Could you pass the chicken, please?

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