Wimar's dangerous ordinariness

Menuju Partai Orang Biasa (Toward the Ordinary People Party); By Wimar Witoelar; PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta, Second edition, March 1999; 323 pages.

JAKARTA (JP): Is Wimar Witoelar a dangerous man? goes the editorial of Golkar's affiliated tabloid Siaga, the content of which is primarily dedicated to shift public opinion toward supporting Habibie's election as the next president.

The answer is not an easy one. Depending on whom the question is posed to, it can vary from a flat "no" to "absolutely". For the ordinary people he thinks he belongs to, what he says is the reflection of their aspirations and unspoken passion. To the powerful elite and those with vested interests, he is indeed a dangerous man that can substantially hinder their "hard dying" and machiavellian struggle to stay at or get to the top. To ordinary people, he is an amicable, down-to-earth, sympathetic, sincere, witty, gentle and egalitarian, if rather portly, talk show host.

To the "non-ordinary" people, he commercializes the political crisis, he takes sides, is a partial moderator, a wicked commentator and he talks too much. He is even a provocateur, according to the Republika's group's tabloid, Adil, which happens to be closely related to the Association of Indonesian Muslim Scholars. In a recent edition, the publication plastered his round face on the cover and dedicated a special eight-page spread analyzing his strategy.

In his book Menuju Partai Orang Biasa (Toward the Ordinary People Party), a compilation of his monthly contribution to the Kompas' satirical column, Asal-Usul, he defines an ordinary person as "a person who has no vested interest. An 'ordinary person' wants to live peacefully and carry out his/her tasks well. He/she wants to be rich but doesn't have a will for corruption.

"An 'ordinary person' actually wants to do his/her job well, but he/she is also not a hero(ine) who would sacrifice his/her family's interest for an unclear end." (Listening to "Ordinary People", p. 26.)

In his foreword, he reveals another way of seeing "ordinary people", namely "those whose innocence are not obscured with attributes of interest". Ordinary people are neither experts or apathetic, neither pure idealists nor total pragmatists. Neither pandito (revered men) nor bandito (bandits). Throughout the book the term is repeatedly used and defined in different ways to denote how wide-reaching the category that embodies ordinary people, the country's silent majority, is.

Being ordinary does not mean a diminished ability to threaten power holders' sense of security. His "The Sinking of the Titanic" and "Together With Pak Harto We Shall Find A New President" were rejected for publication.

In "Titanic" he wrote that even though a ship was beginning to sink, the riches were still putting on their makeup and taking care of their money and diamonds. "How could TITANIC have sunk? We used to discuss Professor Robert Allinson's finding, a disaster specialist here, that the cause of disaster was the failure of ethics." (p. 268)

Writing about the genesis of the second piece, he said: "I was lying down in front of the TV one night in October 1997. Out of the blue Pak Harto offered to resign on the nationally broadcast Golkar anniversary ... Instead of being duly responded to, there was a flood of comments that lauded Pak Harto's big heartedness. Harmoko straight away conducted an instant survey and declared that all Indonesian people were behind Pak Harto. It occurred to me that it was like being offered a salted egg by a passenger sitting next to you in a train. Normally, it should be refused, but this time why not take it politely? So the writing was born, full of nonsensical courteousness. Unfortunately, Kompas perhaps felt that such innocence or humor didn't have a place in the time's psychology of fear." (p. 261)

That is Wimar Witoelar. He is sharp yet sweet. He criticizes unforgivingly but still sounds mellow. Before Soeharto's downfall, he astutely wrapped his criticism in subtle sarcasm and humor. This is one example: "In the newspaper people often refer to Pak Harto as a wise man, but in monetary matters, newspapers reported as follows: 'President Soeharto considers that the weakening of the rupiah against the US$ is hard to understand.' This means even though Pak Harto is already the most knowledgeable man, there are things he still doesn't comprehend." ("Is It Wrong To Be A Fool?", p. 167)

During the May riots, his talk shows and columns, such as the one titled "Ibu Wawah" provided comfort to the persecuted ethnic minority.

His penchant for humor does not prevent him from being poetic, somber and melancholic. Take his writing "Tragedy": "Standing the morning after the Trisakti incident, in the place where several students were shot, the feeling was sad and lonely. Teenage children, in the dawn of their prime time, their lives were taken away from them by hinter shots. Why? They were on campus, were not rioting, they were even running for shelter ... It felt so lonely that morning in Trisakti, prior to the people's storm that swept Jakarta." (pp. 197-198)

Being so unpretentious and ordinary, he has come a long way to become an extraordinary "ordinary person". Only ordinary people will understand and justify his "partiality" toward a party he perhaps did not even vote for because ordinary people do not possess self-interest for Megawati Soekarnoputri to become president. Only ordinary people can sit in front of the TV or read his columns and chuckle at his sarcastic, smart comments on "cute" Habibie.

On the other hand, only "non-ordinary" or perhaps "extraordinary" people will waste eight pages badmouthing such a kind, portly man-next-door. And indeed, only "non-ordinary" people would ever contemplate how dangerous this comfortingly vivacious father of two with the afro hairstyle can be. Fortunately for them, the Ordinary People Party did not contest the recent elections and was only alive in his playful words.

The book is titillating -- the caricatures featuring him are amusing -- and it will be hard for ordinary, decent people to disagree, whether smiling or laughing out loud, with what Wimar Witoelar has to say.

-- Rahayu Ratnaningsih