A Party for Spirits<\/p>\n
Maria Magdalena Bhoernomo<\/p>\n
Tan Pamalu was finally back in Indonesia after 35 years exiled
\nin mainland China. A youth leader during the Old Order, he had
\nbeen placed on the list of communist cohorts when the New Order
\nswept into power.<\/p>\n
He fled his homeland because he did not want to die in vain or
\nbe banished to Buru Island like the others.<\/p>\n
Now Tan Pamalu wished to declare the founding of a political
\nparty with his fellow freedom fighters.<\/p>\n
It was to be called the Tuyul (spirit) Party.<\/p>\n
\"The Tuyul Party will definitely win the majority of votes in
\nthe forthcoming elections,\" Tan Pamalu told his friends gathering
\nin his house for the party's inauguration. Also on hand were
\nseveral journalists.<\/p>\n
It was 10 a.m. as Tan Pamalu read out the party declaration
\nbefore his supporters and the media. Now he was ready for all the
\nattention.<\/p>\n
\"Why did you call it the Tuyul Party?\" asked a TV reporter.<\/p>\n
\"After all, why use the name of the spirit in the form of a
\nbald dwarf, reputed to steal money from drawers or safes?\"
\nanother queried.<\/p>\n
Tan Pamalu promptly answered the questions in a firm voice.<\/p>\n
\"We chose the name because our nation's mentality tends to be
\nincreasingly comparable to tuyul. Many people, from the elite to
\nthe lay public behave like tuyul, stealing money or valuable
\nresources.<\/p>\n
\"Just take a look at the vast forests being denuded, the
\nbridges and schools falling into disrepair due to
\nmisappropriation. And remember, all the officials acting like
\ntuyul come from ordinary people, don't they? It means everybody
\nin the country is a potential imitator of tuyul.\"<\/p>\n
He continued in the same vein.<\/p>\n
\"So, we've decided to set up the Tuyul Party in the hope of
\nfulfilling the aspirations of the majority. Only myth has it that
\ntuyul are bald spirits. We maintain that in this reform period,
\nit's everybody's right to be tuyul.\"<\/p>\n
\"How can you finance the Tuyul Party?\" wondered the TV
\njournalist.<\/p>\n
\"Is it true that many tuyul imitators who are joining your
\nparty are prepared to steal money from other countries?\"
\nquestioned the other.<\/p>\n
Tan Pamalu laughed heartily before answering.<\/p>\n
\"Money for party activities poses no problem to us, as we have
\nthe support of former officials and leading entrepreneurs who
\nshare the same political interests with us.<\/p>\n
\"They are convinced that the Tuyul Party will gain majority
\nvotes in the next elections, and the country would be a safer
\nplace for them to live and do business. It's because collusion,
\ncorruption and nepotism known as KKN would be legitimate.<\/p>\n
\"We should realize that KKN is a product of our culture making
\nus famous in the world. And we should also be aware that through
\nthe dominant KKN this country will remain unified.\"<\/p>\n
\"Are you going to sell several of our country's islands to
\nrepay debts if your party wins the elections and you are elected
\npresident?\" asked a radio reporter.<\/p>\n
\"Is the Tuyul Party the resurrection of the banned Indonesian
\nCommunist Party (PKI)?\" was the following question of a weekly
\njournalist.<\/p>\n
Tan Pamalu shook his head.<\/p>\n
\"If the Tuyul Party is triumphant in the elections and I
\nbecome president, the country will affluent because all the
\nwealth taken abroad by ex-officials and businessmen will be given
\nup to the state and nation for debt settlement. They will also
\nreturn home as there will be no more fear of legal action.<\/p>\n
\"The Tuyul Party is not the PKI reborn, because communists
\nhave met with bankruptcy. Communism is not our ideology. Tuyulism
\nis our philosophy.\"<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
The Tuyul Party's declaration and the interview with party
\nleader Tan Pamalu were immediately carried in the media.<\/p>\n
Within a month, a hundred million people enrolled as party
\nmembers. They were generally interested to support the party
\nbecause they wanted to learn how to act like tuyul, with a
\npenchant for stealing money.<\/p>\n
\"Only by behaving like tuyul will we get rich instantly
\nwithout any hard work. By imitating tuyul, we can go abroad as
\nexpatriate workers while we actually aim at plundering rich
\npeople's belongings in other countries,\" said a non-governmental
\norganization activist who was enrolling with his associates.<\/p>\n
\"As party members, we don't need to sell our bodies in other
\ncountries as illegal workers. We can indeed retain this illegal
\nstatus but we will only be stealing money from the drawers or
\nsaves of wealthy men!\" remarked commercial sex workers who had
\njust returned home.<\/p>\n
\"Only by acting like tuyul, we can seize a lot of money now
\nunder the corruptors' control. In theory, corruption must be
\nfought by confiscating embezzled money from corruptors!\" said a
\nstudent activist, now a Tuyul Party member.<\/p>\n
Tan Pamalu was proud because his party, based on an opinion
\npoll and psychic predictions, was the largest and was bound to
\nwin the most votes.<\/p>\n
TV stations and newspapers reported the event with Tan
\nPamalu's picture as some kind of political promotion to support
\nthe Tuyul Party, with the catchphrase, \"This is the president of
\nIndonesia.\"<\/p>\n
And as a would-be president, Tan Pamalu was increasingly busy
\nas a seminar speaker and TV talk show guest.<\/p>\n
Teenagers proudly wore T-shirts and caps carrying the
\nportraits of Tan Pamalu with the words, \"Tuyul Party Cadre
\nFront\".<\/p>\n
Neighborhood association chiefs and local citizens worked
\ntogether to build booths to keep guard, all of them adorned with
\nbanners with Tan Pamalu's image.<\/p>\n
On urban and rural roadsides, party members from business
\ncircles put up colorful banners of the same type, besides large
\nposters everywhere, even in front of places of worship, reading:
\n\"Tuyul Party -- elite group backed by masses.\"<\/p>\n
Tan Pamalu smiled as he looked on, amused by the political
\nbehavior of the citizens behind him, who saw him as the divinely
\nappointed king of justice.<\/p>\n
\"Lots of people in this country turn out to have a great
\ninterest and potential to lose their mind,\" Tan Pamalu murmured
\nwith a smile.<\/p>\n
By the time of the campaign, papers were publishing the views
\nof political experts, who praised the Tuyul Party as the most
\npopular political force.<\/p>\n
A political analyst from the University of Indonesia declared
\nthat he was convinced that the Tuyul Party would emerge as the
\nvictor in the next elections, so that Tan Pamalu would
\nautomatically become president.<\/p>\n
Another analyst, this time from prestigious Gajahmada
\nUniversity, also felt sure Tan Pamalu would be the sole
\npresidential candidate gaining military and civilian support.<\/p>\n
And when the elections took place, the Tuyul Party earned 65
\npercent of the vote, depriving the other parties of seats in the
\nHouse of Representatives.<\/p>\n
So the People's Consultative Assembly inaugurated Tan Pamalu
\nas president, while the masses rejoiced and welcomed him as their
\nleader.<\/p>\n
Tan Pamalu suddenly wakened from his sleep, in an old people's
\nhome on the outskirts of Beijing.<\/p>\n
\"It seems I've just had a beautiful dream,\" he murmured with a
\nsatisfied smile.<\/p>\n
(Translated by Aris Prawira)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-party-for-spirits-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }