Remembering good ol' days holds back future<\/p>\n
One fine Sunday morning, the day I had been waiting for the
\nentire week, I was interrupted by my maid. She had just returned
\nfrom the market, carrying a plastic bag of vegetables. As she
\nentered our house, she began to grumble.<\/p>\n
\"This plastic bag is not full even though I have already spent
\nover Rp 10,000 for today's menu,\" she almost screamed.<\/p>\n
\"What did you expect?\" I asked, half surprised, half amused.<\/p>\n
\"Well, I just bought vegetables to make pecel (steamed
\nvegetables with peanut sauce), sayur asem (sour soup) and tempeh.
\nBut I had to pay over Rp 10,000 for all that,\" she was still
\ngrumbling. \"Back then they cost less than Rp 5,000.\"<\/p>\n
\"When?\" I asked her.<\/p>\n
\"When Pak Harto was still president, before the riots,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Dear Lord! It had been five years and she could still remember
\nthe prices at that time. Wow... my maid surely has a better
\nmemory than me.<\/p>\n
Nobody will ever forget what happened five years ago. Many
\npeople were killed during the riots, many shops and houses were
\nrazed. All of us suffered in the tragedy, many much more than
\nothers.<\/p>\n
As for my maid, it is still more important for her to think
\nabout the prices than the political and economical impact of the
\nMay riots.<\/p>\n
Later, my fine Sunday was disturbed again by a similar
\ncomment.<\/p>\n
This time from my neighbor, who sat next to me during the
\narisan (a gathering) in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
She complained of her husband's small salary increase.<\/p>\n
\"We could save some money back then. But now, I have to think
\ntwice before spending even for daily needs,\" she complained.<\/p>\n
\"I've got more headaches now as my son will go to elementary
\nschool this year. It means extra money. Nothing is cheap even if
\nhe goes to a state school.\"<\/p>\n
She did not realize that I have the same problem. Many of us
\nhave been complaining of our worsening economic situation within
\nthe five years of reform.<\/p>\n
I had to keep myself from yawning as she continued her litany
\nof complaints.<\/p>\n
\"People on TV like Amien Rais, Gus Dur and others always talk
\nabout reform. What is it exactly? I don't see my life
\nimproving...\"<\/p>\n
\"Do you think we can have Pak Harto back as the president?\"<\/p>\n
I was enjoying my lemper (steamed glutinous rice with meat
\nfilling) when she made that comment and I almost choked on it.<\/p>\n
Not that I hate Pak Harto but I was shocked that after five
\nyears of reform someone would make such a comment.<\/p>\n
I was speechless. My mind went back to five years ago when
\nstudents staged street rallies demanding reform for a better
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
And I have a neighbor who could make such a comment?<\/p>\n
When I told my husband about that, he only laughed. Instead of
\nbeing optimistic, he simply said reform had yet to improve the
\nquality of life.<\/p>\n
\"Our people still need to learn. The political elite should
\nnot give promises to the common people if they can't keep them.
\nNo matter what the ruling party is, Golkar, PDI Perjuangan or
\nothers, it is the people who still suffer most. Only those who
\nhave top positions gain any advantage,\" he said.<\/p>\n
At first I didn't understand why talking about reform and the
\ncurrent situation in the country upset him so much. He finally
\nadmitted it was due to one of his colleagues at the office.<\/p>\n
Pak X, a cadre of PDI Perjuangan, had told all the employees
\nat the office, since the 1999 campaign, that if the party won the
\ngeneral election it would eliminate school fees.<\/p>\n
When our son was admitted to elementary school earlier this
\nyear, my husband went to the office, carrying the invoice for our
\nson's tuition.<\/p>\n
He gave the invoice to Pak X and asked him to go directly to
\nIbu Mega (President Megawati Soekarnoputri, his party's
\nchairwoman) for reimbursement. Unfortunately, according to Pak X,
\nIbu Mega was too busy with her tight schedule to take his call.<\/p>\n
\"I'll try to contact her as soon as possible,\" he boasted.<\/p>\n
We didn't believe him, though, he who believes in those
\npoliticians' empty promises.<\/p>\n
I don't mean to be cynical, but have they kept their promises?
\nI don't think so.<\/p>\n
I began to ask myself if my life had improved compared to five
\nyears ago. I have to admit that the situation has changed. Of
\ncourse, there are always the positive and negative sides of
\nchange. We just have to live with it.<\/p>\n
We have to prepare ourselves to accept change and hope that
\nour leaders can also make improvements not only for their welfare
\nbut more importantly for Indonesia as a nation.<\/p>\n
If we keep remembering the \"good\" ole days, and this is highly
\ndebatable, we'll never move forward.<\/p>\n
-- Harini<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/remembering-good-ol-days-holds-back-future-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }