Life in the midst of Jakarta's urban society lacks a basis in logic

Life in the midst of Jakarta's urban society lacks a basis in logic

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): My wife and her friend recently went shopping at a large supermarket for a family party. After they had bought everything they needed, they went back to get some balloons. They brought a Rp 1,200 pack to the check-out counter and gave the cashier Rp 2,000. It wasn't until they were riding down the escalator that my wife's friend remembered her Rp 800 in change.

They decided to go back not because the small amount of money mattered very much, but because it was simply wrong for the cashier not to give it to them. When they asked the cashier about the money, the lady calmly replied, "Well, I didn't give you the change because you were so busy chatting," and handed over the Rp 800.

My wife and her friend went home with an inexplicable puzzle in their heads. Just because they were immersed in a conversation, the cashier apparently thought she was no longer obligated to give them their change.

One afternoon, I was riding in a friend's car along Jl. Pemuda, East Jakarta, going towards Pulogadung. The light was red at the Mega intersection and a lot of cars were lined up in front of us. However, since we wanted to turn right onto Jl. Sunan Giri, my driving friend moved into the right lane for cars intending to turn right. The lane happened to be empty, so he sped up a little to catch the green light. Just then the driver of a Kijang decided to move into the right hand turn lane; he was attempting to cut off the long line of cars ahead of him when the light turned green. He cut right in front of us and our car bumped into his. Thank God the damage was minimal and no one got injured.

The driver admitted his intention and had obviously violated a traffic regulation. But, hey, in this wonderful country who takes responsibility for their mistakes?

This driver religiously believed that we had intended to make the same maneuver, and it was therefore not his fault that the accident took place. It took us some time and a lot of explaining to make him see the truth that we really were going to turn to the right. Isn't the logic he used bewildering? To us, he cut us off and that caused the accident. It's as simple as that. To him, that was not the case.

Anyway, he finally admitted fault. But our saga continued throughout that afternoon. Having let us keep his driver's license, he asked us to follow him to his boss' office in the Pulogadung Industrial Estate. Follow we did.

As we entered the office compound, however, we were asked to fill in the guest form and show our ID cards. What? A guest form? We weren't their guests. We were there to settle a problem caused by their driver. My friend and I adamantly refused to fill in the form. The humiliation didn't stop there. We were then asked to come into the building to meet his boss. Boy, oh boy.

Because the driver had admitted fault, isn't it more proper that he should ask his boss to come out and meet us instead? To me, that is logical. But these guys had a different way of thinking. The boss refused to come out and meet us, and my friend had to pay for his car to be fixed.

If you think that logic is universal, you'll probably be surprised to find out that Jakarta, in particular, and Indonesia in general are not in the universe you are thinking about. Increasingly, logic fails to be reflected in our society. Here's another example:

After a mass one Sunday morning, my wife went to one of the stalls in the churchyard to buy some gudeg. She was the first to get to the booth. The hawker was not yet ready to serve, so she waited patiently. When she was ready, a number of other people were also waiting to get served. Sensing that another lady -- who was more aggressive than her -- was about to get served, my wife said to the gudeg seller, "Could I get my gudeg now? I arrived here first."

The other lady immediately said to my wife, "Go ahead. But we just came out from the church together." My wife was flabbergasted, and so was I when I heard her account. Could anyone explain to me the connection between coming out of the church together and not having to queue? Is there anything that you see but my wife and I fail to see?

I had to scold my own daughter once for a riddle she put to me. It went like this: Why do the rear wheels of a car get balder more quickly than the front wheels? The answer she had wanted was that the rear wheels wore themselves out thinking of ways to overtake the front wheels. I told her it was a silly joke that didn't make any sense, and I told her I didn't like it. But, what could I really do? All the children and even the teachers at her school say things that are totally devoid of logic. The textbooks she uses in her class are devoid of logic as well, and nothing is done by our educators to stop it. Each time she watches comedians on TV, she just gets an excellent lesson on how to stay away from logic.

The absence of logic in the way people talk, behave and act in this country has indeed reached a deplorable level. It is even alarming to hear statements by decision makers that fail to conform to everyday common sense. I don't think it's too far- fetched to link the absence of logic in our society to the starkly poor grammar in the language spoken and written by most Indonesians, including high-ranking government officials and university professors.

Logic is needed in order to allow people to interact in a truly harmonious instead of oppressive way. Isn't it possible that Indonesians quickly resort to violence to settle their differences because they don't use logic? Without logic, how can you expect a society to function effectively and efficiently? Do you think our neighbors the Singaporeans could have achieved the level of success they enjoy today without the help of logic?

In this global era, it doesn't matter anymore whether logic is of western origin. The truth is, logic is the main ingredient of success and harmony, for both individuals and society. Unfortunately, logic is disappearing from our country.

At a social gathering some years ago, I heard someone pose a question: "What is the shortest book in the world?" Someone else gave the answer, "The book on Indonesian logic." Alas, there is too much truth to his answer.