Do we need magic to solve the crisis?
Do we need magic to solve the crisis?
JAKARTA (JP): A "provocative" photo is making the rounds of
the Internet. The picture shows the country's number one man,
Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, wearing a casual shirt and shorts,
sitting relaxedly. At his side is a young woman, clad in a
sleeveless dress, who is smiling broadly as she drapes an arm
around his neck.
The picture has spread along with the rumor of an extramarital
affair between the President and the woman, Aryanti Sitepu.
Is the photo real? If not, how did the President and the woman
come to be caught on film in what some take to be a compromising
position?
If you are technology savvy, you know it's easy to create your
own photos, splicing this one here, and cropping that one there.
Want to pose with Bill Clinton, or Madonna, or the two of them
together, in the buff and in whatever position you wish? The
wonders of technology make it all possible.
There are other wonders, not of this world, which some claim
are even more remarkable. Want to make your dream girl or dream
boy, the one who will not give you the time of day, fall head
over heels in love with you? A computer and a scanner will not be
suffice. You need a love spell.
Or else you have experienced that love, but then aforesaid
loved one -- spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend or favorite pet -- has
abandoned you, and you want to get a little revenge. All you need
to do is call on a soothsayer who offers black magic services
(and some of them now have classified advertisements).
"Many prostitutes use guna-guna (love spells) to attract
clients," a friend who likes to hang out in a five-star hotel bar
vouched.
What he said might be true. I know an "escort woman" who
regularly visited a paranormal in the Banten area to help her
with her business. Unlike Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, she was
not good looking and she liked to talk dirty although she was
friendly. I heard that she was married to a rich Englishman.
My rich uncle has a tumor in his head. He regularly visits a
surgeon in the United States but he also uses a spiritual healer
in Tangerang. Needless to say, my uncle is no call boy or gigolo,
but a respected general practitioner.
In fact, those who like to visit paranormals, psychics, faith
healers, soothsayers or whatever you call them include well-
educated people and high-ranking figures in the government and
military.
Some have such deep faith in supernatural powers that they
would carry out their trusted paranormals' instructions to the
letter.
A few years ago, when Soeharto was still in power, an ancient
temple in Central Java was reportedly destroyed by a group of
believers in Javanese mysticism, including some then Cabinet
ministers. Sources at the Directorate of Culture said the
followers claimed they had to build their own headquarters on the
site, as guided by divine revelations.
Perhaps the story is inaccurate, but there is no denying that
there are happenings which do not fit any rational explanations.
Maybe Djoko S. Tjandra has special powers. That is what some
people think after judges exonerated Djoko, the chief defendant
in the Rp 546 billion (US$64.2 million) Bank Bali scandal.
It makes sense, right? After all, how to explain all the many
corrupt, unscrupulous people who have left the country in a mess
but still have the "power" to render the Attorney General's
Office impotent to touch them. If only you could harness their
special power and bottle it, you would make a fortune!
Yet we should not dare to speculate that Prijadi
Praptosuhardjo, who did not pass the Bank Indonesia fit and
proper test, used his own "love spell" to make Gus Dur like him
and appoint him a minister. Or that Rizal Ramli, newly appointed
coordinating minister for the economy, did the same thing, even
though the rupiah tumbled after the announcement of the Cabinet
less than two weeks ago.
You never know when a spell could come in handy. The
government and the new Cabinet still have to work hard to find
the solutions to the prolonged political and economic crises,
which show no indication of ending soon. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international organizations have
shown their concern about the situation and they have also
pledged to lend a hand, even though we all continue to come up
empty-handed.
Maybe the government officials also need to consult those
paranormals to strengthen their bargaining power or diplomatic
wiles so that they are not dictated to by the IMF. Perhaps they
need love spells to steal the hearts of those IMF officials, who
would then lovingly write off the country's billions and billions
of dollars in debt.
By the way, Aryanti may also use a love spell. Maybe she would
be kind enough to lend it to the ministers before their next
meeting with the IMF.
-- T. Sima Gunawan