Could you pass the chicken, please?

JAKARTA (JP): "Fried chicken restaurants are on the brink of bankruptcy," said Dino, my oldest son who is visiting us on his annual leave. He was holding a morning paper and it looked to me that he was reading a headline.

In the morning, our dining room changes into a multifunctional area where various activities take place. The table is usually full of a motley clutter of items -- a nail cutter, ruler, magazines, newspapers, knitting gear, you name it. Of course, the main activity is breakfast, but there is a mutual agreement between all the family members that other activities such as reading, nail cutting, chatting, grumbling and others are not prohibited.

I did not pay attention to what Dino said. In this kind of crisis, bankruptcy is no unusual thing. Besides, I was concentrating on clipping statements from prominent leaders. I am sure, in a few decades to come, some of those statements will become important and famous, in a class with those of Gen. MacArthur, George Washington or John F. Kennedy. And I will be the first to produce the original copies and that will make me rich!

One of the statements in my collection is from a political figure who was the object of a protest by a mass of students during his visit to Surabaya. "They are innocent students, they meant no harm! They just stood in line, eager to shake my hand," was his comment.

"The supply of chicken to the restaurants has dropped as most chicken are used as souvenirs for those who are chickening out," continued Dino, still holding the newspaper.

Now I knew he was not reading any headline of the paper; he was "provoking" me to talk. Coincidentally, at the time I was gluing the picture I clipped from The Jakarta Post of Wednesday, Nov. 25. The picture shows students handing a full-grown chicken to Attorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib.

The chicken is the symbol of fear and a lack of guts. And the message delivered by the handing of the chicken to Ghalib was loud and clear: he does not have the guts to probe Soeharto's wealth and abuses of power.

"You are an incorrigible 'provocator'," I complained.

"Who isn't?" he answered, snatching a piece of French toast from his Mom's plate. "Don't you think those in the government are provoking their opponents by the allegation of makar (treason)? Really, Dad, I'm worried about the situation."

"Who isn't?" I volleyed back. "It seems like people are taking shortcuts in getting what they want, Habibie has not made a meaningful move toward the implementation of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decrees. Instead, he has chosen to make a classic move, overpowering a fire by generating a bigger fire.

"And the people are no longer that patient. Because, they don't know who and what to believe. The government is still playing hide-and-seek on the implementation of the decree."

"They don't play hide-and-seek, Dad. They play dirty!"

"Can't you talk more politely?" his mother, who is a devoted fan of Habibie, scolded him. "You young people must learn to be patient. Don't use provocative phrases that will just worsen the situation."

"All right, Mom. They do not play dirty. The legislators and the government only work in a subtle cooperation. Look at what they have done to the decrees made by the MPR. Part of the decree on the probe of corruption, collusion and nepotism is displayed regularly on TV without displaying the loophole."

"What loophole?" I asked.

"Come on, Dad. You're not that naive. When engineering the decree, the legislators provided a loophole for the government to tango with. There is an additional part in paragraph 5 that says that the probe shall be regulated in laws and regulations. And the said laws and regulations have yet to be made, or engineered if you like. So, the government can make excuses on why they have not done the probe. And that additional part is not displayed on TV.

"So, both legislators and the government are not serious in probing corruption. Both do not have guts. The legislators and the government belong to the New Order era. And both are making every effort to please people on one hand and to show gratitude to Pak Harto on the other hand. Believe me, this probe business will go nowhere."

"Well, I don't know about that," I said. "It is much too complicated for me, let me just concentrate on my clipping."

"What is it about?"

"Habibie's fatherly message to the students. This is great. Someday, when the students are there in the government, they will recite this message nostalgically."

"What does the message say?"

"The President says that he is longing to see the students and to have a dialog with them, but regrets that he does not have the time to do so."

"Chicken!" said Edi, who had been silently enjoying his breakfast.

"Ssssh! Don't talk like that," scolded his Mom. "It is the President we are talking about."

"I'm not talking about anybody. I want that piece of chicken. Could you pass it, please?"

"All right," I said, passing the piece of fried chicken, his favorite dish. "Enjoy it while it is available. Soon it will be scarce."

On impulse, everybody at the table reached for the chicken, no doubt fearing that chickens of the feathered variety will soon be hard to come by.

-- Carl Chairul