If only Dewi Ratih could descend to this earth...

If only Dewi Ratih could descend to this earth...

JAKARTA (JP): Tanto's face suddenly turned pale as his
secretary said that Ratih wanted to see him. "Are they already at
large?" he gasped in dismay. "Tell them I am not here."

Now, it was his secretary's turn to get puzzled. "Who's them?"

"Those Ratihs (acronym of Rakyat Terlatih or civilian
militias)."

"My god! You misunderstood me. This Ratih is your ex..., I
mean, the woman you didn't want me to tell anybody about."

Tanto released a deep breath. "Oh, that Ratih. Okey, send her
in."

The government's plan to establish yet another type of civil
defense system, a civilian militia called Ratih, recently has
sparked a heated controversy. The immediate reaction is the fear
that Ratih will be just another group of vigilantes similar to
Pam Swakarsa that was formed to secure the recent Special Session
of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Prominent leaders,
lawyers and social organizations soon staged a wave of protests
and demanded that the government halt the program.

"No, not another group. We have already had it with HANSIP,
KAMTIB, Trantib, not to mention groups of people who claim they
take part in securing our business and our neighborhood." said
Widjaya, an entrepreneur who has to spend a handsome amount in
monthly tribute for so-called security.

"Do not prejudge, sir," I said. "Ratih is not the same as the
existing organizations. At least that's what the government says.
It will be formed to assist the armed forces during the upcoming
general election."

"Well, Pam Swakarsa was also recruited to assist the
authorities in securing the MPR Special Session. And, what did we
come up with? Bloodshed!"

Apparently, it is hard for certain people to believe that, by
the formation of Ratih, the government intends to protect them
from threats and to get the general election run in a peaceful
manner. And who am I to convince them? I do not have anything
against Ratih. But, as far as I am concerned, it is the
government's job to socialize their program before launching it.

So, instead of campaigning for the up-coming Ratih, I
contacted an old friend, Ratih Dewanto, who is not happy with the
acronym. "Can't they invent a proper name? I don't entertain the
idea of using my name for that group," she shouted at the top of
her voice.

For your information, Ratih is also a typical name for
Indonesian women. In the Javanese legend, Ratih is the name of an
extraordinarily beautiful dewi (goddess), the wife of Dewa (God)
Kamajaya. This goddess is believed to bring love and beauty. A
young Javanese mother to be, for instance, in the seventh month
of her pregnancy, usually holds a celebration called nujuh-
bulanin, to wish that her child is beautiful like Dewi Ratih (if
it is a girl) or as handsome as Dewa Kamajaya (if it is a baby
boy).

"Calm down, Madame," I tried to console Ratih. Usually, she
laughs her head off whenever I call her Madame because, in our
peculiar way, that kind of address reminds us of something funny.

"Not when your name is connected to an organization that could
do something shameful."

"Nothing shameful will occur, believe me. It is guaranteed by
Mr. Wiranto. The troops of Ratih will be selected, trained and
taught how to behave prior to their assignments."

"Well, I'm sorry to say that I doubt it. How about the people
in the armed forces? They have been trained for years; and what
have they done to the students? Shooting, torturing, abducting,
and intimidating. Is that what they are trained for?" Ratih's
comment was so fiery that it could have melted the telephone
wire.

"You can't generalize the case, Madame," I said, still trying
to calm her down. "Those who shot, tortured and abducted the
students are oknums (those who act individually, not on behalf of
an institution), and they have been punished according to their
wrongdoings."

"Some punishment! As far as I know, they are still free."

"Don't be too skeptical. The authorities are still collecting
data to prove they are guilty."

"For how long? Until kingdom comes? If I may suggest, the
authority should clear up one problem before creating another."

Disapproval also comes from Ani, a new graduate of the
University of Indonesia majoring in the study of Javanese
Literature. "The name has a supernatural quality. Using it to
refer to such an organization will ruin the image of Dewi Ratih.
Haven't they got any other bright idea?"

Contradictorily, Budi, her uncle, supports the use of the name
for the civilian militia. "Come on, honey, the government's idea
may not be that bad."

"Oh yeah?" Vini, his oldest daughter, joined the argument.
"And please, tell me just one good reason why it is not that
bad."

I've got a notion that the name has been chosen on purpose.
The government may believe that by using the sacred name the
civilian militia will probably display the charm and gentleness
of Dewi Ratih when dealing with protesting students."

"Don't tell me the goddess is going to descend to this
restless earth to sort out the political struggle," interrupted
Vini.

"Who knows?"

"Well, I can see your point now," commented Vini. "You expect
the Ratih will treat people with love and care. And, before they
use their batons to hit the students, they will sweetly say
'nuwun semu' (excuse me). How amusing!"

At the time the argument was in progress, the TV showed a
group of university students being bulldozed into military
trucks; some of them were lashed by the armed forces using
batons.

"You see?" said Hani, shrugging. "If those well-trained people
can be that violent, imagine what the Ratih, who are only trained
for a mere two weeks, may do."

I could only sigh, wishing that Dewi Ratih could descend to
this earth and use her charm to calm people.

-- Carl Chairul