Putting the younger generation at ease<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"I don't believe this!\" roared my youngest son,
\ndarting into my study with the morning paper. He had been reading
\nthe news about Indonesian aircraft being traded for Thai
\nglutinous rice.<\/p>\n
\"This nation has spent heaps to develop a sophisticated
\naircraft just to trade it for some bags of cheap glutinous rice,\"
\nhe explained, as though I had never seen glutinous rice in my
\nlife.<\/p>\n
I had been concentrating on an article about student brawls,
\nand his sudden appearance blanked my mind. His fiery complaint
\nwas important, so I listened to him rant.<\/p>\n
\"What is your point? Bartering goods is a normal way of doing
\nbusiness,\" I told him calmly.<\/p>\n
\"This deal is degrading. It sucks! Trading an aircraft for
\nintellectual products like computers or car parts is okay. But
\nfor bags of glutinous rice? No way! We are going to the street to
\nstage a demonstration.\"<\/p>\n
\"Hold it right there, young man,\" I ordered as he turned away.
\n\"Sit down and we'll talk about it.\"<\/p>\n
It took fifteen minutes and a cup of coffee to calm down my
\nraging son. Then I began my own harangue.<\/p>\n
\"I don't think IPTN will diversify into the Black Glutinous
\nRice Restaurant business,\" I said, attempting humor to put him at
\nease. \"But I know very well that we import the sticky rice
\nbecause we don't produce enough ourselves to cover local demand.\"<\/p>\n
\"Aw, c'mon, Dad. We don't consume that much glutinous rice.
\nBesides, we are an agricultural nation. Our farmers can produce
\nany kind of rice. Indonesia has been an independent food producer
\nfor ages,\" he argued.<\/p>\n
\"Wrong. Sticky rice is vulnerable to pests and Indonesian
\nproduction is very low. Instead of planting it, Indonesian
\nfarmers concentrate on planting Oryza sativa or capsicum annum or
\nZea mays,\" I said, trying to dazzle him with scientific terms the
\nway government officials confuse illiterate squatters with their
\n\"asis\" like globalisasi, urbanisasi and jambanisasi.<\/p>\n
Official<\/p>\n
\"You sound like a government official,\" he protested, cracking
\na smile.<\/p>\n
\"That's the reason why the government has to import glutinous
\nrice, spending a lot of foreign exchange,\" I continued,
\npretending not to hear what he said.<\/p>\n
\"By bartering, foreign exchange can be spent on other
\npurposes, like importing the intellectual products you young
\npeople are so fond of.\"<\/p>\n
I hate lecturing, but I needed to put him in his place before
\nhe hit the streets with his gang. The last time he took part in a
\ndemonstration he came home bruised and battered after some police
\n\"questioning\".<\/p>\n
Indonesian young people are easily agitated by conditions that
\ndon't meet their expectations. Staging demonstrations and
\nfighting are their most common form of protest. Some
\ndemonstrations end up in fatal riots.<\/p>\n
A psychologist told me that students demonstrate because they
\nfeel nobody listens to them. I understood too well. The little
\ntalk with my son is a simple example. I calmed him down by
\ntalking and listening to him.<\/p>\n
\"They want to be heard,\" said the psychologist. \"In Jakarta,
\nstudents have been complaining about bus drivers' refusal to take
\nthem because they only pay Rp 100. But little has been done about
\nincreasing the number of school buses. The disappointment that
\naccumulates day by day results in frustration that makes them
\neasily excited. A simple disagreement could result in a fight.\"<\/p>\n
Much has been said about student brawls. The city
\nadministration is busy planning a sophisticated transportation
\nsystem to solve future problems. They are apparently so busy they
\nare oblivious to the problems students face right now.<\/p>\n
Transportation frustrations are not the only cause of riots
\nand student brawls, but solving this easy problem is a start. And
\nthe way to solve the problem is to listen to the students'
\ncomplaints.<\/p>\n
-- Carl Chairul<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/putting-the-younger-generation-at-ease-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }