|
Don’t you just love heroes? They act as role models
and inspire us all with their bravery in fighting evil, defending the truth,
performing feats of courage and upholding fundamental principles of integrity
and, of course, saving the world every now and then. My childhood heroes came
from comic books — Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman — and they all had great
outfits!
Recently I found myself a new hero from the real world. He doesn’t fly, have superhuman powers or fancy gadgets to thwart the enemy or wear his underwear over his tights. In fact, he’s baby-faced, and looks more like 27 than his actual 47 years — yep, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, the deputy governor of Jakarta. But don’t let his boyish looks fool you. Ahok is famous for his blunt, bold, practical, down-to-earth, suffer-no-fools style, as well as his unbending commitment to upholding the Constitution, human rights and democracy.
And I’m not the only one who hails him as a hero. Many have been cheering his audacity for speaking out against his superior, Gamawan Fauzi, the Home Minister. Ahok slammed his boss for siding with protestors demanding the removal of Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, the Christian subdistrict head (lurah) of Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta. Ahok famously told Gamawan that he should leave Lurah Susan alone and go learn the Constitution instead.
The polemic between Ahok — an ethnic Chinese, and like Susan, a Christian — and Gamawan attracted a lot of attention due to the rarity of Ahok’s berani karena benar stance (I dare because truth is on my side). It was a refreshing departure from the “feudalistic” asal bapak senang (whatever pleases the boss) culture prevalent in the New Order and sadly still with us today.
The “duel” between SuperAhok and Gamawan is a competition between intolerance and pluralism but it’s also a manifestation of competing visions of the state that have persisted since the Republic was founded in 1945: secular versus Islamic, democratic versus authoritarian.
Although repeated attempts since then to turn Indonesia into a caliphate or a dictatorship have all ultimately failed, hard-line and conservative groups still try to make their presence felt. Their actions range from passing dodgy local ordinances based on sharia that sometimes contravene national laws, holding rowdy demos that target women and minorities, to full blown acts of vigilante violence and even terrorism.
Just by chance, I received an invitation not long after the Lurah Susan controversy broke out to speak at a dialogue on “State, Religion and Democracy” in Pakistan. Organized by the Centre for Research and Strategic Studies (CRSS, www.crss.pk), the dialogues are a series of interactive lectures in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore “organized to generate … debate among students and academics […] to understand the need for democratizing state conduct and politics rather than looking through the prism of religion only”.
What a coincidence, I thought! The Lurah Susan’ case is precisely an example of how people, including top governmental officials, buckle under primordial religious forces. It’s not so much that they look through the prism of religion (read: Islam), or even that they are necessarily pious followers of the religion they profess.
It’s more to do with the politicization of religion, using religion to justify fundamentally irreligious acts. After all, Islam doesn’t teach us to be intolerant, discriminate, or oppress — precisely the opposite! The reason why Islam and democracy are compatible is that both provide the freedom to interpret things. Yes, that’s right, interpret — not manipulate or distort.
Many have pointed out the irony that Indonesia’s post-1998 democratization process has given rise to anti-democratic forces. When decentralization was granted to appease the reform movement, religious and traditional groups repressed during the 32 years of Soeharto’s regime came out with a vengeance. That’s why 15 years later, identity politics is flourishing — and it doesn’t help that the government so often turns a blind eye to discrimination against minorities, and at times even joins in.
When I received the invitation to go to Pakistan, I was happy for the chance to return to a country considered dangerous by many, but one that I love and sympathize with. And it helped that the topic of the dialogue is one close to my heart.
As much as I am troubled by the situation in Indonesia, compared to Pakistan, it’s a picnic here. We don’t have the Taliban for one, and we don’t have Afghanistan as a neighbor either. Phew!
The day this column is published, I will be in Peshawar, which in the last week of September alone experienced three bombings: a double-suicide attack on a church, killing 82 Christians; a remote-controlled bomb on a bus carrying home government employees, killing 18; and a car bomb in the Qissa Khawani bazaar, killing 42. Yikes!
Why target Peshawar? Simple — it’s the administrative and economic hub of the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) close to the Afghan border — and it’s infested with Taliban militants. These bombings occurred just before peace talks were about to take place between political parties and Taliban leaders. And I’m sure you know what the Taliban are demanding — yep, an Islamic state. Sound familiar?
Do you remember Desperately Seeking Susan? It was a 1985 screwball comedy film about a bored suburban housewife and a series of events involving mistaken identities and amnesia that gave Madonna her big break. I was thinking, if Indonesia did a remake, maybe Lurah Susan could be the star and they could change the name to “Desperately Seeking Democracy”? Then all they’d need to do would be to throw in a bit of dangdut and a few big dance numbers and it would probably be a hit in Pakistan too! ●
Recently I found myself a new hero from the real world. He doesn’t fly, have superhuman powers or fancy gadgets to thwart the enemy or wear his underwear over his tights. In fact, he’s baby-faced, and looks more like 27 than his actual 47 years — yep, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, the deputy governor of Jakarta. But don’t let his boyish looks fool you. Ahok is famous for his blunt, bold, practical, down-to-earth, suffer-no-fools style, as well as his unbending commitment to upholding the Constitution, human rights and democracy.
And I’m not the only one who hails him as a hero. Many have been cheering his audacity for speaking out against his superior, Gamawan Fauzi, the Home Minister. Ahok slammed his boss for siding with protestors demanding the removal of Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, the Christian subdistrict head (lurah) of Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta. Ahok famously told Gamawan that he should leave Lurah Susan alone and go learn the Constitution instead.
The polemic between Ahok — an ethnic Chinese, and like Susan, a Christian — and Gamawan attracted a lot of attention due to the rarity of Ahok’s berani karena benar stance (I dare because truth is on my side). It was a refreshing departure from the “feudalistic” asal bapak senang (whatever pleases the boss) culture prevalent in the New Order and sadly still with us today.
The “duel” between SuperAhok and Gamawan is a competition between intolerance and pluralism but it’s also a manifestation of competing visions of the state that have persisted since the Republic was founded in 1945: secular versus Islamic, democratic versus authoritarian.
Although repeated attempts since then to turn Indonesia into a caliphate or a dictatorship have all ultimately failed, hard-line and conservative groups still try to make their presence felt. Their actions range from passing dodgy local ordinances based on sharia that sometimes contravene national laws, holding rowdy demos that target women and minorities, to full blown acts of vigilante violence and even terrorism.
Just by chance, I received an invitation not long after the Lurah Susan controversy broke out to speak at a dialogue on “State, Religion and Democracy” in Pakistan. Organized by the Centre for Research and Strategic Studies (CRSS, www.crss.pk), the dialogues are a series of interactive lectures in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore “organized to generate … debate among students and academics […] to understand the need for democratizing state conduct and politics rather than looking through the prism of religion only”.
What a coincidence, I thought! The Lurah Susan’ case is precisely an example of how people, including top governmental officials, buckle under primordial religious forces. It’s not so much that they look through the prism of religion (read: Islam), or even that they are necessarily pious followers of the religion they profess.
It’s more to do with the politicization of religion, using religion to justify fundamentally irreligious acts. After all, Islam doesn’t teach us to be intolerant, discriminate, or oppress — precisely the opposite! The reason why Islam and democracy are compatible is that both provide the freedom to interpret things. Yes, that’s right, interpret — not manipulate or distort.
Many have pointed out the irony that Indonesia’s post-1998 democratization process has given rise to anti-democratic forces. When decentralization was granted to appease the reform movement, religious and traditional groups repressed during the 32 years of Soeharto’s regime came out with a vengeance. That’s why 15 years later, identity politics is flourishing — and it doesn’t help that the government so often turns a blind eye to discrimination against minorities, and at times even joins in.
When I received the invitation to go to Pakistan, I was happy for the chance to return to a country considered dangerous by many, but one that I love and sympathize with. And it helped that the topic of the dialogue is one close to my heart.
As much as I am troubled by the situation in Indonesia, compared to Pakistan, it’s a picnic here. We don’t have the Taliban for one, and we don’t have Afghanistan as a neighbor either. Phew!
The day this column is published, I will be in Peshawar, which in the last week of September alone experienced three bombings: a double-suicide attack on a church, killing 82 Christians; a remote-controlled bomb on a bus carrying home government employees, killing 18; and a car bomb in the Qissa Khawani bazaar, killing 42. Yikes!
Why target Peshawar? Simple — it’s the administrative and economic hub of the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) close to the Afghan border — and it’s infested with Taliban militants. These bombings occurred just before peace talks were about to take place between political parties and Taliban leaders. And I’m sure you know what the Taliban are demanding — yep, an Islamic state. Sound familiar?
Do you remember Desperately Seeking Susan? It was a 1985 screwball comedy film about a bored suburban housewife and a series of events involving mistaken identities and amnesia that gave Madonna her big break. I was thinking, if Indonesia did a remake, maybe Lurah Susan could be the star and they could change the name to “Desperately Seeking Democracy”? Then all they’d need to do would be to throw in a bit of dangdut and a few big dance numbers and it would probably be a hit in Pakistan too! ●
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar