The Supers
The Supers
What I have in mind are the super-rich and the super-poor. To
the latter category belong most Indonesian farmers, or to be more
exact, the rice growers. Their plight has been heartrending ever
since preindependent times. Leaders of new and old political
parties hardly touch on the matter in their campaigns before the
technological wonder, the television camera. They are too busy
choosing the symbols of their parties.
The Reform Cabinet has increased the price of some fertilizers
needed by rice growers because these contain imported
ingredients, and you know how our rupiah is faring. To compensate
price hikes, government agencies have raised the price of husked
rice per kilogram from Rp 1,000 to Rp 1,500, making village
children jump in the air at hearing the good tiding.
When harvesttime comes, the government cooperatives refuse to
purchase the husked rice at the official price, complaining the
"unhusked" contain too much water. Understandably so because the
harvesttime comes during the unwelcome rainy season. Here,
private buyers or middlemen come in offering cash of Rp 600 to Rp
700 for every kilogram, which the rice growers have to accept
with a bleeding heart.
And this to think that the ministries of agriculture and
cooperatives, through foreign assistance, have dropped hundreds
of millions of rupiah to thousands of villages throughout the
country just to avoid such tragic things from happening.
An official told an interviewer from a private television
network that it was unfortunate that the money comes too late
into the hands of the rice growers, rural cooperatives and rural
banking offices. Responsible planning, indeed, is not the
greatest asset of our leaders.
Godowns of rural cooperatives are usually full of imported
rice when growers come to sell their paddies. Maybe there was no
need to draw up a marketing strategy when you sell rice. Under
whatever system, it seems that only the speculators fare the
most.
Rice growers, landless or land owners, fortunately again, need
little and are modest and patient people. Hopefully, the new
political leaders would and could change their unromantic saga.
The other super group actually deserves no comment, since The
Jakarta Post Sunday edition has reviewed a book on the
untouchable rich Indonesians who have been able to maintain their
lifestyle despite the economic crisis, the currency crisis, bank
mergers, or national debt burden, workers laid off, etc.
I remember one day on a recent visit to New Zealand, a
Beechcraft-type private airplane was parked at the Christchurch
airfield bearing the identification mark PK, for Indonesia. A
group of Indonesians had flown in the other day to spend their
holidays skiing and bungee jumping. Gambling places are included
in their favorite places, and they are plenty.
In Sydney, they might go to the Opera House for a concert but
such people never miss Kings Cross, if you know what I mean.
There is no use fighting the rich. The task of every
intellectual and political party, as well as the moral duty of
every religious leader, is to eradicate poverty. I believe that
most of the country's farmers -- and rice growers in particular
-- have become super indifferent to promises by political
leaders. They are grateful if they continue to exist on a day-to-
day basis.
When will foresight be part of governing?
GANDHI SUKARDI
Jakarta