repercussion around the globe, especially in Pakistan itself, a country plagued by religious extremism in its hinterland and tribal areas due to penetration of Islamist hardliner’s agenda successfully exploiting the situation of hopelessness and poverty to spread their message of anti-moderation. Every generation and every era has its own challenge, and this might be one of our generation’s challenges among other issues like global warming. If you ask me whether I’m living in an interesting period of time? The answer is definitely a big “YES”

I’m currently reading: Testimony – French in the 21st Century by Nicolas Sarkozy

Manado, December 29th 2007 (19:11) – Hotel Central

Democracy in Action

There is only one word to describe my first day here in Manado: Priceless. Why? For the first time (I think…) I’ve seen with my own eyes the reality of direct election (pilkada) at the lowest level of government (Kabupaten & Kotamadya) inside this country since the end of Soeharto’s rule. To be honest, there was a pang of optimistic sentiment inside me after talking with my guide during our journey to Bukit Kasih (supposedly a popular local tourism spot, which is basically a hilltop destination peppered with various house of worships from all 5 different religions in Indonesia lumped into one area at the top of the hill). I’m fortunate to be able to get to know my taxi driver who is very kind and certainly very knowledgeable in explaining to me the dynamics of the local election in his hometown (Minut, or Minahasa Induk) He himself was a jurkam (juru kampanye) in his village during the pilkada. I asked him if the direct election democratic process we see right now is better than the old system, he said the answer is unequivocally yes. At least, according to him, there is the incumbent candidate for Regent of Kabupaten Minahasa Induk who promised several populist programs (free health care, free education, 1 million rupiahs allowance for the family of the deceased in his district, etc) and really stick to his campaign promise, got reelected for the second time. As for the other 4 challengers, he said, all their campaign promises are almost identical “Minahasa harus berubah” or translated roughly “Minahasa has to change” without offering any specific programs on how they would affect that change for the betterment of the society. And here comes the punchline from my guide, “Dorang (Mereka) semua bilang Minahasa harus berubah! Berubah apa? Memangnya Ksatria Baja Hitam?” I laughed till my stomach hurt after hearing that ironic joke from him. Basically, he said the village people are not so gullible anymore in choosing their candidate for a leader. Although at the end of the day, he admitted that all the elections are about is money. But in my opinion, it’s normal for a young democracy like us to see politics being subjugated by Mamon. Even in the US, a mature democratic society, we still see that reality. Anyway, so much to comment on for my journey today and I don’t think I have the energy anymore to type a long entry… I promise I’ll visit this issue again later. As for now, just say that I made the right decision to travel alone… Je suis content! :)


Aboard Lion Air (Manado-Jakarta), December 31st 2007 (09:35) – Sky

I’m leaving Manado this morning… back to the big city. So many stories to write… about Bunaken (local tourism), religious tolerance, increasingly sophisticated and responsivelocal governance (this is not exclusively for Sulut, but also evident in almost every province since the process of local direct election took hold inside the country), decrepit infrastructure of Indonesian airports which can not keep pace with the tremendous growth of air travels inside the country (the latest count of Indonesian air travelers stands at 30 million passengers per annum).
First of all, I want to make a somewhat egregious claim for some regarding Indonesian democracy and local governance: we’re on the right track… My trip to North Sulawesi (Sulut) this time more or less has confirmed what I suspect for quite some time based on scant observations back in Palembang, and also from the news I’ve seen in the paper and magazine all this time. Democracy, especially local direct elections as its most visible form, has improved significantly the aspect of accountability from our public officials throughout the country. This accountability factor in turn translated into healthy competitions among the contenders for the gubernatorial or mayoral post in every province and cities to present the most compelling visions and programs for the voters to choose from. Take the case of Sulut, its provincial government has recently brought up the initiative to hold a conference called World Ocean Conference (WOC) in October 2008 to summon various head of states, NGOs, and activists from all around the world, whose country share the same characteristics as Indonesia (an archipelago with vast oceans) in order to discuss better ways to improve and conserve the oceans and its resources. This, in my opinion, is no small endeavors to take for a local government, but the Sulut provincial government has proven that it’s possible. And also for the Manado city, the local government has set out the vision of turning the city into World Class Tourism City at 2010. The same can be said of Palembang with its “Visit Musi 2008” tourism program. (Even my dad is excited to see this slogan, he’s so proud of it to the point of persuading everybody he met to visit Palembang next year…) I’m sure the list goes on for other Indonesian provinces and cities with its own program and initiatives. So, fellow Indonesians, look around us and be proud…
Ps: Living in Jakarta has blinded my to the reality and all the real actions happening in other places inside this country… For God sake, I’ve been living in a cocoon… Must travel more!

Books Finished: Testimony by Nicolas Sarkozy (Rate: ****)