Talk about 'national priority'!

JAKARTA (JP): Since the beginning of the fasting month, my wife has been busy with her usual tidying up of the house to welcome Lebaran.

I don't mind her cleaning and washing. But when it comes to repainting the house, I think she has gone too far, what with the economic crisis that is still lingering.

"What is it with you?" she asked when I expressed my disapproval. "Lebaran comes only once a year. Don't you think we are obliged to welcome it with a little celebration?"

"You are beginning to sound like Gus Dur," I said. (Gus Dur is a political leader who is famous for his ever-changing standpoints. He could say something is red in the morning, and yellow at noon.)

"It was just yesterday that you warned us to save every cent to prepare for a worsening economic crisis. Now you are going to spend a fortune only to change the color of the house. What's happened to priority?"

"I have reversed it," she answered gaily. "The situation is getting better with the current laissez-faire attitude of the students. Without demonstrations, protests and pressure, the government can work peacefully and the ruling party will pave the road to victory in the forthcoming general election.

"In fact, that party has already started campaigning by distributing aid to the needy, just like old times. Everything will be back to normal. I mean, the New Order era will be back on track and the so-called reform movement will be history. So, there is nothing to worry about."

Mr. Dahlan, my neighbor, has the same problem with his wife's order of priority. "You can never win when arguing with ladies," he said, complaining that the gearing-up for Lebaran had ruined his long weekend and turned him out.

He suggested that we escape what he referred to as home- turmoil. Hence our ngabuburit trip to some place where we did not have to hear the noisy rattle of hammers and endure the stinking smell of paint. Ngabuburit are activities done to kill time while waiting to break the fast.

Our ngabuburit took us to a billiards table in a clubhouse. "Well, we are not betting, so, don't feel guilty about this," he said to justify our activity, which was somewhat "improper" to do during the fasting month.

"Talking about priority," he continued, arranging the balls into a triangle, "don't you think this nation has made a poor choice?"

"Can you be more specific?"

"Like food. We wouldn't have a rice shortage if the government had prioritized the development of rice fields in the first place. We have an extraordinarily vast area for farming. Our rice production could have fed the whole world. But, it chose to prioritize industry and transformed the paddy fields into industrial estates. Look at what we have to go through."

I nodded. "Rice production has been experiencing el plungo at an unbelievable rate. And, instead of taking corrective actions pronto, they blamed El Nino."

"Cut out that language teasing! I'm serious."

"Now, suddenly the government lifts its subsidy on fertilizer and the farmers can't afford it and, believe me, rice production will be plummeting even more."

"You can say that again. By the time the scarcity of rice was anticipated, the government should have helped the farmers by freeing the import duty of fertilizer, so we wouldn't have been in this kind of pathetic state."

"Still the government does not want to learn from experience. They lift a 2.5 trillion-rupiah subsidy that could save the nation from famine on the other hand, and they plan to dump 250 trillion of taxpayers' rupiah to capitalize troubled banks. What a sense of priority!"

"The same goes for justice. We used to think that the government would zero in on the cases of the May shooting spree and the abduction of activists. But, no! It's not their priority. Up to this minute, the destiny of the missing activists and the masterminds behind it are still unknown."

"Meanwhile, they are busy forming a series of new institutions, committees and the like."

Putting ball number 9 into the hole nicely by shooting ball number two, Mr. Dahlan suddenly stopped in his tracks. "This reminds me," he said, slapping his forehead. "People do not have to do things directly to achieve their goal. Just like this game. I got nine points instead of two just because I didn't put ball number two on priority."

"Meaning?"

"Like the food shortage. Probably, the people in the government did not put food production on priority so that we have to keep importing rice, flour, livestock, etc. That way, they can nurture the importers or their cronies and reap their share of the deal. And that is the goal they wanted to achieve."

"And sacrifice the people."

"That is only a small example of business collusion between the bureaucracy and businesspeople. The more scary ones are widely known but mostly untold."

At that time, Mr. Dahlan was confidently aiming at putting ball number 13 into the hole by shooting ball number three. Unfortunately, it was the cue ball that accidentally entered the hole. Therefore, he lost his turn.

"You are too excited to get higher points," I commented.

"Eah," he shrugged. "That's what probably happened to those who are now under investigation for KKN (corruption, collusion, nepotism). They might have been too carried away with the game, putting too much of their personal interest on priority!"

"But, even if you choose the correct priority, it doesn't guarantee you are safe. Remember the previous attorney general? He quickly put the probe of the former president's wealth on his priority list in accordance to the people's aspiration. And he lost his job."

"That's not unusual," I said. "Officials are copotable if they are not aturable. Meaning that they can be fired if they don't agree with the boss."

Our game was halted as the next ball we had to shoot was hidden behind other balls. "Let's just quit," said Mr. Dahlan, returning his cue to the rack. "It's macet (jammed), just like the political situation in Indonesia. Only an Olympic-class player can come up with a breakthrough. And, as for the political jam, only experienced politicians in a class with Gus Dur can make a breakthrough. For instance, by making extraordinary compromises."

Mr. Dahlan is probably right. But not many of them prioritize national interest.

-- By Carl Chairul