The Zarina telenovela

The Zarina telenovela

The story of Zarina, the young woman dubbed the "Ecstasy
Queen" by the media, has all the makings of a telenovela, the TV
melodramas so popular here.

Ever since she was arrested at her Tangerang home in August,
Zarina has become the talk of the town, bringing her the "fame"
she probably would never have achieved had she continued playing
small roles in local sinetron (miniseries).

Zarina, or Zarima (her stage name), was arrested after police
raided her home and seized more than 29,000 Ecstasy pills. She
tried bribing and sweet-talking her way out of arrest. Both
attempts failed. A few days later, the nation was shocked to
learn that she had managed to dupe the police and escape. This in
turn led to the arrest of the chief detective of the Tangerang
police precinct, the last officer to be seen with her.

For nearly four months, there was no news of her until last
week, when the police announced that Zarina had been arrested by
U.S. authorities in Houston, Texas, apparently for overstaying
her visa. A number of Jakarta detectives have been dispatched
there, and are now awaiting her deportation before they can bring
her home to stand trial in Jakarta.

The police's glory over the arrest was deflated when Zarina's
father disclosed that he had been brokering negotiations with the
authorities for her voluntary surrender. He is now maintaining
that the police had reneged on an agreement for her surrender. He
also threw in a new allegation: Rp 400 million in cash found at
her home at the time of her arrest has disappeared.

Money, drugs, deceit, a police chase that takes them from
Jakarta to Houston -- all these are ingredients for a good
sinetron story line. Some of the details, like the way she duped
the police detective, have become known. Houston is a good
choice, although Dallas would probably have sounded better. Other
details will no doubt be forthcoming, as the media continues to
dig into the story, and as the drama continues to unfold.

What the story does not have are sex and violence, but then,
these are not essential ingredients for a good drama. And it does
not yet have an ending. Like all good telenovelas, one has to sit
patiently through all the episodes to find out how it all ends.
Because of the way this drama has been developing, it does not
look like it is about to end anytime soon. There is still the new
police investigation, if she is indeed brought back to Jakarta.
There is also still the court trial, if it ever gets to that.

The national fascination with this real-life drama has
unfortunately overshadowed some of the bigger and more important
questions that should be asked about this entire episode. The
media's obsession has detracted the nation from the core of the
Ecstasy problem this country is facing.

The amount of pills seized from Zarina's home indicated that
there is a big and probably powerful syndicate behind her.
Dubbing her the "Ecstasy Queen" has elevated her importance more
than she deserves. She is probably a small fry in a multimillion
dollar Ecstasy trade. So far, we have heard little of the
police's efforts to trace the syndicate behind Zarina. While they
are obsessed with capturing her, which we might add at great cost
to taxpayers' money, the real people behind the Ecstasy trade
might have already fled the country and covered over their
tracks.

Then there is the lingering question about how she managed to
escape only a few days after her widely publicized arrest in
August. While the police detective responsible for her escape had
already been arrested and discharged, he has not been tried yet
in the military tribunal, as promised. An answer to this question
will help prevent the police from making the same mistake.
Certainly, the last thing everybody wants is for this drama to
continue, without an ending.