Legislative Candidate<\/p>\n
By Ngatini Rasdi<\/p>\n
Panduto was happy. The recently concluded polls would make him
\none of the people's representatives in the legislative body.
\nThanks to the reform movement, his luck now shone brightly. In
\nprevious polls, he was also a candidate for the legislator.
\nHowever, he could never become the representative of the people
\nbecause his party had lost each of these elections.<\/p>\n
Kartinah, his wife, was also happy. For two decades she had
\nlonged to see her husband put on his suit or the safari uniform,
\nthe kind of suit usually worn by legislators.<\/p>\n
"We must hold a thanksgiving party, Pak!" she suggested, close
\nto bed time.<\/p>\n
Panduto smiled. "Right, Bu!"<\/p>\n
"We must soon buy 10 goats! All our neighbors, relatives and
\nfriends will be invited to the party. We will all eat goat meat
\nsatay," Kartinah said.<\/p>\n
Panduto kissed his wife on her lips. Then he turned off the
\nlights. It was really a beautiful night to him, incomparable even
\nto their first night together some 25 years ago.<\/p>\n
The thanksgiving dinner was a splendid affair. Panduto and
\nKartinah were elated. Pride seemed to be reflected from the faces
\nof his guests when they congratulated the hosts.<\/p>\n
However, when all the guests had left, Panduto felt really
\ndizzy.<\/p>\n
"Why, Pak? Kartinah nervously asked her husband. The face of
\nher husband looked hot and red. "Are you ill?"<\/p>\n
Panduto nodded weakly and then hurried into the bedroom. "My
\nblood pressure must have shot up, Bu!"<\/p>\n
Confused, Kartinah regretted having forgotten to remind her
\nhusband not to each too much goat meat. She knew her husband and
\nthe guests had eaten a lot of goat meat satay, the most popular
\nfood in their village. She also knew that goat meat was not good
\nfor someone with hypertension, as it could make someone's blood
\npressure shoot up and lead to feelings of dizziness.<\/p>\n
"I'll send for a doctor, Pak, OK?" Kartinah asked her husband.
\nWithout waiting for his reply, she dialed the telephone number of
\ntheir regular doctor.<\/p>\n
The doctor turned up an hour later. After prescribing some
\nmedicine, he said, "Take a rest. Don't think too much!". Then he
\nleft.<\/p>\n
Panduto could not do what the doctor had advised him. As one
\nwho would certainly be a legislator representing the people, he
\nhad a lot of guests. His friends and colleagues came to
\ncongratulate him. They discussed political matters with him. He
\nalso received a lot of phone calls from his friends in other
\ntowns and cities. They also congratulated him.<\/p>\n
Before going to bed, Kartinah nagged him. "I want my necklace
\nand bracelets to be made of more gold. Buy them for me, OK? As
\nthe wife of a people's representative my appearance must be
\nbetter."<\/p>\n
Panduto only hissed. He found it difficult to breathe. His
\nhead was dizzy. His wife's nagging disturbed his mind a lot. He
\nknew Kartinah would sulk if he did not meet her request. He also
\nknew that if he met her request she would make another request.
\nHow could he get so much money to buy her better bracelets and
\nnecklaces? He was only an employee in an office with a salary
\nthat stretched just enough to make ends meet. He would have to
\nsend a lot of money to two of their children now studying in
\nanother town.<\/p>\n
"Don't be so confused Pak. You can always borrow money, can't
\nyou? Your rich friends are more than ready to lend you some now
\nthat they know that you are sure to be a legislator," she
\ninsisted.<\/p>\n
Panduto called one of his friends to borrow some money from
\nhim. Then he took his wife out to buy the bracelets and the
\nnecklace. Well, Kartinah also bought gold rings and gold
\nearrings.<\/p>\n
"You must buy a new suit Pak. You must wear a new suit when
\nyou are installed as a legislator," she advised him. Panduto
\ncomplied and bought a new suit.<\/p>\n
After some time, Panduto realized that he had borrowed some Rp
\n10 million from friends. He promised to repay the loans after he
\nhad been installed as a legislator.<\/p>\n
"The child of a legislator must have a motorbike!" one of his
\nchildren told him over the phone.<\/p>\n
Panduto was confused.<\/p>\n
"Don't be confused Pak. You can always borrow some more,
\nright?" said Kartinah. As a mother she supported her two
\nchildren. She agreed with them that as the children of a
\nlegislator they should be bought motorbikes. It would be
\nembarrassing and inappropriate for them to continue taking public
\ntransport.<\/p>\n
Panduto was compelled to contact another friend to borrow some
\nmoney to buy motorbikes.<\/p>\n
"Well, Dad, we need more pocket money. Twice as much, Dad!"
\nthe children told him again over the phone after receiving the
\nbrand new motorbikes.<\/p>\n
Kartinah always supported her children. To her way of
\nthinking, it was only appropriate for the children to have a
\nbetter life now that their husband had been elected a people's
\nrepresentative. To her simple mind, a legislator would always
\nreceive gifts, bonuses, commission fees. She knew all this from
\nmedia reports.<\/p>\n
Again Panduto complied and granted larger allowances to his
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
"Now look at our house Pak. Is it appropriate for a
\nlegislator?" she whispered to her husband one afternoon when they
\nwere sitting on the front terrace.<\/p>\n
Panduto observed the walls. Yes, they needed repair. And he
\nlooked at the wooden fence. Yes, it was time it was replaced.<\/p>\n
"We'd better have the whole house repaired. We also need to
\nreplace the wooden fence with an metal one Pak," Kartinah
\nsuggested.<\/p>\n
Panduto found it more and more difficult to breathe. He knew
\nthat his wife's proposal was quite reasonable. The problem was
\nthat he had no money and had borrowed too much from his friends.
\nIt would be too embarrassing for him to make a new loan.<\/p>\n
"What do you think if I try to find new loans, Pak?" Kartinah
\nsuggested. "I believe many people are ready to lend me money."<\/p>\n
With a deep feeling of oppression within his chest, Panduto
\ncould only agree to her suggestion. It would be up to her to
\nborrow a few more million rupiah.<\/p>\n
Well, Kartinah could easily borrow more money. She said it
\nwould be very easy for her to obtain a Rp 20 million loan.<\/p>\n
After the whole house had been repaired, Kartinah suddenly
\nthought that the old furniture had to go. She believed she would
\nneed new furniture. In addition, she also bought a refrigerator
\nand an air conditioner. She argued that having a refrigerator
\nwould help her a lot in serving drinks to their many guests. As
\nfor the air conditioner, she said that she could not have the
\nheart to see their guests sweat because the sitting room only had
\nan old electric fan. Besides, it was no longer appropriate for
\nthe house of a legislator to only have an electric fan.<\/p>\n
It is only human to be concerned about what is appropriate
\nwhen one's standard of living is set to rise. Panduto understood
\nthis well. So, he could only let his wife take out new loans to
\nbuy new furniture, a refrigerator and an air conditioner.<\/p>\n
"Well, my debts are almost Rp 50 million now," she whispered
\nto her husband before going to bed one night. "How much are yours
\nPak?"<\/p>\n
"More or less the same," Panduto replied.<\/p>\n
Kartinah smiled. She hugged Panduto intimately. "Don't worry
\nPak. If you are officially installed as a legislator, you can
\neasily repay all the debts, right?"<\/p>\n
Panduto swallowed his saliva. Scenes of what he would do as a
\nlegislator kept rolling in his mind. Perhaps he would have to tap
\nevery opportunity to make as much money as possible. He did not
\nknow how. Perhaps there would be a lot of development projects
\nwhich would open up opportunities for him to make a lot of money.
\nWell, he had never heard of any legislator living an unprosperous
\nlife. He had heard only nice stories about legislators' lives. A
\nlegislator without a car would be able to have one after being
\ninstalled as a people's representative. Another legislator could
\neasily buy another house upon installation as a House member.
\nBesides, legislators would always go places by air.<\/p>\n
It would be nice traveling by air, staying in a star-rated
\nhotel and visiting another region or another country as an
\nhonorable guest. And legislators would always be invited to grand
\nparties held by the government.<\/p>\n
So, Pak, you must also buy a car. It will be inappropriate if
\nyou have no car on your installation day as a legislator,"
\nKartinah whispered to her husband while hugging him closely.<\/p>\n
"But a car is very expensive now," Panduto argued.<\/p>\n
"Right. But in the coming years it will be even more
\nexpensive. You'd better buy one on credit if you cannot afford to
\nbuy it with cash," she insisted.<\/p>\n
The next day, one of Panduto's friends came to their house to
\noffer them a minibus. "You can have it on credit," he said.<\/p>\n
Panduto and Kartinah were all smiles. What a nice-looking
\nminibus, they both said to themselves.<\/p>\n
"It is suitable for you Pak," Kartinah whispered.<\/p>\n
Panduto only nodded.<\/p>\n
"How much?" Kartinah asked.<\/p>\n
"Only Rp 50 million?"<\/p>\n
Panduto was shocked. Suddenly he felt the oppression rising in
\nhis chest again and he could not breathe. His head was swimming.
\nHe suddenly remembered all his loans. Too big, already. His
\neyesight blurred then he fell down, as he lost consciousness. A
\nstroke had hit him. Then he became paralyzed and was unable to
\nspeak. Only God knows how long he would have to undergo this
\nplight.<\/p>\n
Glossary:<\/p>\n
- Pak:literally means Sir. A respectful term of address to a man.<\/p>\n
- Bu: literally means Madam. A respectful term of address to a woman.<\/p>\n
- satay: small pieces of meat roasted on skewers.<\/p>\n
Translated by Lie Hua<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legislative-candidate-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }