Talk about 'national priority'!<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Since the beginning of the fasting month, my
\nwife has been busy with her usual tidying up of the house to
\nwelcome Lebaran.<\/p>\n
I don't mind her cleaning and washing. But when it comes to
\nrepainting the house, I think she has gone too far, what with the
\neconomic crisis that is still lingering.<\/p>\n
\"What is it with you?\" she asked when I expressed my
\ndisapproval. \"Lebaran comes only once a year. Don't you think we
\nare obliged to welcome it with a little celebration?\"<\/p>\n
\"You are beginning to sound like Gus Dur,\" I said. (Gus Dur is
\na political leader who is famous for his ever-changing
\nstandpoints. He could say something is red in the morning, and
\nyellow at noon.)<\/p>\n
\"It was just yesterday that you warned us to save every cent
\nto prepare for a worsening economic crisis. Now you are going to
\nspend a fortune only to change the color of the house. What's
\nhappened to priority?\"<\/p>\n
\"I have reversed it,\" she answered gaily. \"The situation is
\ngetting better with the current laissez-faire attitude of the
\nstudents. Without demonstrations, protests and pressure, the
\ngovernment can work peacefully and the ruling party will pave the
\nroad to victory in the forthcoming general election.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, that party has already started campaigning by
\ndistributing aid to the needy, just like old times. Everything
\nwill be back to normal. I mean, the New Order era will be back on
\ntrack and the so-called reform movement will be history. So,
\nthere is nothing to worry about.\"<\/p>\n
Mr. Dahlan, my neighbor, has the same problem with his wife's
\norder of priority. \"You can never win when arguing with ladies,\"
\nhe said, complaining that the gearing-up for Lebaran had ruined
\nhis long weekend and turned him out.<\/p>\n
He suggested that we escape what he referred to as home-
\nturmoil. Hence our ngabuburit trip to some place where we did not
\nhave to hear the noisy rattle of hammers and endure the stinking
\nsmell of paint. Ngabuburit are activities done to kill time while
\nwaiting to break the fast.<\/p>\n
Our ngabuburit took us to a billiards table in a clubhouse.
\n\"Well, we are not betting, so, don't feel guilty about this,\" he
\nsaid to justify our activity, which was somewhat \"improper\" to do
\nduring the fasting month.<\/p>\n
\"Talking about priority,\" he continued, arranging the balls
\ninto a triangle, \"don't you think this nation has made a poor
\nchoice?\"<\/p>\n
\"Can you be more specific?\"<\/p>\n
\"Like food. We wouldn't have a rice shortage if the government
\nhad prioritized the development of rice fields in the first
\nplace. We have an extraordinarily vast area for farming. Our rice
\nproduction could have fed the whole world. But, it chose to
\nprioritize industry and transformed the paddy fields into
\nindustrial estates. Look at what we have to go through.\"<\/p>\n
I nodded. \"Rice production has been experiencing el plungo at
\nan unbelievable rate. And, instead of taking corrective actions
\npronto, they blamed El Nino.\"<\/p>\n
\"Cut out that language teasing! I'm serious.\"<\/p>\n
\"Now, suddenly the government lifts its subsidy on fertilizer
\nand the farmers can't afford it and, believe me, rice production
\nwill be plummeting even more.\"<\/p>\n
\"You can say that again. By the time the scarcity of rice was
\nanticipated, the government should have helped the farmers by
\nfreeing the import duty of fertilizer, so we wouldn't have been
\nin this kind of pathetic state.\"<\/p>\n
\"Still the government does not want to learn from experience.
\nThey lift a 2.5 trillion-rupiah subsidy that could save the
\nnation from famine on the other hand, and they plan to dump 250
\ntrillion of taxpayers' rupiah to capitalize troubled banks. What
\na sense of priority!\"<\/p>\n
\"The same goes for justice. We used to think that the
\ngovernment would zero in on the cases of the May shooting spree
\nand the abduction of activists. But, no! It's not their priority.
\nUp to this minute, the destiny of the missing activists and the
\nmasterminds behind it are still unknown.\"<\/p>\n
\"Meanwhile, they are busy forming a series of new
\ninstitutions, committees and the like.\"<\/p>\n
Putting ball number 9 into the hole nicely by shooting ball
\nnumber two, Mr. Dahlan suddenly stopped in his tracks. \"This
\nreminds me,\" he said, slapping his forehead. \"People do not have
\nto do things directly to achieve their goal. Just like this game.
\nI got nine points instead of two just because I didn't put ball
\nnumber two on priority.\"<\/p>\n
\"Meaning?\"<\/p>\n
\"Like the food shortage. Probably, the people in the
\ngovernment did not put food production on priority so that we
\nhave to keep importing rice, flour, livestock, etc. That way,
\nthey can nurture the importers or their cronies and reap their
\nshare of the deal. And that is the goal they wanted to achieve.\"<\/p>\n
\"And sacrifice the people.\"<\/p>\n
\"That is only a small example of business collusion between
\nthe bureaucracy and businesspeople. The more scary ones are
\nwidely known but mostly untold.\"<\/p>\n
At that time, Mr. Dahlan was confidently aiming at putting
\nball number 13 into the hole by shooting ball number three.
\nUnfortunately, it was the cue ball that accidentally entered the
\nhole. Therefore, he lost his turn.<\/p>\n
\"You are too excited to get higher points,\" I commented.<\/p>\n
\"Eah,\" he shrugged. \"That's what probably happened to those
\nwho are now under investigation for KKN (corruption, collusion,
\nnepotism). They might have been too carried away with the game,
\nputting too much of their personal interest on priority!\"<\/p>\n
\"But, even if you choose the correct priority, it doesn't
\nguarantee you are safe. Remember the previous attorney general?
\nHe quickly put the probe of the former president's wealth on his
\npriority list in accordance to the people's aspiration. And he
\nlost his job.\"<\/p>\n
\"That's not unusual,\" I said. \"Officials are copotable if they
\nare not aturable. Meaning that they can be fired if they don't
\nagree with the boss.\"<\/p>\n
Our game was halted as the next ball we had to shoot was
\nhidden behind other balls. \"Let's just quit,\" said Mr. Dahlan,
\nreturning his cue to the rack. \"It's macet (jammed), just like
\nthe political situation in Indonesia. Only an Olympic-class
\nplayer can come up with a breakthrough. And, as for the political
\njam, only experienced politicians in a class with Gus Dur can
\nmake a breakthrough. For instance, by making extraordinary
\ncompromises.\"<\/p>\n
Mr. Dahlan is probably right. But not many of them prioritize
\nnational interest.<\/p>\n
-- By Carl Chairul<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/talk-about-national-priority-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }