When simple words turn to cursing, watch out!<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): \"Muke Loe Jauh,\" literally meaning \"Your face is
\nfar away\", was written on a banner held aloft in a rally staged
\nby relatives of victims of the Trisakti and Semanggi incidents
\n(The Jakarta Post, Aug. 6, 1999). It was addressed to the
\ngovernment, which has been accused of not doing a thorough
\ninvestigation into the violence as it had promised.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators seemed to have been so angry and impatient
\nthat they cursed, using words normally uttered by teenagers, to
\nvent their anger.<\/p>\n
Conventional words and poetry apparently have not got them
\nanywhere. The authorities still drag their feet in doing what
\nthey should have completed ages ago.<\/p>\n
Why face?<\/p>\n
Indonesians have cursing down to a fine art, with styles being
\ndifferent from one region to another. In general, the names of
\nanimals such as dog, monkey, bedbug and snake are among favorite
\nwords to call somebody you hate. And if you hate somebody so much
\nthat you need to involve more animals, then you can simply say
\nKebon binatang (zoo)!\"<\/p>\n
Parts of the human body, mostly the \"sensitive\" ones, are also
\npopular for the purpose of cursing. Try to say matamu (your eyes)
\nto a Javanese girl. You'll probably end up being slapped on the
\nface. Or if you are in North Sumatra, try muttering \"your mouth\"
\nin the local dialect and you could very well end up with a broken
\njaw.<\/p>\n
Still in North Sumatra, saying \"your mother\" or \"your father\"
\nin the local dialect is considered impolite. Normally you have to
\naddressed somebody's parent as \"our mother\" or \"our father\". The
\nsame goes for neighboring West Sumatra.<\/p>\n
The East Javanese, however, are very flexible in dealing with
\nswear words. The word \"your head\" could be uttered either by two
\ndeadly enemies who are ready to kill each other or by two best
\nbuddies who have not met for a long time.<\/p>\n
Bangsat (bedbug) is another ambiguous expression that could be
\ntaken as a joke or a condemnation. But when Gus Dur muttered it
\nin reference to sneering legislators in the last Special Session
\nof the People Consultative Assembly, he was not joking. He
\ncondemned the attitude of the legislators who were smiling and
\nlaughing while outside the building, protesting students were
\nkilled and wounded in a shooting spree by the military.<\/p>\n
Now back to the \"face\" business. Generally this word is often
\nused in special expressions such as in Saya kehilangan muka (I
\nlose face), bermuka dua (two faced), tatap muka (dialog), etc.<\/p>\n
Muke loe (your face), is an old Jakartan expression of anger.
\nYoung teenagers (ABGs) incorporate the word jauh. A teenage band
\nhas released a song with this expression as its title. I didn't
\nknow what it meant at first. But when I saw it on the banner, I
\nasked several teenagers, including street singers who frequently
\nsing the song. The complete meaning is, \"Unfortunately, your face
\nis far away. If I could reach it, I would do something to it.\"<\/p>\n
The revival of demonstrations after the general election shows
\nthat people are getting impatient with recent events here. The
\ntug-of-war among politicians in the General Elections Committee,
\ncorruption cases that have faded into the background, violence
\nused in Aceh and Ambon, and the recent Bank Bali Rp 546 billion
\nscandal said to involve people in Habibie's administration, all
\nhave escalated public dissatisfaction. And the authorities'
\nleveling accusations at each other has made people feel like they
\nare in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n
The Bank Bali case is, again, proof that monetary authorities
\nare insensitive to the economic problems we are facing. The
\nscandal, according to Amien Rais, was made possible by a
\npresidential decree which guarantees all bank deposits and
\nclaims. This, he claims, creates a loophole for the occurrence of
\nfraud.<\/p>\n
\"Presidential decrees to Indonesia are just like bombs to
\nNATO,\" commented a social observer. \"Most of them miss their
\ntargets.\"<\/p>\n
Well he can say that again! Only NATO's bombs are aimed at an
\nenemy, while wrongly implemented presidential decrees in
\nIndonesia destroy its citizens.<\/p>\n
Like other allegations of corruption and fraud that have been
\nclosed or forgotten, the Bank Bali case will apparently be
\nhandled in the usual \"standard procedure\". First the authorities
\nvow (defiantly) to probe the case in accordance with prevailing
\nrules and regulations (Oh, am I tired of hearing this). Then they
\nwill ask for evidence (who are they kidding?). Next they will
\ndrag their feet in the investigation, waiting for the case to
\nsubside or for another case to grab people's attention (Remember
\nthe Ghalib case?). Finally, they will come up with an official
\nstatement saying there is not enough evidence to take the case to
\nthe court. Even if it makes it to a courtroom, there are always
\nways to make sure the case is thrown out of court. And, voila!<\/p>\n
Those who report or unveil the case will end up being the
\nculprits in court (Hold it right there, Teten!).<\/p>\n
But watch out!<\/p>\n
As far as I can see, the way people now stage protests has
\nreached a dangerous level. Look at the banners, and listen to
\nwhat they say.<\/p>\n
Protesters do not only use words to convey their messages.
\nInstead of uttering swear words, they use chicken, rats, goats
\nand whatever they can come up with to symbolize the performance
\nof the political or governmental institution.<\/p>\n
Governmental sensitivity is now required. There is no more
\ntime for the \"see nothing, hear nothing\" game. The truth must be
\nunveiled before protests turn into a raging curse. That is,
\nbefore protesters bring more animals and spout more names of the
\nhuman body to curse government officials. We have to realize that
\ncursing is only a word away from physical battle. And we do not
\nwant to have a second Trisakti or Semanggi incident.<\/p>\n
Do we?<\/p>\n
-- Carl Chairul<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/when-simple-words-turn-to-cursing-watch-out-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }