Despite arrest, 'kolor hijau' all in the mind
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While most capitals in the region are battening down the hatches against bird flu, a creature of another kind has sent Jakarta residents into a tizzy.
From gossip at office water fountains to talk in traditional markets, the city has been abuzz in recent weeks with stories of attacks committed by a half-man, half-beast.
Frightened neighborhoods set up special patrols and decked out their homes with traditional talismans to keep the kolor hijau intruder -- so named for his penchant for wearing nothing but green underwear -- at bay.
TV stations conducted investigative reports and some newspapers ran columns by paranormals, predicting the menace's motivation and his likely next strike.
On Saturday, despite Jakarta police assertions there was no truth to the rumors after most of the handful of "victims" confessed they made their stories up, several popular dailies reported that a 20-year-old man, Andi alias Gogol, was arrested by Bekasi Police on Friday as the suspected kolor hijau intruder.
The man admitted in preliminary questioning to being part of a gang of burglars who wore green undershorts during their crimes, and the police confirmed they found a pair of blue-green shorts in his possession.
While some may be amused by police officers' being asked to identify the color of a suspect's underwear, not everybody sees the funny side of the situation.
"At first, it was interesting, but the more you saw the reports, and particularly the poor women who reported the attacks, it became kind of sad," said one Jakarta office worker.
All of the women who claimed they were attacked came from poor neighborhoods; several had a history of mental illness and some confessed that they were trying to draw the public's attention to their plight.
One young woman cut her arms with razors to mimic the man's "claws", later acknowledging she did it in a bid to get money for her story.
Psychologist and social observer Sartono Mukadis was dismayed by the hold the rumors exerted over the public in a form of mass hysteria.
"It's shocking that a natural disaster like bird flu doesn't cause panic, but something so stupid spreads like this," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. "It's totally irrational."
He said the report of the intruder could be put down to sexual fantasies, with the attendant shame causing the women to blame a rapist. It could also be a primitive need by the women and the man who "confessed" to be recognized by others and get attention.
Mass reports of strange occurrences often occur in a cycle, Sartono noted, especially before periods of uncertainty, like this year's elections, where people feel helpless to control the situation.
The superstition and ignorance fueling the mass hysteria also presents a prime opportunity for exploitation by "crooked" politicians, Sartono added.
"They systematically and cleverly nurture irrationality in society, because they would be defeated if it (the public) was cleverer."
He warned the politicians that the same "fertile ground to sow stupidity" that helped them con their way to power also left them prone to chaotic consequences among an irrational public.
"We have never been allowed to ask, to (develop) critical thinking," Sartono said.