Brag, brag and brag your head off

JAKARTA (JP): "I'm going to nail those economic criminals and drag them to court," an attorney general brags in front of the cheering press. "I promise you, he'll spend the rest of his life behind bars. This is a country of justice, for Pete's sake!"

Political leaders are notorious for bragging, especially when campaigning for office. "We are going to work hard for the prosperity of this nation," is their battle cry in every general election campaign, spiced up with engineered lines ranging from "Clean governance and law enforcement will be our priority" to "We guarantee a bright future for our young generation and the end of school fees."

Bragging is common activity that most people do in their lives. Sometimes it can be so loathsome that you feel like throwing up upon hearing it. How do you would feel when a high- ranking government official brags about empowering small-scale businessmen, while all he does in reality is empower his relatives and cronies? Talk about law enforcement sounds disgusting if, at the same time, you are witnessing unfair trials and half-hearted investigations into corruption cases.

On the other hand, bragging has a positive side. If you brag about something you plan to do, then you have an obligation to really do it. That is, if you have a sense of shame.

When I met my elementary school teacher more than a decade ago, and she asked me what I had done with my talent for writing she remembered from school, I simply said that I was in the process of writing a novel. Of course, I was bragging. The truth was, I never had any intention to be a writer. No, thanks! This occupation, as far as money is concerned, does not promise anything but a pathetic lifestyle.

Writing, in Indonesia, is not a prestigious job. Sydney Sheldon would not have written When Tomorrow Comes and John Grisham would probably have abandoned the idea of writing The Client, if both had lived here. The reasons are simple. First of all, very few Indonesians are into the habit of reading, so it is very apparent that a book you write here will only sell a limited number of copies. An author is lucky if he pushes 10,000 copies of his book into the hands of readers within a year. By way of comparison, Jacky Collins got an advance payment for one million copies of The Lady Boss before it was printed.

Another reason that discourages Indonesian writers from writing good books is that pirating in Indonesia is "legal". Suppose you come up with a best seller, it does not guarantee that it will make you rich. Once a book is said to be in demand, pirated copies of it will be in the hands of street vendors the next day, offered at half price. Pramoedya Ananta Toer, one of the few productive writers in Indonesia, would probably cry if he visited Senen bus terminal where pirated copies of his books, including newly published ones, are sold at a very low price.

Imported books are also a bonanza for pirates. Take a stroll over the pedestrian bridge in front of a certain big department store in Central Jakarta. You can get an English text book by Raymond Murphy for a mere Rp 15,000, while a few meters away inside the building, the original copy comes with a Rp 270,000 price tag.

"Report it to the police," you may suggest. "Sue the pirates and demand compensation. This is the country of justice, remember?"

Are you kidding? This country is a pirate heaven. Look at the case of the pirated VCD's recently seized by the authorities. So far, nobody has been held responsible. Oh, sure, several people have been questioned, but they are mere sidewalk vendors who know nothing about copyright. The men behind the scenes are still untouched. And now, the case has been almost forgotten and pirated VCD's are once again sold openly everywhere.

Condemned as it is, pirating in Indonesia has helped many people. In an economic crisis as severe as this one, very few people can afford original books, CDs or VCDs. "What are you being so fussy about?" snorted a housewife showing off a dozen pirated VCDs. "Pirating benefits small people like me. With the same amount of money, I could buy only two of these VCD's. And, think about those sidewalk vendors! Pirated products have enabled them to put food on their families' tables, thank-you-very-much."

Now, what do we do? The government seems to be facing a case of buah simalakama or a no-win situation. Struggling to uphold the copyright law will apparently result in fighting with small people with limited ability to buy and with those not-so-small people with a "why pay more" philosophy. In addition, there is also the interest of small-scale businessmen to consider. A win- win solution, if there is one, must be sought. Otherwise, the government will remain in its awkward position.

Back to my bragging business. Every time I met the said teacher, I always felt uncomfortable. I felt like I owed her something. And finally, I decided to start writing. At least I could please the teacher whom I respected so much. Hence my acquaintance with the word processor. And, hey, it was not bad! A year later, my first novel was published by one of Indonesia's leading publishers. And, with a "didn't I tell you?" expression on my face, I handed over the first copy to the teacher.

Money wise, I got nothing from the sales of my first book. The royalties I got from the publisher did not take me too far. Au contraire, it cost me a bunch. Thinking that I had written my way to fame, friends started calling, demanding a selamatan celebration. They might have thought I had made it, in a class with Harold Robbins and Erich Segal who made a fortune from their books. So, one celebration after another left me flat broke. But the pride of bearing a new job title, a novelist, was priceless. Had I not bragged in front of my teacher, I would not have started writing and you wouldn't have read any of my stories in this column.

Now, if somebody up there could brag that he could nail the pirates and, at the same time, provide the genuine products at an affordable price...

-- Carl Chairul