These days have been a difficult days for Yogyakarta people and Indonesian bloggers are swiftly and aptly expressing their condolences and solidarities with their own various ways. The most common is by posting something relating to do with the 6.2 earthquake. Anymatters who is studying finance at Victoria University of Wellington are one of those.
CONTENTS
Blogger Indonesia of the Week (43): Anymatters
In his latest entry, he posts the details and the causes of the quake in Jogjakarta from scientific point of view based on his “interview” with an Indonesian scientist who are doing a PhD in New Zealand.He wrote
According to USGS, the earthquake is categorised as strong with 6.3 magnitude and occured on Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 5:54:02 AM local time. The epicentre is exactly located at 7.977°S, 110.318°E with 35 km (21.7 miles) depth about 20km of SSW Yogyakarta, not under the South Indian Ocean.
With a lack of natural disaster education and knowledge, surely a false tsunami rumour coming from the South Ocean direction has spread to people around Yogyakarta city.
He seems to follow the quake news very closely by highlighting that there’s a rumour that the quake will be followed by tsunami-like tidal waves which was not true.
The tsunami scare started when Yogyakarta province police chief Bambang Hari Sampurnojati told local radio that the earthquake was to be followed by tidal waves.
“We panicked when we heard that there was a tsunami. We were ready to flee,” Yogyakarta resident Clemon Cilik told the state Antara news agency. (AFP)
He also explains two possibilities on how the quake might cause to mount Merapi’s eruption threat
…the impact of the earthquake on the volcano eruption, however, has two possibilities: slowing down or quickening.
He writes many good commentaries in his blog and on political-cultural-religious issues he seems to have a relatively neutral opinion which is good and adds to his credential as an authoritative and credible blogger
Take for example his commentary on Danish cartoon controversy in which he condemned unapologetically those cartoon creators
As a Christian who originated from Indonesia, I have to say that the cartoon creators are just a bunch of stupid Danish non-believers who don’t show respect to Islam as using a matter of freedom of speech to justify their action. These guys don’t even understand what religion is. So pitiful.
No wonder if the people of Islam all over the world will be angry. If I were one of them and rich, I would have hired “a group” to eliminate the cartoon creators forever as showing my own justice of faith.
Anymatters commentary on inter-religious controversies like that of Prophet Muhammad cartoon is a telling example on how a follower of particular religion should approach to make a credible and neutral comments: be critical to own fraternity for the sake of advocating the truth and justice.
Muslims should also follow this kind of approach whenever some other Muslims doing injustices against non-Muslims. Only then, the inter-religious gap, suspicion and conflict can start to be resolved and bridged.
Blogger Indonesia of the Week (44): A0z0ra
fanny surjanaEep Saifullah Fatah, an Indonesian columnist and husband of Sandrina Malakiano once wrote in an Indonesian mailing list that to be a good and prolific writer, you need to free yourself from any pressures and rules of writing. Just write what you want to write. Well, more often than not, it’s easier said than done.
The thing is when you start writing a piece with an intention to publish it in certain media, pressure start crippling in. And that’s what happen to many rookie writers. Many of them just feel that the pressures are too much to bear so much so that many of them just giving up in the middle of the road.Still, writing is important: not only to spread your thoughts, your ideals, your hopes and expecting recognition of some sorts; it also serves the purpose of “immortalization” of them. If no body or few of people appreciate our thoughts now, our children, grandchildren and grand grand children might understand more later. Just like many of our forgone great thinkers did, many of whom only got due appreciation after several decades even centuries their books being published.
So, again, how to be a writer with write-as-you-want concept? Conventional media is still not giving a space for that. It’s understandable given the fact of space limitation with many supplies of good and “in-order” pieces coming over their editorial desk everyday.For those who wants to be a thoughtful writer, be a thoughtful blogger first. In blog, you don’t have to stick to conventional media rules. Like for example, how many minimum and maximum words in an op-ed piece, what topics you should and should not write, what kind of commentaries certain media like or dislike, etc.
A good example of a thoughtful blog content can be seen in Auzora blog: concise, light yet thoughtful. Here are few examples:
What makes a people being ostracized?
– Being different, low tolerance of anything out of the ordinary
– Hatred, the person might be a troublemaker
– Plain jealousy (Remember Joseph & his brothers?)
On why people tend to line up before rich people:
Why look up to rich people?
I’m sure many respect rich people because richness is one easy, visible measure of success.
We link richness by other traits: hardworking, clever, wise, brave, passionate. Down-to-earth would be a big plus.
How if we see rich people not having those traits? Would I respect rich people who are: lazy, stupid, unwise, coward & plain ignorant? On top of it.. treat other people as lower being?
Not at all. I don’t believe any decent human being will.
His thoughts on Amazingly Simple Rules and Teasing War = Where’s Love? are aslo interesting to read.
A thoughtful or insightful blogging does not necessarily have to consist of an academical kind of writing; but certainly it should be a writing that benefit many readers and offers a new idea towards a better future within or without yourself; academical or column-like writing notwithstanding.
So for those who have many thoughtful new ideas and cannot express them in a long orderly way, don’t worry. Just write as plain and concise as it get. Quality idea will still be identified in whatever form it might be.
Blogger Indonesia of the Week (45): Rieke
housewife or career womanThe Cosmo Mama and the Sexy Chef
World can sometimes share values on big issues like the need of human rights, freedom, happiness, justice and prosperity. And therefore the abovementioned virtues are called universal values. Having said that, the nitty-gritty implementation could differ because of some differences in time, place, level of education, upbringing, culture, etc. The West and the East, to make it simple, could be used as a parameter that differences are there in looking at many things.
To me as far as the intention is good, no one should despise or degrade others as “backward” while praise ownself values as “advanced.” Instead, the differences should be regarded as blessing and therefore, should be respected as far as it comes up from a free will of a particular community or a person. And that’s the concept of how-to-live-in-harmony-with-your-neighbours is all about. So, does somebody outthere feel surprised when a woman who holds a degree of architecture from Universitas Indonesia, one of the most prominent university in the country, said loudly that she “proudly announce ‘I’m a mother?’” Do you feel dumbfounded to see an should-be-an-independent-woman-with-good-future-career said that she loves her mom a lot and regretted her teenage past because of too much arguing with her mom and was just aware of the fact on how her mom loves her?Rieke’s blog, entitled Cosmo Mama, is a nice blog to read not only for her thoughtful content but also is representing a voice of an Indonesian educated and cosmopolit housewive who enjoys being what she is doing: as a mother of two kids and an equal partner of her husband and that’s a major reason for her to be anti-polygamy and support strongly the monogamy life.On romanticism, she doesn’t believe that the so-called romanticism should be verbally expressed, it might be contrary to what being perceived in the West. Here’s what she has to say about being romantic:
If romanticism is “saying I love you every time” or “calling honey/love/darling to spouse” or “candle light dinner”, no we never did that, but if twenty one years of living together legally without any scratch, bruise, is romanticism, yes we are. Why every time we try to call our spouse with “honey” or “darling”, we always make a joke on it, “honey? hanibal?” or “darling? dadar guling” , we just calling each other by our name itself, so no wonder when our youngest son began to talk, he called his father “Hendro” instead of bapak, but still call me “ibu” not Rieke.
Is being a housewive not a kind of “oppression” of men against women? If so, how can a woman attain happiness?
Happiness is in our heart, nobody could make you happy unless you make yourself happy, how could you feel happy if you just keep saying “I’m not happy”.. and blame it on others. Complaining would not solve your problem, feel grateful for what you already have now . Everyone should envy for you, but look at you now, just blame on someone else or looking for something to justify your unhappiness.
Being a house wife is a duty not a burden, we have to manage our home, and I’m proud if I could make my family happy, no matter how high your career is, still you have to manage your own home.. And I’m happy now because what I did could help others, at least I have something that I can proud of.
Apart from that as peculiar to those of educated and good upribinging personalities, she’s also has a deep concern on her surroundings.
On environmental issues, for example she wrote:
Indonesia is no 3 for the most polluted country in the world, although it’s only a small act, but maybe with bike we can reduce the pollution. Don’t forget about the price of gasoline, it’s getting higher and higher. Not to mention about the gasoline itself which is going less and less..
She also put a banner of a dynamic earthquake news in her blog sidebar and wrote a brief note on the quake. And if you understand Bahasa Indonesia and like Indonesian cuisine you can also visit her complete recipe blog.
For the feminist fanatics, what she’s doing i.e. being a housewive and raising children are too big a price to pay. For her and for many Indonesian women like her the ultimate goal of life i.e. happiness is to do what you enjoy doing and how far it can benefit not only you, as individual, but also your equal partner (husband), family and your surroundings. And certainly all are worth sacrificing, if it at all worth called sacrifice which is not the case as far eastern culture goes.
mas & mbak gimana cara meningkatkan trafic pengunjung di blog