Putting the younger generation at ease

JAKARTA (JP): "I don't believe this!" roared my youngest son, darting into my study with the morning paper. He had been reading the news about Indonesian aircraft being traded for Thai glutinous rice.

"This nation has spent heaps to develop a sophisticated aircraft just to trade it for some bags of cheap glutinous rice," he explained, as though I had never seen glutinous rice in my life.

I had been concentrating on an article about student brawls, and his sudden appearance blanked my mind. His fiery complaint was important, so I listened to him rant.

"What is your point? Bartering goods is a normal way of doing business," I told him calmly.

"This deal is degrading. It sucks! Trading an aircraft for intellectual products like computers or car parts is okay. But for bags of glutinous rice? No way! We are going to the street to stage a demonstration."

"Hold it right there, young man," I ordered as he turned away. "Sit down and we'll talk about it."

It took fifteen minutes and a cup of coffee to calm down my raging son. Then I began my own harangue.

"I don't think IPTN will diversify into the Black Glutinous Rice Restaurant business," I said, attempting humor to put him at ease. "But I know very well that we import the sticky rice because we don't produce enough ourselves to cover local demand."

"Aw, c'mon, Dad. We don't consume that much glutinous rice. Besides, we are an agricultural nation. Our farmers can produce any kind of rice. Indonesia has been an independent food producer for ages," he argued.

"Wrong. Sticky rice is vulnerable to pests and Indonesian production is very low. Instead of planting it, Indonesian farmers concentrate on planting Oryza sativa or capsicum annum or Zea mays," I said, trying to dazzle him with scientific terms the way government officials confuse illiterate squatters with their "asis" like globalisasi, urbanisasi and jambanisasi.

Official

"You sound like a government official," he protested, cracking a smile.

"That's the reason why the government has to import glutinous rice, spending a lot of foreign exchange," I continued, pretending not to hear what he said.

"By bartering, foreign exchange can be spent on other purposes, like importing the intellectual products you young people are so fond of."

I hate lecturing, but I needed to put him in his place before he hit the streets with his gang. The last time he took part in a demonstration he came home bruised and battered after some police "questioning".

Indonesian young people are easily agitated by conditions that don't meet their expectations. Staging demonstrations and fighting are their most common form of protest. Some demonstrations end up in fatal riots.

A psychologist told me that students demonstrate because they feel nobody listens to them. I understood too well. The little talk with my son is a simple example. I calmed him down by talking and listening to him.

"They want to be heard," said the psychologist. "In Jakarta, students have been complaining about bus drivers' refusal to take them because they only pay Rp 100. But little has been done about increasing the number of school buses. The disappointment that accumulates day by day results in frustration that makes them easily excited. A simple disagreement could result in a fight."

Much has been said about student brawls. The city administration is busy planning a sophisticated transportation system to solve future problems. They are apparently so busy they are oblivious to the problems students face right now.

Transportation frustrations are not the only cause of riots and student brawls, but solving this easy problem is a start. And the way to solve the problem is to listen to the students' complaints.

-- Carl Chairul