Could you pass the chicken, please?<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"Fried chicken restaurants are on the brink of
\nbankruptcy,\" said Dino, my oldest son who is visiting us on his
\nannual leave. He was holding a morning paper and it looked to me
\nthat he was reading a headline.<\/p>\n
In the morning, our dining room changes into a multifunctional
\narea where various activities take place. The table is usually
\nfull of a motley clutter of items -- a nail cutter, ruler,
\nmagazines, newspapers, knitting gear, you name it. Of course, the
\nmain activity is breakfast, but there is a mutual agreement
\nbetween all the family members that other activities such as
\nreading, nail cutting, chatting, grumbling and others are not
\nprohibited.<\/p>\n
I did not pay attention to what Dino said. In this kind of
\ncrisis, bankruptcy is no unusual thing. Besides, I was
\nconcentrating on clipping statements from prominent leaders. I am
\nsure, in a few decades to come, some of those statements will
\nbecome important and famous, in a class with those of Gen.
\nMacArthur, George Washington or John F. Kennedy. And I will be
\nthe first to produce the original copies and that will make me
\nrich!<\/p>\n
One of the statements in my collection is from a political
\nfigure who was the object of a protest by a mass of students
\nduring his visit to Surabaya. \"They are innocent students, they
\nmeant no harm! They just stood in line, eager to shake my hand,\"
\nwas his comment.<\/p>\n
\"The supply of chicken to the restaurants has dropped as most
\nchicken are used as souvenirs for those who are chickening out,\"
\ncontinued Dino, still holding the newspaper.<\/p>\n
Now I knew he was not reading any headline of the paper; he
\nwas \"provoking\" me to talk. Coincidentally, at the time I was
\ngluing the picture I clipped from The Jakarta Post of Wednesday,
\nNov. 25. The picture shows students handing a full-grown chicken
\nto Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib.<\/p>\n
The chicken is the symbol of fear and a lack of guts. And the
\nmessage delivered by the handing of the chicken to Ghalib was
\nloud and clear: he does not have the guts to probe Soeharto's
\nwealth and abuses of power.<\/p>\n
\"You are an incorrigible 'provocator',\" I complained.<\/p>\n
\"Who isn't?\" he answered, snatching a piece of French toast
\nfrom his Mom's plate. \"Don't you think those in the government
\nare provoking their opponents by the allegation of makar
\n(treason)? Really, Dad, I'm worried about the situation.\"<\/p>\n
\"Who isn't?\" I volleyed back. \"It seems like people are taking
\nshortcuts in getting what they want, Habibie has not made a
\nmeaningful move toward the implementation of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR) decrees. Instead, he has chosen to
\nmake a classic move, overpowering a fire by generating a bigger
\nfire.<\/p>\n
\"And the people are no longer that patient. Because, they
\ndon't know who and what to believe. The government is still
\nplaying hide-and-seek on the implementation of the decree.\"<\/p>\n
\"They don't play hide-and-seek, Dad. They play dirty!\"<\/p>\n
\"Can't you talk more politely?\" his mother, who is a devoted
\nfan of Habibie, scolded him. \"You young people must learn to be
\npatient. Don't use provocative phrases that will just worsen the
\nsituation.\"<\/p>\n
\"All right, Mom. They do not play dirty. The legislators and
\nthe government only work in a subtle cooperation. Look at what
\nthey have done to the decrees made by the MPR. Part of the decree
\non the probe of corruption, collusion and nepotism is displayed
\nregularly on TV without displaying the loophole.\"<\/p>\n
\"What loophole?\" I asked.<\/p>\n
\"Come on, Dad. You're not that naive. When engineering the
\ndecree, the legislators provided a loophole for the government to
\ntango with. There is an additional part in paragraph 5 that says
\nthat the probe shall be regulated in laws and regulations. And
\nthe said laws and regulations have yet to be made, or engineered
\nif you like. So, the government can make excuses on why they have
\nnot done the probe. And that additional part is not displayed on
\nTV.<\/p>\n
\"So, both legislators and the government are not serious in
\nprobing corruption. Both do not have guts. The legislators and
\nthe government belong to the New Order era. And both are making
\nevery effort to please people on one hand and to show gratitude
\nto Pak Harto on the other hand. Believe me, this probe business
\nwill go nowhere.\"<\/p>\n
\"Well, I don't know about that,\" I said. \"It is much too
\ncomplicated for me, let me just concentrate on my clipping.\"<\/p>\n
\"What is it about?\"<\/p>\n
\"Habibie's fatherly message to the students. This is great.
\nSomeday, when the students are there in the government, they will
\nrecite this message nostalgically.\"<\/p>\n
\"What does the message say?\"<\/p>\n
\"The President says that he is longing to see the students and
\nto have a dialog with them, but regrets that he does not have the
\ntime to do so.\"<\/p>\n
\"Chicken!\" said Edi, who had been silently enjoying his
\nbreakfast.<\/p>\n
\"Ssssh! Don't talk like that,\" scolded his Mom. \"It is the
\nPresident we are talking about.\"<\/p>\n
\"I'm not talking about anybody. I want that piece of chicken.
\nCould you pass it, please?\"<\/p>\n
\"All right,\" I said, passing the piece of fried chicken, his
\nfavorite dish. \"Enjoy it while it is available. Soon it will be
\nscarce.\"<\/p>\n
On impulse, everybody at the table reached for the chicken, no
\ndoubt fearing that chickens of the feathered variety will soon be
\nhard to come by.<\/p>\n
-- Carl Chairul<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/could-you-pass-the-chicken-please-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }