Do your chairs need reform?

Do your chairs need reform?

JAKARTA (JP): The phrase 'We care about freedom' (Kami Peduli
Kebebasan) was splashed in the June 8 edition of Kompas daily.
However, if you think that those words have something to do with
the greater freedom demanded by student demonstrators as part of
their demands for reforms, then you're in for a big surprise.

Statements on reform are not a monopoly of students or
reformists as the reform tidal wave continues to sweep over the
entire nation with no signs of subsiding. Such words as reform
and freedom have become magic words, much like the 1945 slogan
Freedom or death, key words for Indonesians fighting to defend
their freedom against Dutch colonialists. Today, it's: Total
reform or death.

As it was in 1945, when the word merdeka (freedom) became a
common form of greeting among Indonesians and a call sign or even
a password for freedom fighters, the word reform has come into
vogue. It has also provided protection against possible attack,
either physical or mental.

When riots broke out in Jakarta following the May 12 shooting
of students at the Trisakti private university in West Jakarta,
signs appeared in front of big and small buildings alike,
stating: We are all for reform, or We are 100 percent behind
reform, and the like. Whoever put up those signs must have felt
that those magic words could protect them from attacks by angry
mobs.

The business circle was quick to grasp the trend; one
indication is the use of the word reformasi in advertisements in
various news media. Old catch words like safe, security,
guarantee, competitive or discount do not seem enough to convince
clients or prospective buyers in this era of total reform.

Bank IFI opened its big, four-column ad in Kompas, June 8,
with the phrase Kami Peduli Kebebasan, while offering a new type
of savings called Tabungan Reformasi (Reform Savings Account).
The special offer includes "freedom" for clients to withdraw up
to Rp 10 million a day from its ATMs, "freedom" from queuing,
"freedom" from tax, as well as the abolition of several
obligations such as a monthly administration fee and transfer
fees.

Consider this classified ad which appeared in The Jakarta
Post, June 12: "Indotrade, Corporate & Foreign Investment
Consultant 'One Stop Service' to establish anywhere in Indonesia
with new Reformation Regulation & price for licensing PMA, PMDN,
R. Office, Immigration, Kittas, Tax Report ..."

Aneka Konstruksi in Surabaya is offering office space and
storehouses under a special package called Paket Reformasi
(Reform Package) which is actually its way of saying that it is
giving a 50 percent discount (Surabaya Post, June 8).

A three-column ad in Kompas, June 8, offered "reform for
children of this nation". It was an ad placed by Anzac, offering
Indonesian students wishing to study in Australia free fiscal,
free student visas and free registration fees. The three
facilities are considered as the three reforms demanded by
students who wish to enroll in Australian universities.

The British Council, too, came under the spell of the magic
word. The word reformasi was splashed across the top of a three-
column ad in Kompas, June 11, offering scholarships for
Indonesian students who want to join undergraduate and
postgraduate programs in Britain.

There is something for Moslems, too. Dena Tour is offering a
nine-day Umroh Reformasi (Reform Minor Haj). The "reform" package
combines a minor haj trip with tours to several European
countries, the U.S., Canada, Morocco, and China with discounted
fares (Media Indonesia, June 9).

For those who want to celebrate special occasions in this era
of financial difficulties, the Sunter Podomoro Sport Club offers
a special package called Paket Reformasi. The package includes
air-conditioned reception hall, catering and MC services, free
parking as well as a permit to hold the gathering, all for Rp 6.6
million. (Suara Pembaruan afternoon daily, June 12).

Not all the "reform ads" are business-oriented. There is a
huge three-column public service ad placed by Cabe Rawit and Mega
Citra Repro in cooperation with the Bisnis Indonesia daily. The
ad, using the key word Swa-Reformasi (Self Reform), calls for
Indonesians to reform themselves through soul-searching.

"This is a time for soul-searching, in case we, too, are
guilty of unacceptable behavior," says the ad, which appeared in
Bisnis Indonesia, June 13.

But nothing is more startling than this small classified ad,
June 8 Kompas: "Reformasi Dunia! Minimal Agustus 98. PT Pakis
Raya Abadi Memproduksi Tangga Geser... Untuk Me-reformasi Kursi
Pada Meja-Makan Guna Mem-Berdaya-kan Anak Umur 3-7 tahun...

What the company means by "reforming the world" is nothing
more than making your dining chairs more comfortable for children
aged between 3 and 7 years. And to do that, it requires nothing
more than the portable ladders the company is selling.

The company also used the word memberdayakan, meaning to
empower, instead of simply saying that the portable ladders would
make children feel more comfortable.

The question is, do we need to go as far as "reforming the
world" to make family dinner more comfortable for our kids? And I
didn't know that to make your children feel more comfortable
while sitting at the dining table with grownups amounted to the
huge task of empowering them.

Come to think of it, linguists should probably thank
Indonesians for reforming the word reform, thus stretching its
meaning to include discount and adjusting the height of your
dining chairs.

-- Lela E. Madjiah