Life in the midst of Jakarta's urban society lacks a basis in logic<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): My wife and her friend recently went shopping at
\na large supermarket for a family party. After they had bought
\neverything they needed, they went back to get some balloons. They
\nbrought a Rp 1,200 pack to the check-out counter and gave the
\ncashier Rp 2,000. It wasn't until they were riding down the
\nescalator that my wife's friend remembered her Rp 800 in change.<\/p>\n
They decided to go back not because the small amount of money
\nmattered very much, but because it was simply wrong for the
\ncashier not to give it to them. When they asked the cashier about
\nthe money, the lady calmly replied, \"Well, I didn't give you the
\nchange because you were so busy chatting,\" and handed over the Rp
\n800.<\/p>\n
My wife and her friend went home with an inexplicable puzzle
\nin their heads. Just because they were immersed in a
\nconversation, the cashier apparently thought she was no longer
\nobligated to give them their change.<\/p>\n
One afternoon, I was riding in a friend's car along Jl.
\nPemuda, East Jakarta, going towards Pulogadung. The light was red
\nat the Mega intersection and a lot of cars were lined up in front
\nof us. However, since we wanted to turn right onto Jl. Sunan
\nGiri, my driving friend moved into the right lane for cars
\nintending to turn right. The lane happened to be empty, so he
\nsped up a little to catch the green light. Just then the driver
\nof a Kijang decided to move into the right hand turn lane; he was
\nattempting to cut off the long line of cars ahead of him when the
\nlight turned green. He cut right in front of us and our car
\nbumped into his. Thank God the damage was minimal and no one got
\ninjured.<\/p>\n
The driver admitted his intention and had obviously violated a
\ntraffic regulation. But, hey, in this wonderful country who takes
\nresponsibility for their mistakes?<\/p>\n
This driver religiously believed that we had intended to make
\nthe same maneuver, and it was therefore not his fault that the
\naccident took place. It took us some time and a lot of explaining
\nto make him see the truth that we really were going to turn to
\nthe right. Isn't the logic he used bewildering? To us, he cut us
\noff and that caused the accident. It's as simple as that. To him,
\nthat was not the case.<\/p>\n
Anyway, he finally admitted fault. But our saga continued
\nthroughout that afternoon. Having let us keep his driver's
\nlicense, he asked us to follow him to his boss' office in the
\nPulogadung Industrial Estate. Follow we did.<\/p>\n
As we entered the office compound, however, we were asked to
\nfill in the guest form and show our ID cards. What? A guest form?
\nWe weren't their guests. We were there to settle a problem caused
\nby their driver. My friend and I adamantly refused to fill in the
\nform. The humiliation didn't stop there. We were then asked to
\ncome into the building to meet his boss. Boy, oh boy.<\/p>\n
Because the driver had admitted fault, isn't it more proper
\nthat he should ask his boss to come out and meet us instead? To
\nme, that is logical. But these guys had a different way of
\nthinking. The boss refused to come out and meet us, and my friend
\nhad to pay for his car to be fixed.<\/p>\n
If you think that logic is universal, you'll probably be
\nsurprised to find out that Jakarta, in particular, and Indonesia
\nin general are not in the universe you are thinking about.
\nIncreasingly, logic fails to be reflected in our society. Here's
\nanother example:<\/p>\n
After a mass one Sunday morning, my wife went to one of the
\nstalls in the churchyard to buy some gudeg. She was the first to
\nget to the booth. The hawker was not yet ready to serve, so she
\nwaited patiently. When she was ready, a number of other people
\nwere also waiting to get served. Sensing that another lady -- who
\nwas more aggressive than her -- was about to get served, my wife
\nsaid to the gudeg seller, \"Could I get my gudeg now? I arrived
\nhere first.\"<\/p>\n
The other lady immediately said to my wife, \"Go ahead. But we
\njust came out from the church together.\" My wife was
\nflabbergasted, and so was I when I heard her account. Could
\nanyone explain to me the connection between coming out of the
\nchurch together and not having to queue? Is there anything that
\nyou see but my wife and I fail to see?<\/p>\n
I had to scold my own daughter once for a riddle she put to
\nme. It went like this: Why do the rear wheels of a car get balder
\nmore quickly than the front wheels? The answer she had wanted was
\nthat the rear wheels wore themselves out thinking of ways to
\novertake the front wheels. I told her it was a silly joke that
\ndidn't make any sense, and I told her I didn't like it. But, what
\ncould I really do? All the children and even the teachers at her
\nschool say things that are totally devoid of logic. The textbooks
\nshe uses in her class are devoid of logic as well, and nothing is
\ndone by our educators to stop it. Each time she watches comedians
\non TV, she just gets an excellent lesson on how to stay away from
\nlogic.<\/p>\n
The absence of logic in the way people talk, behave and act in
\nthis country has indeed reached a deplorable level. It is even
\nalarming to hear statements by decision makers that fail to
\nconform to everyday common sense. I don't think it's too far-
\nfetched to link the absence of logic in our society to the
\nstarkly poor grammar in the language spoken and written by most
\nIndonesians, including high-ranking government officials and
\nuniversity professors.<\/p>\n
Logic is needed in order to allow people to interact in a
\ntruly harmonious instead of oppressive way. Isn't it possible
\nthat Indonesians quickly resort to violence to settle their
\ndifferences because they don't use logic? Without logic, how can
\nyou expect a society to function effectively and efficiently? Do
\nyou think our neighbors the Singaporeans could have achieved the
\nlevel of success they enjoy today without the help of logic?<\/p>\n
In this global era, it doesn't matter anymore whether logic is
\nof western origin. The truth is, logic is the main ingredient of
\nsuccess and harmony, for both individuals and society.
\nUnfortunately, logic is disappearing from our country.<\/p>\n
At a social gathering some years ago, I heard someone pose a
\nquestion: \"What is the shortest book in the world?\" Someone else
\ngave the answer, \"The book on Indonesian logic.\" Alas, there is
\ntoo much truth to his answer.<\/p>",
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