Legislators: Big fish in a small pond<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Putting back smiles on the faces of university
\nstudents after the so-called Black Friday is not an easy task.
\nThe injuries, torture, shooting, lashing, bashing, and death of
\nfriends they have experienced are extremely traumatic and too
\nmuch to bear.<\/p>\n
More over, to their chagrin, the recent SI of MPR (Special
\nSession of People's Consultative Assembly) has not met their
\ndemands. They have become withdrawn, sad, and sometimes hard to
\ntalk to.<\/p>\n
I want to see them back on track. As far as I'm concerned,
\nyoung people their age do not have to worry too much about
\npolitics.<\/p>\n
They have their own fish to fry. Their future is far ahead;
\nthey still have a lot to achieve. Let those guys up there worry
\nabout government. The taxpayers of this country pay them a
\nhandsome amount (not to mention the amount they deliberately rip
\noff) to establish a clean, sensible administration.<\/p>\n
It took more than just persuasion to drag my youngest son and
\nhis \"gang\" of students to a place that, I thought, could cheer
\nthem up. Only after I threatened to join a certain political
\nparty did they agree to my offer of a trip to the Sea World.<\/p>\n
Even at the giant marine aquarium those youngsters did not
\nshow any interest. They kept talking among themselves and made me
\nfeel like a fish out of water. I tried to tell jokes to make them
\ncrack a smile, but to no avail.<\/p>\n
When it was time for the feeding session, however, they began
\nto pay attention. \"Hey, look at that!\" said Randy, pointing at a
\ngroup of sharks that gently took food from the hand of the
\ntrainer in the aquarium. \"They look so unusually sweet and
\nfriendly. They are maneuvering calmly.\"<\/p>\n
\"They have been tamed and trained to maneuver correctly and to
\nhide their original behavior,\" I said wisely. \"They know they are
\non stage; they need to entertain the audience. Those man-eating
\nfish must have gone through training or maybe some kind of
\ncompromise with their trainer before they can be accepted on the
\nstage like this. They must have learned a lot of tricks.\"<\/p>\n
\"And that dolphin! It moves so gracefully that other fish
\nfollow her,\" shouted Leon.<\/p>\n
\"Yeah, she is the prima donna of the show. But I wonder why
\nshe looks moody and sometimes bites her own friends.\"<\/p>\n
\"Wonder no more,\" I said. \"Every creature inside that tank
\nmoves according to the scenario prepared by the trainer. On
\nstage, they have to display some kind of attraction. But one
\nthing's for sure, they are oblivious to anything outside the
\nglass. As far as they are concerned, you can kill each other or
\ndrop dead out here; it is none of their business.\"<\/p>\n
\"Oops!\"<\/p>\n
Eventually smiles cracked on those innocent faces. Thinking I
\nhad been guiding the conversation in a wrong direction, they
\nlaughingly attacked me with their fists. \"You're not talking
\nabout the fish!\"<\/p>\n
\"Yeah, you have been talking about the Special Session.\"<\/p>\n
\"You are trying to say it is just like the show in this
\naquarium! And that couldn't be more precise! We can only see the
\npeople from the thick glass walls or from the electric-charged
\nbarbed wire. The only difference is the fish on stage here give
\nus our money's worth.\"<\/p>\n
\"People in the Session didn't even know we exist.\"<\/p>\n
\"And they yielded a big pile of garbage!\"<\/p>\n
\"Shut the...\" I almost got mad at them. How dare they compare
\nthe respectable institution to an aquarium and say the special
\nsession produces garbage.<\/p>\n
But my son hurriedly shoved over a newspaper with the headline
\nabout the amount of trash collected from the MPR building during
\nthe session. \"When we talk about garbage, we mean garbage,
\nphysically. So, please, don't even think of accusing us of
\nanything. Enuff is enuff.\"<\/p>\n
I was ashamed of myself. But to admit my mistake would just
\nput them upwind. So I tried to switch their attention somewhere
\nelse to the way the Authority \"detonated\" allegations about some
\nprominent \"dissidents\" in order to weaken the protest on the
\nSemanggi shooting spree.<\/p>\n
\"Hold it!\" I said sternly. \"I didn't mention a single word
\nabout the special session. We are talking about fish! And,
\nplease, don't you dare underestimate the MPR. The people there
\nare among the best Indonesians selected to represent you. They
\nwork hard to secure this nation.\"<\/p>\n
\"As far as I know, they only secure their Ass...(his word was
\ncut short by a sneeze)...I mean, their Assignment.\"<\/p>\n
Laughter broke out again.<\/p>\n
Those youngsters actually had their point. Our representatives
\nin the Assembly seem to be too remote from the common people they
\nrepresent. Tight security and luxurious five-star accommodation
\nreflect the fact that they do not have a sense of crisis.<\/p>\n
\"They need to be brought down to earth,\" said Bagus.<\/p>\n
\"Yeah, even Pak Probo noticed their indifference.\"<\/p>\n
Mr. Probosutedjo, the half-brother of the previous president,
\ncriticized Harmoko's message of condolence that was stated
\ndutifully without any trace of sympathy on his face which was, as
\nProbo put it, close to laughter.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur put it more bitterly, addressing them as bangsat
\n(dirty insects). And who can blame him? People at the MPR are
\nnotorious for their indifference. Had they listened to the voice
\nof common people and the students, they could have carried out
\nthe session in a gracious way without being encapsulated by tight
\nprotection.<\/p>\n
\"And the tragedy wouldn't have happened.\"<\/p>\n
\"Until now, I have not seen any of them visit the home or be
\npresent at the funeral of the victims. Don't they have any
\nsympathetic bones in their bodies?\"<\/p>\n
\"At least they should pop their heads in to the hospitals
\nwhere our friends are treated.\"<\/p>\n
\"All right, children, that's it,\" I said, trying to end the
\ncontroversy. \"Now, why do you think there are no gold fish in the
\naquarium?\"<\/p>\n
\"The answer is the same to the question why Mega, Amien, Gus
\nDur, and the Sultan are not welcome in the Assembly.\"<\/p>\n
I gave up. Apparently, I could not talk about the aquarium
\nwithout their relating it to the respectable institution. And I
\ndon't want to be accused of fanning flames and be summoned by the
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
-- Carl Chairul<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legislators-big-fish-in-a-small-pond-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }