Probe, clarification or 'gombalization'?

Probe, clarification or 'gombalization'?

JAKARTA (JP): An old cartoon that I happened to keep, shows
Imelda facing a TV crew, clarifying her previous statement. The
caption is very intriguing: "It shows how wrong the press can be!
Certainly I had 3,000 pairs of shoes. But half of them belonged
to Ferdinand. (Ferdinand is pictured standing beside her, wearing
a pair of ladies shoes).

I took the cartoon, printed a decade ago, to my English class
for the purpose of answering my students' question on what the
word clarification means. "That is clarification," I said.

If you have considered becoming a language teacher, now is the
time to decide against it. This kind of job nowadays is getting
tough, what with the ever-changing situation that yields new
vocabulary.

The current political situation, coming with a series of new
words (or old words with a whole new meaning) has generated
confusion amongst language users.

Just like recently, when A.A. Baramuli, chairman of the
Supreme Advisory Board, said that the government would certainly
investigate former president Soeharto's wealth, State Secretary
Akbar Tandjung carefully amended the statement by saying that the
government would ask for clarification on Pak Harto's statement
that he does not have a red cent in any banks abroad.

"Now, class, can you tell the difference between to
investigate and to ask for clarification?"

Aristo answered: "That depends on who the object is. If the
object is one of the common people, there is a big difference
between investigation and asking for clarification. But when
dealing with a VIP, both are the same -- it is done in a kow tow
style. You don't summon the object. You have to wait until the
object gives the green light for you to pay a visit (or homage?)
and use a very delicate vocabulary."

Avoiding further argument, I decided to end the conversation.
"Enough of politics. Today we are going to discuss idiomatic
expression."

"That reminds me," said Meidy. "How do you say 'habis manis
sepah dibuang' in English?"

My stomach churned. That expression, quoted by Akbar from
Habibie's statement, is a very old proverb irrelevant to current
life. It's hard to explain to the younger generation.

In the old days, instead of taking a candy (which was then a
luxury item), we chewed on sugar cane cut into small pieces. When
the sweet taste was gone, we threw away the waste and started
with a new piece. Hence the proverb, Habis manis sepah dibuang
(When the taste is gone, the waste is thrown away). It denotes
ungratefulness, the attitude of a person who is not thankful to
the one whom he owes a lot.

By using the proverb, Habibie certainly wanted his people not
to adopt an attitude of condemnation toward the previous
president, to whom he thinks this nation owes a lot.

The trouble is, I could not briefly explain the origin of the
proverb to the students, because most of them had never seen
sugarcane. I had to draw pictures of sugarcane and tell them
about my old habits.

"Sugarcane for my generation is bubble gum for yours. It's
very juicy. Believe me."

"But, why isn't it recommended to throw away the waste? Are
you supposed to keep it in your pocket when it is no longer
useful?"

"It's only a proverb," I said.

"By the way," said Galih, "do you think it is relevant to
compare the sweetness of sugarcane juice to what Pak Harto did to
the nation? I mean, did he really give us the sweetness?"

Here we go again! They never have enough of political talk.

"Why don't you ask the man who said it? Now let's get back to
the lesson."

"This is also part of our lesson, isn't it? We are practicing
our vocabulary."

I gave in and let them continue the argument.

"Talking about the sweet juice," said Aminarso, "I think the
meaning of the proverb is the other way around. Actually, the
juice was sucked by those in power during the new order
administration, and all we have now is the waste, or the remains,
if you like. And the remains represent the poverty, scarcity of
food and economic turmoil we have to endure."

"And talking about clarification, it's the people the
government must ask. I mean, the government needs to ask for
clarification from the people whether they have got the sweet
juice or the waste from the new order government."

"And what if the government turn a deaf ear to what the people
say?"

"We call it gombalization," I pitched in. To gombalize, is to
say one thing when you mean another."

"Is it English?"

"No, it is Indonesian slang. I want to make it into English
vocabulary the way we have been adopting English words in our
daily vocabulary such as investasi, negosiasi, globalisasi,
jambanisasi, etc."

The bell rang and I was saved! I didn't need to explain the
meaning of the last expression. "Let's call it a day," I said,
concluding the class without touching on the subject I had
intended to discuss that day.

-- Carl Chairul