FAITH IN INDONESIA
The shape of the world a generation from now will be influenced far more by how we communicate the values of our society to others than by military or diplomatic superiority. William Fulbright, 1964
Monday, July 26, 2010
(Picture above: Seminar participants)
UNDERSTANDING THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR
Orang-orang Indonesia adalah orang tetangga: Hubungan antara Orang Indonesia dan Orang Australia
When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Australia earlier this year he spoke briefly about the close ties between Australia and Indonesia. I’ll give you the details.
Ketika Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mengunjungi Australia awal tahun ini dia berbicara singkat tentang hubungan dekat antara Australia dan Indonesia. Saya akan memberikan secara detail.
The first is that we are historically linked. There is no doubt that the Aboriginal people of Australia came from Indonesia, working their way eastwards when the seas were a lot lower. Then it was possible to walk between islands or sail small canoes across narrow seas. That was about 50,000 years ago.
Yang pertama adalah bahwa kita secara historis terkait. Tidak ada keraguan bahwa orang-orang Aborigin di Australia berasal dari Indonesia, mereka berlayar ke arah timur ketika laut-laut banyak yang lebih rendah.
Lalu hal itu yang memungkinkan mereka untuk berjalan di antara pulau-pulau atau berlayar dengan perahu kecil menyeberangi lautan sempit. Itu terjadi sekitar 50.000 tahun yang lalu.
Global warming caused the seas to rise and cut Australia off from easy access with Indonesia. Aborigines, who form only one per cent of the Australian population, developed differently but many still look similar to people from Nusa Tenggara.
Global warming menyebabkan laut-laut naik dan membelah Australia keluar dari akses mudah dengan Indonesia. Orang-orang Aborigin, yang berada disana hanya satu persen dari populasi orang Australia, mereka hidup dan berkembang sangat berbeda tetapi banyak dari mereka masih terlihat sama seperti orang-orang dari Nusa Tenggara.
Closer to the present, but long before Europeans came to this part of the world, Bugis fishermen were sailing from Makassar to northern Australia. They stayed for up to six months and you can still see places where they lived.
Tetapi jauh sebelum orang-orang Eropa datang ke bagian dunia ini, orang-orang nelayan dari Bugis sedang berlayar dari Makassar ke bagian Utara Australia. Mereka tinggal selama enam bulan dan Anda masih dapat melihat tempat-tempat dimana mereka tinggal.
Some Bugis married Aboriginal women and took them back to South Sulawesi where they had children. Aboriginal words like balanda, wurupiah, prau and dopulu all come from Makassar.
Beberapa orang Bugis menikahi perempuan-perempuan Aborigin dan membawa mereka kembali ke Sulawesi Selatan ketika mereka memiliki anak. Kata-kata Aborigin seperti balanda, wurupiah, prau dan dopulu semua berasal dari Makassar.
Of course it’s obvious that we are neighbours. A flight from Kupang to Darwin takes only about an hour. When I lived in Perth I could catch a Garuda flight at 8 am, have breakfast on the plane, watch a movie, and have lunch in Bali.
Tentu saja sudah jelas bahwa kita adalah tetangga - silakan melihat di peta. Sebuah penerbangan dari Kupang ke Darwin hanya memakan waktu sekitar satu jam. Ketika saya tinggal di Perth saya bisa naik pesawat Garuda pukul 8 pagi, sarapan di pesawat, menonton film, dan makan siang di Bali.
Bali is so close and popular that many Australians think it’s their holiday island. If you go to Kuta beach, which is famous throughout the world for its surf, you’ll probably see more Westerners that Indonesians.
Bali begitu dekat dan populer sehingga banyak orang-orang Australia berpikir Pulau Bali tempat berlibur mereka. Jika Anda pergi ke pantai Kuta, yang mana terkenal di seluruh dunia untuk selancarnya, Anda mungkin akan melihat lebih banyak orang Barat daripada orang Indonesia.
Till recently Indonesian language was widely taught in Australian schools and we were all urged to learn more about your country and its culture. But that was before the Bali bombs in 2002 and 2005.
Sampai akhir-akhir ini bahasa Indonesia diajarkan secara luas di sekolah-sekolah Australia dan kami semua didesak untuk mempelajari lebih banyak tentang negara Indonesia dan budayanya. Tetapi itu sebelum terjadi bom Bali tahun 2002 dan 2005.
Both bombs deliberately targeted Westerners and Australians were the main victims, with 88 dying in the first bomb and more than 240 seriously injured. This terrible event has not been forgotten and sadly continues to influence our relationships.
Kedua bom Bali tersebut sengaja ditargetkan untuk orang Barat dan orang Australia, merekalah yang menjadi korban utama, dengan 88 orang meninggal di bom pertama dan lebih dari 240 orang terluka parah. Peristiwa mengerikan ini tidak terlupakan dan sangat sedih terus mempengaruhi hubungan kita.
Despite this Australia gives more aid to Indonesia than any other country, worth about 450 million Australian dollars a year. A lot of this money is being spent on schools. This is because we in the West believe that education is absolutely critical to a better future.
Meskipun Australia memberikan bantuan lebih ke Indonesia dari pada negara lain, senilai sekitar 450 juta dolar Australia setahun. Banyak dari uang ini diberikan untuk sekolah-sekolah. Ini karena kita di negara Barat percaya bahwa pendidikan adalah mutlak penting untuk masa depan yang lebih baik.
Unfortunately not everyone welcomes this money, with some extremists calling it ‘foreign intervention’ in Indonesia.
Sayangnya tidak semua orang menyambut uang ini, dan beberapa orang-orang ekstrimis menyebutnya “intervensi asing” di Indonesia.
Till recently your Constitutional requirement that 20 per cent of the national budget be spent on education has not been followed. In most areas schooling is not free and millions of children leave school with little or no education and no understanding of the complex issues of politics and economics. This means they are easily led by anyone who wants to manipulate public opinion.
Hingga saat ini Konstitusi anda, memerlukan 20 persen dari anggaran nasional yang diperuntukan untuk pendidikan belum dijalankan. Di kebanyakan daerah, sekolah tidak gratis dan jutaan anak-anak meninggalkan sekolah, dengan sedikit atau tidak ada pendidikan dan tidak ada pemahaman tentang isu-isu komplek akan politik dan ekonomi. Ini berarti, mereka dengan mudah dipimpin oleh siapa saja yang ingin memanupulasi opini publik.
In my culture we are encouraged to be independent and ask questions. Your culture is community based and more accepting of authority. You have big families that stay together. These are significant differences, which can affect our relationships. That’s because they colour our attitudes towards welfare and government responsibilities towards its citizens.
Dalam budaya saya, kita didorong untuk menjadi mandiri dan mengajukan pertanyaan. Budaya anda berbasis pada masyarakat dan lebih menerima otoritas. Anda memiliki keluarga besar yang tinggal bersama-sama.
Perbedaan-perbedaan ini signifikan, yang dapat mempengaruhi hubungan kita. Karena faktor-faktor perbedaan itu mewarnai sikap kita terhadap kesejahteraan dan tanggung jawab pemerintah terhadap warganya.
For example in the West we pay a lot of tax and we expect the government to look after us. Up to one third of everything we earn goes to the government in tax, and we cannot avoid paying tax.
Sebagai contoh di negara Barat kita membayar pajak untuk segalanya dan kita berharap pemerintah untuk memelihara kita. Sampai dengan sepertiga dari segala sesuatu yang kita dapatkan pergi ke pemerintah berupa pajak, dan kita tidak dapat menghindar untuk membayar pajak.
This money is used to build roads, schools and hospitals, pay the police, teachers and other government officials. Because we pay so much we demand good services, which include pensions and welfare to people who haven’t got a job or are too sick to work.
Uang ini digunakan untuk membangun jalan, sekolah dan rumah sakit, membayar polisi, guru, dan pejabat pemerintah lainnya.
Karena kita membayar begitu banyak kita menuntut pelayanan yang baik, yang meliputi pensiun dan kesejahteraan bagi orang-orang yang tidak punya pekerjaan atau yang terlalu sakit untuk bekerja.
Although the Indonesian government is now moving to repair the education system I fear this is not targeting the right group. Unless education is truly free right through the system, from city kampong to remote island village, millions of smart young people will miss out on schooling, and Indonesia will miss out on their skills.
Meskipun pemerintah Indonesia sekarang bergerak untuk memperbaiki sistem pendidikan, saya takut, ini tidak kena sasaran pada kelompok yang tepat.
Kecuali pendidikan benar-benar gratis, benar melalui sistem, dari kampung dikota ke desa pulau terpencil, jutaan orang muda yang cerdas akan kehilangan sekolah, dan Indonesia akan kehilangan orang-orang yang trampil.
By comparison, primary, secondary and high school education in my country is free – and compulsory. The money comes from the tax that everybody pays, whether or not they have children.
Sebagai perbandingan, SD, SMP dan SMA di negara saya gratis - dan wajib. Uang tersebut berasal dari pajak dimana semua orang bayar, apakah mereka memiliki anak atau tidak.
I could give many more examples to support your president’s comments. He sent his second son Edhie to a university in Perth where I used to teach. Vice president Boediono was educated in Australia and there are currently more than 16,000 Indonesians studying in Australia.
Saya bisa memberi contoh lebih banyak untuk mendukung komentar presiden anda. Ia mengirim putra keduanya Edhie ke universitas di Perth tempat dimana saya biasa mengajar.
Wakil Presiden Boediono sekolah di Australia dan saat ini terdapat lebih dari 16.000 warga Indonesia yang belajar di Australia.
Then there’s business. Few Australians realise that trade between Indonesia and Australia is huge, worth 4.5 billion Australian dollars every year and growing.
Kemudian ada bisnis. Beberapa orang Australia menyadari bahwa perdagangan antara Indonesia dan Australia sangat besar, senilai 4.5 milyard dolar Australia setiap tahun dan terus bertumbuh.
Despite all these facts I argue that it would be difficult to find two nations that are so close, yet their history, outlook, culture, foods and lifestyles are so completely different.
Walaupun semua fakta ini, saya berpendapat bahwa akan sulit untuk menemukan dua negara yang begitu dekat, sekalipun sejarah, pandangan, budaya, makanan dan gaya hidup sangat berbeda.
Of course that’s true in some parts of Indonesia; you can always find examples to make a point, but it doesn’t change my attitude. My opinion is based on being a regular visitor to Indonesia for many years, living in Surabaya and Malang for long periods and visiting many parts of Indonesia. I’m also married to an Indonesian from North Sulawesi but who spent most of her life in East Java.
Tentu saja itu benar di beberapa bagian Indonesia; Anda selalu dapat menemukan contoh-contoh untuk membuat poin, tapi tidak mengubah sikap saya.
Pendapat saya didasarkan pada ketika saya menjadi pengunjung tetap ke Indonesia selama bertahun-tahun, tinggal di Surabaya dan Malang untuk waktu yang lama dan mengunjungi banyak daerah di Indonesia. Saya juga menikah dengan seorang Indonesia dari Sulawesi Utara namun yang menghabiskan sebagian besar hidupnya di Jawa Timur.
If you reject my argument you will think everything is fine between our two countries. We can smile a lot at each other, make happy speeches and assume nothing much needs to be done.
Jika anda menolak argumen saya, anda akan berpikir semuanya baik antara dua negara kita. Kita bisa banyak tersenyum satu sama lain, membuat pidato bagus dan menganggap tidak banyak yang perlu dilakukan.
If you accept my reasoning then you’ll be extremely concerned. You will realise that we all have to do a lot of work to make sure we maintain our friendships so that you and I and our children can live in peace with each other.
Jika anda menerima alasan saya, maka anda menjadi sangat prihatin. Anda akan menyadari bahwa kita semua harus melakukan banyak kerja, untuk memastikan, agar kita memelihara persahabatan supaya anda dan saya serta anak-anak kita bisa hidup dengan damai satu sama lain.
Being a good neighbour is like having a good marriage. You must work on the relationship every day, showing courtesy, respect and understanding based on knowledge. And that’s difficult.
Menjadi tetangga yang baik adalah seperti memiliki pernikahan yang baik. Anda harus berusaha menjaga hubungan setiap hari, menunjukkan kesopanan, hormat dan memahami berdasarkan akan pengetahuan. Dan itu sulit.
Black American leader Martin Luther King said that nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity, and I believe that we have a large amount of both ignorance and stupidity in both countries.Pemimpin orang Amerika berkulit hitam Martin Luther King mengatakan bahwa tidak ada di dunia yang lebih berbahaya daripada ketidaktahuan yang tulus dan kebodohan yang teliti, dan saya percaya bahwa kita memiliki sejumlah besar baik ketidaktahuan dan kebodohan di kedua negara.
I’ll start with the ignorance and stupidity in Australia. Surveys of public attitudes show that about half the population doesn’t trust Indonesia. That figure is probably growing as more refugees from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Iraq come to Indonesia and then take fishing boats to sail illegally to Australia.
Saya akan mulai dengan ketidaktahuan dan kebodohan di Australia. Survei terhadap sikap publik menunjukkan bahwa sekitar setengah dari penduduk Australia tidak percaya Indonesia.
Angka ini mungkin tumbuh sebagaimana bertambahnya pengungsi dari Afghanistan, Sri Lanka dan Irak datang ke Indonesia dan kemudian menggunakan perahu nelayan berlayar secara ilegal ke Australia.
This is not a big issue in Indonesia. It is a very big issue in Australia and many people are angry because we believe the Indonesian government should stop these people, and because President SBY promised to help stop people trafficking.
Ini bukan masalah besar di Indonesia. Ini masalah yang sangat besar di Australia dan banyak orang marah karena kita percaya bahwa pemerintah Indonesia harus bisa menghentikan orang-orang ini, dan karena Presiden SBY berjanji akan membantu menghentikan perdagangan manusia.
Much of the news we recive about Indonesia is bad or strange, or both. For example in the week before I wrote this speech the newspaper and television stories about Indonesia were about a two-year old boy who smokes 40 cigarettes a day, and an Aceh official buying 20,000 skirts to stop women wearing tight jeans.
Banyak berita yang kita terima tentang Indonesia adalah buruk atau aneh, atau kedua-duanya.
Misalnya dalam seminggu sebelum saya menulis pidato ini, cerita-cerita dikoran dan televisi tentang Indonesia adalah tentang seorang anak laki-laki berumur dua tahun yang merokok 40 batang sehari, dan seorang pejabat Aceh membeli 20,000 rok untuk menghentikan perempuan-perempuan mengenakan celana jins ketat.
Then there was a photograph of men sitting on the roof of a train from Depok to Jakarta – nothing unusual for Indonesians but for Westerners an example of Asian chaos and lack of discipline.
Lalu ada foto tentang orang-orang yang duduk diatap kereta api dari Depok ke Jakarta – tidak ada yang tidak biasa untuk orang-orang Indonesia tapi untuk orang Barat adalah sebuah contoh kekacauan orang Asia dan kurangnya disiplin.
These images are not representative of your great nation.
Gambar-gambar ini tidak mewakili bangsa anda yang besar.
The truth is that Australia doesn’t really know where it’s supposed to be in the world. It’s a large island off Southeast Asia mainly populated by white-skinned Europeans following a Western culture whose best friends are far away.
Yang benar yaitu, Australia benar-benar tidak tahu di mana seharusnya Australia berada di dunia. Sebuah pulau besar keluar dari Asia Tenggara yang dihuni terutama oleh orang-orang Eropa berkulit putih dengan membawa serta budaya Barat, dimana teman-teman mereka yang baik sangat jauh.
A cartoon map in a Malaysian newspapers once had Australia positioned in mid Atlantic, half way between Europe and the US. For many people that’s where their heart is – physically between the Indian and Pacific Oceans - but emotionally in the Northern Hemisphere, far away from Indonesia.
Sebuah peta kartun disurat kabar Malaysia pernah menunjukkan Australia diposisikan pada pertengahan Atlantik, setengah perjalanan antara Eropa dan AS.
Bagi banyak orang di sanalah hati mereka berada - secara fisik antara Samudra Hindia dan Pasifik - tetapi secara emosional di belahan bumi utara, jauh dari Indonesia.
Most people know that Indonesia is a heavily populated small country and that Australia is large and empty. For every one Australian there are ten Indonesians.
Kebanyakan orang tahu bahwa Indonesia adalah negara kecil berpenduduk padat, dan bahwa Australia adalah negara besar dan kosong. Untuk setiap satu orang Australia terdapat sepuluh orang Indonesia.
Looking at these facts, and remembering the Bali bombs, many Australians assume that Indonesia would like to invade Australia and if that happened, it would be almost impossible to defend the country without outside help. This is why Australia is such close friends with the United States.
Melihat pada fakta ini, dan mengingat bom-bom Bali, banyak orang Australia menganggap bahwa Indonesia ingin menyerbu Australia dan kalau itu terjadi, itu akan hampir mustahil untuk mempertahankan negara tanpa bantuan dari luar.
Inilah sebabnya mengapa Australia seperti teman dekat dengan Amerika Serikat.
I say this thinking is nonsense. It’s no secret that the Indonesian armed forces are not large and are not well equipped with modern weapons. Apart from that I have yet to meet anyone who thinks having a war with Australia would be a good idea. In fact most Indonesians are happy at home and few want to live anywhere else.
Saya katakan pikiran ini adalah omong kosong. Bukan rahasia bahwa angkatan bersenjata Indonesia tidak besar dan tidak dilengkapi dengan senjata-senjata modern.
Selain itu saya belum bertemu seseorang yang berpikir, berperang dengan Australia merupakan ide yang baik. Kenyataan sebagian besar rakyat Indonesia bahagia berada di rumah dan beberapa yang ingin tinggal di negara lain.
That’s because the differences are serious, and I’m not just talking about climate, language and food. Let’s go through the list starting with history.
Itu karena perbedaan-perbedaan yang serius, dan saya tidak hanya bicara tentang iklim, bahasa dan makanan. Mari kita lihat melalui daftar mulai dengan sejarah.
In the 1930s skulls found at Ngandong near the Solo River in Central Java were identified as belonging to a now extinct branch of our ancestors that may have lived about 100,000 years ago.
Pada tahun 1930 tengkorak-tengkorak ditemukan di Ngandong dekat Sungai Bengawan Solo di Jawa Tengah, yang diidentifikasi sebagai milik dari cabang nenek moyang kita yang sekarang sudah punah, yang mungkin telah hidup sekitar 100.000 tahun yang lalu.
The terraced wet rice cultivation system that you see in Bali and Java came from Vietnam about 3,000 years ago, so you can see that people have been living on these islands for a long time. You have developed a long and rich culture that goes far back, long before Islam and Christianity.
Sistim budidaya padi dengan tanah teras basah yang anda lihat di Bali dan Jawa berasal dari Vietnam sekitar 3.000 tahun yang lalu, sehingga anda dapat melihat bahwa orang-orang telah tinggal di pulau-pulau ini untuk jangka waktu yang lama.
Anda telah mengembangkan kebudayaan yang panjang dan kaya, yang pergi jauh ke belakang, jauh sebelum Islam dan Kristen.
However Europeans didn’t arrive in Australia in numbers until 1788 so modern Australia is really only 222 years old.
Bagaimanapun orang Eropa tidak tiba di Australia dalam hitungan bilangan sampai tahun 1788 jadi Australia modern adalah benar-benar hanya berumur 222 tahun.
Australia, like the United States, is an immigrant society. Indonesia is not. This is a most important fact when understanding the differences between our countries.
Australia, seperti Amerika Serikat, adalah masyarakat imigran. Indonesia bukan. Ini adalah fakta yang paling penting ketika memahami perbedaan antara negara kita.
In Australia you can find people who are Australian citizens living permanently in the country who have come from Italy, Singapore, Afghanistan, Turkey, South Africa … just about every ethnic group and nation on earth. That’s not the situation in Indonesia.
Di Australia, anda dapat menemukan orang-orang yang adalah warga negara Australia yang tinggal permanen di Australia berasal dari Italia, Singapura, Afghanistan, Turki, Afrika Selatan ... hampir setiap kelompok etnis dan bangsa di muka bumi. Itu bukan situasi di Indonesia.
But distrust is not exclusive to Australians. Indonesian officials do not trust people like me.
Tetapi ketidakpercayaan bukan eksklusif bagi orang Australia. Pejabat-pejabat Indonesia tidak percaya orang seperti saya.
In Indonesia I cannot own a house, a business or a bank account and even if I stay in Indonesia for the rest of my life and eventually gain Indonesian citizenship (which would be very difficult) I would never be considered Indonesian. That’s because I will always be a bule, a foreigner with a white skin.
Di Indonesia saya tidak bisa memiliki rumah, bisnis atau rekening bank dan bahkan jika saya tinggal di Indonesia untuk sisa hidup saya dan akhirnya mendapatkan kewarganegaraan Indonesia (yang akan sangat sulit).
Saya tidak akan pernah dianggap orang Indonesia. Itu karena saya selalu akan menjadi bule, orang asing dengan kulit putih.
That’s not the situation in NZ where we now live. My wife Erlinawati is a permanent resident. Together with me she owns a house, a business and a bank account.
Itu bukan situasi di NZ di mana kita tinggal sekarang. Istri saya Erlinawati adalah penduduk tetap. Bersama dengan saya, dia memiliki rumah, usaha dan rekening bank.
Modern Indonesia had to fight for independence in a bloody four-year war. Australia became separate from Britain in 1901 because we asked for independence, but remain part of the Commonwealth with the Queen as our head of State.
Modern Indonesia harus berjuang untuk kemerdekaan dalam perang berdarah empat-tahun. Australia menjadi terpisah dari Inggris pada tahun 1901 karena kita meminta kemerdekaan, tetapi tetap menjadi bagian dari Commonwealth dengan Ratu sebagai kepala Negara.
Because we still recognise our British heritage we keep the union jack, the flag of the United Kingdom, on our flag, and the Queen’s face on our money.
Karena kita masih mengakui (sebagai) warisan Inggris, maka kita memakai the union jack, bendera Inggris Raya, pada bendera kita, dan wajah Ratu tertera di uang kita.
Some people think this means we are still a colony of Britain. That’s not true, but we are members of the Commonwealth which the Queen heads, and which has 54 independent nation members, including Malaysia and Singapore.
Beberapa orang berpikir ini berarti kita masih koloni Inggris. Itu tidak benar, tapi kita adalah anggota Commonwealth yang dikepalai oleh Ratu, dan yang mana memiliki 54 anggota negara independen, termasuk Malaysia dan Singapura.
I’m often called a Belanda, though I am not Dutch, have never been to Holland and despise colonialism.
Saya sering kali disebut Belanda, walaupun saya bukan orang Belanda, dan saya tidak pernah ke Belanda dan saya tidak mendukung kolonialisme.
I’m also considered to be rich just because I’m a Westerner, when in my own country I’m just lower middle class. There are more seriously rich people in Indonesia than there are people in the whole of Australia.
Saya juga dianggap kaya hanya karena saya orang Barat, ketika di negara saya sendiri, saya hanya kelas menengah bawah. Ada lebih banyak masyarakat kaya di Indonesia daripada orang-orang di seluruh Australia.
I don’t like being called a rich immoral colonialist – just as you don’t want to be called corrupt terrorists. The media in both countries needs to do a lot of work to change these bad images – and education is the best way.
Saya tidak suka disebut orang kolonialis kaya tidak bermoral - juga dengan Anda tidak ingin disebut orang-orang teroris yang korupsi. Media di kedua negara perlu melakukan banyak kerja untuk mengubah image-image buruk ini - dan melalui pendidikan adalah cara yang terbaik.
Please urge your students to continue their education – make it life long. Open their minds, encourage them to read widely, listen to many people from different backgrounds, religions and cultures. Tell them to question everything. Travel overseas. The message is: Don’t just believe what you hear – go and find out for yourselves
Silakan mendorong murid-muridmu untuk melanjutkan pendidikan - dan buatlah hidup bermakna, buka pikiran anda, banyak membaca, dan dengarkan banyak orang dari latar belakang yang berbeda, agama dan budaya.
Bertanyalah tentang segala sesuatunya. Berliburlah ke luar negeri .. Jangan hanya percaya dengan apa yang Anda dengar - pergi dan temukan sendiri.
There are good scholarship opportunities for post graduates in Australian and NZ, but you must have good English (minimum IELTS 5 – and for many courses higher). You must be disciplined and determined because there are many distractions.
Ada kesempatan beasiswa yang baik untuk S2 dan S3 di Australia dan NZ, tetapi anda harus bisa berbahasa Inggris yang baik (minimum IELTS 5 – dan banyak bidang lain dibutuhkan yang lebih tinggi). Anda harus disiplin dan mempunyai tekat karena ada banyak gangguan.
To live in peace with each other it is important to be frank. And in case you are wrongly thinking that I am criticising Indonesians let me add that I would say exactly the same thing to Westerners.
Untuk hidup berdamai dengan satu sama lain, sangat penting untuk berterus terang. Dan jika anda salah berpikir bahwa saya mengkritik orang-orang Indonesia, izinkan saya menambahkan, bahwa saya akan mengatakan hal yang persis sama dengan orang-orang barat.
American journalist Ron Suskind, writing about the gap between Muslims and others, said: “Making contact with people who are not like you is one of the best things a person can do.”
Jurnalis Amerika Ron Suskind, menulis tentang gap antara orang-orang Islam dan lainnya, mengatakan: “Untuk berhubungan dengan orang yang tidak seperti kamu adalah salah satu cara yang terbaik seseorang dapat lakukan.”
Thank you for inviting me to talk to you today.
Terima kasih telah mengundang saya untuk berbicara dengan Anda hari ini.
(An edited version of a speech given at an international seminar at Bukittinggi, Sumatra on 18 July. sponsored by Muhamadiyah University, Pos Indonesia and Bank BTN)
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UNDERSTANDING THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR
Orang-orang Indonesia adalah orang tetangga: Hubungan antara Orang Indonesia dan Orang Australia
When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Australia earlier this year he spoke briefly about the close ties between Australia and Indonesia. I’ll give you the details.
Ketika Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mengunjungi Australia awal tahun ini dia berbicara singkat tentang hubungan dekat antara Australia dan Indonesia. Saya akan memberikan secara detail.
The first is that we are historically linked. There is no doubt that the Aboriginal people of Australia came from Indonesia, working their way eastwards when the seas were a lot lower. Then it was possible to walk between islands or sail small canoes across narrow seas. That was about 50,000 years ago.
Yang pertama adalah bahwa kita secara historis terkait. Tidak ada keraguan bahwa orang-orang Aborigin di Australia berasal dari Indonesia, mereka berlayar ke arah timur ketika laut-laut banyak yang lebih rendah.
Lalu hal itu yang memungkinkan mereka untuk berjalan di antara pulau-pulau atau berlayar dengan perahu kecil menyeberangi lautan sempit. Itu terjadi sekitar 50.000 tahun yang lalu.
Global warming caused the seas to rise and cut Australia off from easy access with Indonesia. Aborigines, who form only one per cent of the Australian population, developed differently but many still look similar to people from Nusa Tenggara.
Global warming menyebabkan laut-laut naik dan membelah Australia keluar dari akses mudah dengan Indonesia. Orang-orang Aborigin, yang berada disana hanya satu persen dari populasi orang Australia, mereka hidup dan berkembang sangat berbeda tetapi banyak dari mereka masih terlihat sama seperti orang-orang dari Nusa Tenggara.
Closer to the present, but long before Europeans came to this part of the world, Bugis fishermen were sailing from Makassar to northern Australia. They stayed for up to six months and you can still see places where they lived.
Tetapi jauh sebelum orang-orang Eropa datang ke bagian dunia ini, orang-orang nelayan dari Bugis sedang berlayar dari Makassar ke bagian Utara Australia. Mereka tinggal selama enam bulan dan Anda masih dapat melihat tempat-tempat dimana mereka tinggal.
Some Bugis married Aboriginal women and took them back to South Sulawesi where they had children. Aboriginal words like balanda, wurupiah, prau and dopulu all come from Makassar.
Beberapa orang Bugis menikahi perempuan-perempuan Aborigin dan membawa mereka kembali ke Sulawesi Selatan ketika mereka memiliki anak. Kata-kata Aborigin seperti balanda, wurupiah, prau dan dopulu semua berasal dari Makassar.
Of course it’s obvious that we are neighbours. A flight from Kupang to Darwin takes only about an hour. When I lived in Perth I could catch a Garuda flight at 8 am, have breakfast on the plane, watch a movie, and have lunch in Bali.
Tentu saja sudah jelas bahwa kita adalah tetangga - silakan melihat di peta. Sebuah penerbangan dari Kupang ke Darwin hanya memakan waktu sekitar satu jam. Ketika saya tinggal di Perth saya bisa naik pesawat Garuda pukul 8 pagi, sarapan di pesawat, menonton film, dan makan siang di Bali.
Bali is so close and popular that many Australians think it’s their holiday island. If you go to Kuta beach, which is famous throughout the world for its surf, you’ll probably see more Westerners that Indonesians.
Bali begitu dekat dan populer sehingga banyak orang-orang Australia berpikir Pulau Bali tempat berlibur mereka. Jika Anda pergi ke pantai Kuta, yang mana terkenal di seluruh dunia untuk selancarnya, Anda mungkin akan melihat lebih banyak orang Barat daripada orang Indonesia.
Till recently Indonesian language was widely taught in Australian schools and we were all urged to learn more about your country and its culture. But that was before the Bali bombs in 2002 and 2005.
Sampai akhir-akhir ini bahasa Indonesia diajarkan secara luas di sekolah-sekolah Australia dan kami semua didesak untuk mempelajari lebih banyak tentang negara Indonesia dan budayanya. Tetapi itu sebelum terjadi bom Bali tahun 2002 dan 2005.
Both bombs deliberately targeted Westerners and Australians were the main victims, with 88 dying in the first bomb and more than 240 seriously injured. This terrible event has not been forgotten and sadly continues to influence our relationships.
Kedua bom Bali tersebut sengaja ditargetkan untuk orang Barat dan orang Australia, merekalah yang menjadi korban utama, dengan 88 orang meninggal di bom pertama dan lebih dari 240 orang terluka parah. Peristiwa mengerikan ini tidak terlupakan dan sangat sedih terus mempengaruhi hubungan kita.
Despite this Australia gives more aid to Indonesia than any other country, worth about 450 million Australian dollars a year. A lot of this money is being spent on schools. This is because we in the West believe that education is absolutely critical to a better future.
Meskipun Australia memberikan bantuan lebih ke Indonesia dari pada negara lain, senilai sekitar 450 juta dolar Australia setahun. Banyak dari uang ini diberikan untuk sekolah-sekolah. Ini karena kita di negara Barat percaya bahwa pendidikan adalah mutlak penting untuk masa depan yang lebih baik.
Unfortunately not everyone welcomes this money, with some extremists calling it ‘foreign intervention’ in Indonesia.
Sayangnya tidak semua orang menyambut uang ini, dan beberapa orang-orang ekstrimis menyebutnya “intervensi asing” di Indonesia.
Till recently your Constitutional requirement that 20 per cent of the national budget be spent on education has not been followed. In most areas schooling is not free and millions of children leave school with little or no education and no understanding of the complex issues of politics and economics. This means they are easily led by anyone who wants to manipulate public opinion.
Hingga saat ini Konstitusi anda, memerlukan 20 persen dari anggaran nasional yang diperuntukan untuk pendidikan belum dijalankan. Di kebanyakan daerah, sekolah tidak gratis dan jutaan anak-anak meninggalkan sekolah, dengan sedikit atau tidak ada pendidikan dan tidak ada pemahaman tentang isu-isu komplek akan politik dan ekonomi. Ini berarti, mereka dengan mudah dipimpin oleh siapa saja yang ingin memanupulasi opini publik.
In my culture we are encouraged to be independent and ask questions. Your culture is community based and more accepting of authority. You have big families that stay together. These are significant differences, which can affect our relationships. That’s because they colour our attitudes towards welfare and government responsibilities towards its citizens.
Dalam budaya saya, kita didorong untuk menjadi mandiri dan mengajukan pertanyaan. Budaya anda berbasis pada masyarakat dan lebih menerima otoritas. Anda memiliki keluarga besar yang tinggal bersama-sama.
Perbedaan-perbedaan ini signifikan, yang dapat mempengaruhi hubungan kita. Karena faktor-faktor perbedaan itu mewarnai sikap kita terhadap kesejahteraan dan tanggung jawab pemerintah terhadap warganya.
For example in the West we pay a lot of tax and we expect the government to look after us. Up to one third of everything we earn goes to the government in tax, and we cannot avoid paying tax.
Sebagai contoh di negara Barat kita membayar pajak untuk segalanya dan kita berharap pemerintah untuk memelihara kita. Sampai dengan sepertiga dari segala sesuatu yang kita dapatkan pergi ke pemerintah berupa pajak, dan kita tidak dapat menghindar untuk membayar pajak.
This money is used to build roads, schools and hospitals, pay the police, teachers and other government officials. Because we pay so much we demand good services, which include pensions and welfare to people who haven’t got a job or are too sick to work.
Uang ini digunakan untuk membangun jalan, sekolah dan rumah sakit, membayar polisi, guru, dan pejabat pemerintah lainnya.
Karena kita membayar begitu banyak kita menuntut pelayanan yang baik, yang meliputi pensiun dan kesejahteraan bagi orang-orang yang tidak punya pekerjaan atau yang terlalu sakit untuk bekerja.
Although the Indonesian government is now moving to repair the education system I fear this is not targeting the right group. Unless education is truly free right through the system, from city kampong to remote island village, millions of smart young people will miss out on schooling, and Indonesia will miss out on their skills.
Meskipun pemerintah Indonesia sekarang bergerak untuk memperbaiki sistem pendidikan, saya takut, ini tidak kena sasaran pada kelompok yang tepat.
Kecuali pendidikan benar-benar gratis, benar melalui sistem, dari kampung dikota ke desa pulau terpencil, jutaan orang muda yang cerdas akan kehilangan sekolah, dan Indonesia akan kehilangan orang-orang yang trampil.
By comparison, primary, secondary and high school education in my country is free – and compulsory. The money comes from the tax that everybody pays, whether or not they have children.
Sebagai perbandingan, SD, SMP dan SMA di negara saya gratis - dan wajib. Uang tersebut berasal dari pajak dimana semua orang bayar, apakah mereka memiliki anak atau tidak.
I could give many more examples to support your president’s comments. He sent his second son Edhie to a university in Perth where I used to teach. Vice president Boediono was educated in Australia and there are currently more than 16,000 Indonesians studying in Australia.
Saya bisa memberi contoh lebih banyak untuk mendukung komentar presiden anda. Ia mengirim putra keduanya Edhie ke universitas di Perth tempat dimana saya biasa mengajar.
Wakil Presiden Boediono sekolah di Australia dan saat ini terdapat lebih dari 16.000 warga Indonesia yang belajar di Australia.
Then there’s business. Few Australians realise that trade between Indonesia and Australia is huge, worth 4.5 billion Australian dollars every year and growing.
Kemudian ada bisnis. Beberapa orang Australia menyadari bahwa perdagangan antara Indonesia dan Australia sangat besar, senilai 4.5 milyard dolar Australia setiap tahun dan terus bertumbuh.
Despite all these facts I argue that it would be difficult to find two nations that are so close, yet their history, outlook, culture, foods and lifestyles are so completely different.
Walaupun semua fakta ini, saya berpendapat bahwa akan sulit untuk menemukan dua negara yang begitu dekat, sekalipun sejarah, pandangan, budaya, makanan dan gaya hidup sangat berbeda.
Of course that’s true in some parts of Indonesia; you can always find examples to make a point, but it doesn’t change my attitude. My opinion is based on being a regular visitor to Indonesia for many years, living in Surabaya and Malang for long periods and visiting many parts of Indonesia. I’m also married to an Indonesian from North Sulawesi but who spent most of her life in East Java.
Tentu saja itu benar di beberapa bagian Indonesia; Anda selalu dapat menemukan contoh-contoh untuk membuat poin, tapi tidak mengubah sikap saya.
Pendapat saya didasarkan pada ketika saya menjadi pengunjung tetap ke Indonesia selama bertahun-tahun, tinggal di Surabaya dan Malang untuk waktu yang lama dan mengunjungi banyak daerah di Indonesia. Saya juga menikah dengan seorang Indonesia dari Sulawesi Utara namun yang menghabiskan sebagian besar hidupnya di Jawa Timur.
If you reject my argument you will think everything is fine between our two countries. We can smile a lot at each other, make happy speeches and assume nothing much needs to be done.
Jika anda menolak argumen saya, anda akan berpikir semuanya baik antara dua negara kita. Kita bisa banyak tersenyum satu sama lain, membuat pidato bagus dan menganggap tidak banyak yang perlu dilakukan.
If you accept my reasoning then you’ll be extremely concerned. You will realise that we all have to do a lot of work to make sure we maintain our friendships so that you and I and our children can live in peace with each other.
Jika anda menerima alasan saya, maka anda menjadi sangat prihatin. Anda akan menyadari bahwa kita semua harus melakukan banyak kerja, untuk memastikan, agar kita memelihara persahabatan supaya anda dan saya serta anak-anak kita bisa hidup dengan damai satu sama lain.
Being a good neighbour is like having a good marriage. You must work on the relationship every day, showing courtesy, respect and understanding based on knowledge. And that’s difficult.
Menjadi tetangga yang baik adalah seperti memiliki pernikahan yang baik. Anda harus berusaha menjaga hubungan setiap hari, menunjukkan kesopanan, hormat dan memahami berdasarkan akan pengetahuan. Dan itu sulit.
Black American leader Martin Luther King said that nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity, and I believe that we have a large amount of both ignorance and stupidity in both countries.Pemimpin orang Amerika berkulit hitam Martin Luther King mengatakan bahwa tidak ada di dunia yang lebih berbahaya daripada ketidaktahuan yang tulus dan kebodohan yang teliti, dan saya percaya bahwa kita memiliki sejumlah besar baik ketidaktahuan dan kebodohan di kedua negara.
I’ll start with the ignorance and stupidity in Australia. Surveys of public attitudes show that about half the population doesn’t trust Indonesia. That figure is probably growing as more refugees from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Iraq come to Indonesia and then take fishing boats to sail illegally to Australia.
Saya akan mulai dengan ketidaktahuan dan kebodohan di Australia. Survei terhadap sikap publik menunjukkan bahwa sekitar setengah dari penduduk Australia tidak percaya Indonesia.
Angka ini mungkin tumbuh sebagaimana bertambahnya pengungsi dari Afghanistan, Sri Lanka dan Irak datang ke Indonesia dan kemudian menggunakan perahu nelayan berlayar secara ilegal ke Australia.
This is not a big issue in Indonesia. It is a very big issue in Australia and many people are angry because we believe the Indonesian government should stop these people, and because President SBY promised to help stop people trafficking.
Ini bukan masalah besar di Indonesia. Ini masalah yang sangat besar di Australia dan banyak orang marah karena kita percaya bahwa pemerintah Indonesia harus bisa menghentikan orang-orang ini, dan karena Presiden SBY berjanji akan membantu menghentikan perdagangan manusia.
Much of the news we recive about Indonesia is bad or strange, or both. For example in the week before I wrote this speech the newspaper and television stories about Indonesia were about a two-year old boy who smokes 40 cigarettes a day, and an Aceh official buying 20,000 skirts to stop women wearing tight jeans.
Banyak berita yang kita terima tentang Indonesia adalah buruk atau aneh, atau kedua-duanya.
Misalnya dalam seminggu sebelum saya menulis pidato ini, cerita-cerita dikoran dan televisi tentang Indonesia adalah tentang seorang anak laki-laki berumur dua tahun yang merokok 40 batang sehari, dan seorang pejabat Aceh membeli 20,000 rok untuk menghentikan perempuan-perempuan mengenakan celana jins ketat.
Then there was a photograph of men sitting on the roof of a train from Depok to Jakarta – nothing unusual for Indonesians but for Westerners an example of Asian chaos and lack of discipline.
Lalu ada foto tentang orang-orang yang duduk diatap kereta api dari Depok ke Jakarta – tidak ada yang tidak biasa untuk orang-orang Indonesia tapi untuk orang Barat adalah sebuah contoh kekacauan orang Asia dan kurangnya disiplin.
These images are not representative of your great nation.
Gambar-gambar ini tidak mewakili bangsa anda yang besar.
The truth is that Australia doesn’t really know where it’s supposed to be in the world. It’s a large island off Southeast Asia mainly populated by white-skinned Europeans following a Western culture whose best friends are far away.
Yang benar yaitu, Australia benar-benar tidak tahu di mana seharusnya Australia berada di dunia. Sebuah pulau besar keluar dari Asia Tenggara yang dihuni terutama oleh orang-orang Eropa berkulit putih dengan membawa serta budaya Barat, dimana teman-teman mereka yang baik sangat jauh.
A cartoon map in a Malaysian newspapers once had Australia positioned in mid Atlantic, half way between Europe and the US. For many people that’s where their heart is – physically between the Indian and Pacific Oceans - but emotionally in the Northern Hemisphere, far away from Indonesia.
Sebuah peta kartun disurat kabar Malaysia pernah menunjukkan Australia diposisikan pada pertengahan Atlantik, setengah perjalanan antara Eropa dan AS.
Bagi banyak orang di sanalah hati mereka berada - secara fisik antara Samudra Hindia dan Pasifik - tetapi secara emosional di belahan bumi utara, jauh dari Indonesia.
Most people know that Indonesia is a heavily populated small country and that Australia is large and empty. For every one Australian there are ten Indonesians.
Kebanyakan orang tahu bahwa Indonesia adalah negara kecil berpenduduk padat, dan bahwa Australia adalah negara besar dan kosong. Untuk setiap satu orang Australia terdapat sepuluh orang Indonesia.
Looking at these facts, and remembering the Bali bombs, many Australians assume that Indonesia would like to invade Australia and if that happened, it would be almost impossible to defend the country without outside help. This is why Australia is such close friends with the United States.
Melihat pada fakta ini, dan mengingat bom-bom Bali, banyak orang Australia menganggap bahwa Indonesia ingin menyerbu Australia dan kalau itu terjadi, itu akan hampir mustahil untuk mempertahankan negara tanpa bantuan dari luar.
Inilah sebabnya mengapa Australia seperti teman dekat dengan Amerika Serikat.
I say this thinking is nonsense. It’s no secret that the Indonesian armed forces are not large and are not well equipped with modern weapons. Apart from that I have yet to meet anyone who thinks having a war with Australia would be a good idea. In fact most Indonesians are happy at home and few want to live anywhere else.
Saya katakan pikiran ini adalah omong kosong. Bukan rahasia bahwa angkatan bersenjata Indonesia tidak besar dan tidak dilengkapi dengan senjata-senjata modern.
Selain itu saya belum bertemu seseorang yang berpikir, berperang dengan Australia merupakan ide yang baik. Kenyataan sebagian besar rakyat Indonesia bahagia berada di rumah dan beberapa yang ingin tinggal di negara lain.
That’s because the differences are serious, and I’m not just talking about climate, language and food. Let’s go through the list starting with history.
Itu karena perbedaan-perbedaan yang serius, dan saya tidak hanya bicara tentang iklim, bahasa dan makanan. Mari kita lihat melalui daftar mulai dengan sejarah.
In the 1930s skulls found at Ngandong near the Solo River in Central Java were identified as belonging to a now extinct branch of our ancestors that may have lived about 100,000 years ago.
Pada tahun 1930 tengkorak-tengkorak ditemukan di Ngandong dekat Sungai Bengawan Solo di Jawa Tengah, yang diidentifikasi sebagai milik dari cabang nenek moyang kita yang sekarang sudah punah, yang mungkin telah hidup sekitar 100.000 tahun yang lalu.
The terraced wet rice cultivation system that you see in Bali and Java came from Vietnam about 3,000 years ago, so you can see that people have been living on these islands for a long time. You have developed a long and rich culture that goes far back, long before Islam and Christianity.
Sistim budidaya padi dengan tanah teras basah yang anda lihat di Bali dan Jawa berasal dari Vietnam sekitar 3.000 tahun yang lalu, sehingga anda dapat melihat bahwa orang-orang telah tinggal di pulau-pulau ini untuk jangka waktu yang lama.
Anda telah mengembangkan kebudayaan yang panjang dan kaya, yang pergi jauh ke belakang, jauh sebelum Islam dan Kristen.
However Europeans didn’t arrive in Australia in numbers until 1788 so modern Australia is really only 222 years old.
Bagaimanapun orang Eropa tidak tiba di Australia dalam hitungan bilangan sampai tahun 1788 jadi Australia modern adalah benar-benar hanya berumur 222 tahun.
Australia, like the United States, is an immigrant society. Indonesia is not. This is a most important fact when understanding the differences between our countries.
Australia, seperti Amerika Serikat, adalah masyarakat imigran. Indonesia bukan. Ini adalah fakta yang paling penting ketika memahami perbedaan antara negara kita.
In Australia you can find people who are Australian citizens living permanently in the country who have come from Italy, Singapore, Afghanistan, Turkey, South Africa … just about every ethnic group and nation on earth. That’s not the situation in Indonesia.
Di Australia, anda dapat menemukan orang-orang yang adalah warga negara Australia yang tinggal permanen di Australia berasal dari Italia, Singapura, Afghanistan, Turki, Afrika Selatan ... hampir setiap kelompok etnis dan bangsa di muka bumi. Itu bukan situasi di Indonesia.
But distrust is not exclusive to Australians. Indonesian officials do not trust people like me.
Tetapi ketidakpercayaan bukan eksklusif bagi orang Australia. Pejabat-pejabat Indonesia tidak percaya orang seperti saya.
In Indonesia I cannot own a house, a business or a bank account and even if I stay in Indonesia for the rest of my life and eventually gain Indonesian citizenship (which would be very difficult) I would never be considered Indonesian. That’s because I will always be a bule, a foreigner with a white skin.
Di Indonesia saya tidak bisa memiliki rumah, bisnis atau rekening bank dan bahkan jika saya tinggal di Indonesia untuk sisa hidup saya dan akhirnya mendapatkan kewarganegaraan Indonesia (yang akan sangat sulit).
Saya tidak akan pernah dianggap orang Indonesia. Itu karena saya selalu akan menjadi bule, orang asing dengan kulit putih.
That’s not the situation in NZ where we now live. My wife Erlinawati is a permanent resident. Together with me she owns a house, a business and a bank account.
Itu bukan situasi di NZ di mana kita tinggal sekarang. Istri saya Erlinawati adalah penduduk tetap. Bersama dengan saya, dia memiliki rumah, usaha dan rekening bank.
Modern Indonesia had to fight for independence in a bloody four-year war. Australia became separate from Britain in 1901 because we asked for independence, but remain part of the Commonwealth with the Queen as our head of State.
Modern Indonesia harus berjuang untuk kemerdekaan dalam perang berdarah empat-tahun. Australia menjadi terpisah dari Inggris pada tahun 1901 karena kita meminta kemerdekaan, tetapi tetap menjadi bagian dari Commonwealth dengan Ratu sebagai kepala Negara.
Because we still recognise our British heritage we keep the union jack, the flag of the United Kingdom, on our flag, and the Queen’s face on our money.
Karena kita masih mengakui (sebagai) warisan Inggris, maka kita memakai the union jack, bendera Inggris Raya, pada bendera kita, dan wajah Ratu tertera di uang kita.
Some people think this means we are still a colony of Britain. That’s not true, but we are members of the Commonwealth which the Queen heads, and which has 54 independent nation members, including Malaysia and Singapore.
Beberapa orang berpikir ini berarti kita masih koloni Inggris. Itu tidak benar, tapi kita adalah anggota Commonwealth yang dikepalai oleh Ratu, dan yang mana memiliki 54 anggota negara independen, termasuk Malaysia dan Singapura.
I’m often called a Belanda, though I am not Dutch, have never been to Holland and despise colonialism.
Saya sering kali disebut Belanda, walaupun saya bukan orang Belanda, dan saya tidak pernah ke Belanda dan saya tidak mendukung kolonialisme.
I’m also considered to be rich just because I’m a Westerner, when in my own country I’m just lower middle class. There are more seriously rich people in Indonesia than there are people in the whole of Australia.
Saya juga dianggap kaya hanya karena saya orang Barat, ketika di negara saya sendiri, saya hanya kelas menengah bawah. Ada lebih banyak masyarakat kaya di Indonesia daripada orang-orang di seluruh Australia.
I don’t like being called a rich immoral colonialist – just as you don’t want to be called corrupt terrorists. The media in both countries needs to do a lot of work to change these bad images – and education is the best way.
Saya tidak suka disebut orang kolonialis kaya tidak bermoral - juga dengan Anda tidak ingin disebut orang-orang teroris yang korupsi. Media di kedua negara perlu melakukan banyak kerja untuk mengubah image-image buruk ini - dan melalui pendidikan adalah cara yang terbaik.
Please urge your students to continue their education – make it life long. Open their minds, encourage them to read widely, listen to many people from different backgrounds, religions and cultures. Tell them to question everything. Travel overseas. The message is: Don’t just believe what you hear – go and find out for yourselves
Silakan mendorong murid-muridmu untuk melanjutkan pendidikan - dan buatlah hidup bermakna, buka pikiran anda, banyak membaca, dan dengarkan banyak orang dari latar belakang yang berbeda, agama dan budaya.
Bertanyalah tentang segala sesuatunya. Berliburlah ke luar negeri .. Jangan hanya percaya dengan apa yang Anda dengar - pergi dan temukan sendiri.
There are good scholarship opportunities for post graduates in Australian and NZ, but you must have good English (minimum IELTS 5 – and for many courses higher). You must be disciplined and determined because there are many distractions.
Ada kesempatan beasiswa yang baik untuk S2 dan S3 di Australia dan NZ, tetapi anda harus bisa berbahasa Inggris yang baik (minimum IELTS 5 – dan banyak bidang lain dibutuhkan yang lebih tinggi). Anda harus disiplin dan mempunyai tekat karena ada banyak gangguan.
To live in peace with each other it is important to be frank. And in case you are wrongly thinking that I am criticising Indonesians let me add that I would say exactly the same thing to Westerners.
Untuk hidup berdamai dengan satu sama lain, sangat penting untuk berterus terang. Dan jika anda salah berpikir bahwa saya mengkritik orang-orang Indonesia, izinkan saya menambahkan, bahwa saya akan mengatakan hal yang persis sama dengan orang-orang barat.
American journalist Ron Suskind, writing about the gap between Muslims and others, said: “Making contact with people who are not like you is one of the best things a person can do.”
Jurnalis Amerika Ron Suskind, menulis tentang gap antara orang-orang Islam dan lainnya, mengatakan: “Untuk berhubungan dengan orang yang tidak seperti kamu adalah salah satu cara yang terbaik seseorang dapat lakukan.”
Thank you for inviting me to talk to you today.
Terima kasih telah mengundang saya untuk berbicara dengan Anda hari ini.
(An edited version of a speech given at an international seminar at Bukittinggi, Sumatra on 18 July. sponsored by Muhamadiyah University, Pos Indonesia and Bank BTN)
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FAITH IN INDONESIA
(Above: Victoria University's gamelan orchestra performing at St Andrew's on the Terrace in Wellington NZ before an audience including many local Muslims.)
Easter marked our first year at St Andrew’s since shifting from an Anglican parish where we’d worshipped since arriving in Wellington in 2007.
Erlinawati and I come from Indonesia where religion is heavy duty. The standard media tag is ‘the world’s most populous Muslim nation.’ That claim rests on statistics showing almost 88 per cent adhere to Islam.
Every Indonesian has to follow one of the government’s six approved religions – Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism and ‘Christian’, meaning Protestantism.
During his term as president between 1999 and 2001 the late Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, allowed Confucianism to be recognised.
The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but not freedom from religion.
Every citizen’s religion is stamped on her or his compulsory ID card. Islam is the default. So the millions who follow Kebatinan, the original religion of Java, or any other unrecognised faith – or no faith – get listed as Muslims.
The Minister for Religious Affairs recently opposed a law revision because this “could spark unlimited freedom of religion.”
Protestants and Catholics form ten per cent. That’s 24 million – more than the population of Australia.
At last count there were 80 plus Protestant denominations, many formed when congregations split over theological interpretations and personality clashes – something not exclusive to Indonesia.
Richard Daulay, head of the Communion of Churches, jokes of a liner rescuing a shipwrecked Indonesian. As the ship steams away the captain asks the lone castaway about the three buildings on his island.
The man replies: “The first was my house, the second my church.”
“And the third?” asks the captain.
The Protestant responds with contempt: “That’s the church I used to belong to.”
Churches are always packed in Indonesia and only early birds get a perch near a window, door or air conditioner, necessary because services can be marathons. At Easter and Christmas, marquees in carparks and streets accommodate overflow crowds following services on closed circuit TV.
The heartland of Indonesian Protestantism is North Sulawesi, Erlinawati’s homeland. When Dutch colonialists arrived in the 17th century with guns and Bibles the Minahasa people of this remote area converted en masse.
Their rewards were higher education opportunities, jobs in the public service and places in the army where they were used to put down Muslim rebellions in Java. Not a good start for inter-faith relationships.
The Catholics carved off the Eastern islands but Protestants can be found in most regions, often funding ostentatious palaces of worship.
Foremost is Bethany with the slogan ‘successful families’. Its Surabaya church is like an H G Wells’ flying saucer that’s landed among the slums. It can seat 20,000 and has five-star fittings and décor.
These and other factors have led to a common view that Protestants are rich and mainly ethnic Chinese, keen to ‘Christianise’ poor Muslims. This became a serious charge after the 2004 tsunami clean up in Aceh where some US aid agencies were allegedly proselytising.
Early this century church burnings in Java and open warfare between Christians and Muslims in the Moluccas stoked tensions nationwide. Although the big conflagrations have died down, the embers of hate still glow, particularly in West Java and Sumatra where churches have been torched this year.
The targets aren’t always Christians. Muslim mobs have razed mosques and compounds belonging to Ahmadiah, a sect that claims other prophets followed Muhammad.
By NZ standards most church services are sterile events where the God of joy is sadly absent. Puritanism is widespread and the hunt for sinners can be spirited.
Fundamentalism is not exclusive to Islam. Evangelists have been blamed for inter-faith strife by shouting hallelujahs in crowded Muslim neighbourhoods. Others have used religious differences as excuses to settle ethnic, political and business feuds.
Dr Paul Tahalele, chair of the Indonesian Christian Communication Forum, argues that Christian survival in Indonesia means taking a low profile, wearing plain clothes on Sundays, not driving Mercedes to church and doing welfare work among the poor without banging the Bible.
The Catholics have been better at this than the Protestants, running hospitals and schools attracting large numbers of middle-class Muslim students seeking high quality education with discipline.
In the East Java town of Malang where we retain a home, a progressive Muslim teacher called Yusman Roy, an Indonesian version of John Wycliffe, was jailed for two years for reading the Koran in Indonesian.
Roy reasoned few in his congregation understood Arabic and the crowds agreed. But his popularity attracted truckloads of fundamentalists from afar claiming he was a blasphemer.
Still in prison in the same city are 40 members of a Christian student group that videotaped a training session. This included abusing the Koran. Police saw the DVD. Mainstream Christian leaders gave fulsome public apologies and riots were averted.
There are many parallels with the Reformation making Indonesia an exciting place for a journalist. Leading the movement is the Jaringan Islam Liberal, (Liberal Islamic Network) a small group of Jakarta-based intellectuals pushing uphill against the mighty weight of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (Indonesian Islamic Scholars).
This conservative group is opposed to pluralism. It’s also the body seeking to control halal meat imports from NZ.
There’s nothing half-hearted about faith in Indonesia. Military dictator Soeharto kept a tight rein on all religions for 32 years with intelligence agents vetting sermons. Public discussions of issues involving race, religion and ethnicity were banned.
Following the strongman’s fall in 1998 the leash has been off and fundamentalists have been getting a free run. Their targets are ‘neo-liberals’, meaning anyone who thinks differently. There’s been a welding of radical Islam with nationalism.
The death of Gus Dur last December deprived Indonesians of an outstanding Islamic scholar and democrat, a champion of tolerance by word and deed – and an exceptionally funny and decent man.
So far no one of his intellect and standing has filled the gap, leading many Christians to fear a resurgence of persecution. The growth of Sharia law, financially backed by Saudi oil money is an issue, though so far mainly impacting on moderate Muslims.
The propensity for mob violence simmers just below the surface, threatening the nation’s claim to be the custodian of moderate Islam.
(First published in St Andrew's on the Terrace News, July 2010)
Easter marked our first year at St Andrew’s since shifting from an Anglican parish where we’d worshipped since arriving in Wellington in 2007.
Erlinawati and I come from Indonesia where religion is heavy duty. The standard media tag is ‘the world’s most populous Muslim nation.’ That claim rests on statistics showing almost 88 per cent adhere to Islam.
Every Indonesian has to follow one of the government’s six approved religions – Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism and ‘Christian’, meaning Protestantism.
During his term as president between 1999 and 2001 the late Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur, allowed Confucianism to be recognised.
The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but not freedom from religion.
Every citizen’s religion is stamped on her or his compulsory ID card. Islam is the default. So the millions who follow Kebatinan, the original religion of Java, or any other unrecognised faith – or no faith – get listed as Muslims.
The Minister for Religious Affairs recently opposed a law revision because this “could spark unlimited freedom of religion.”
Protestants and Catholics form ten per cent. That’s 24 million – more than the population of Australia.
At last count there were 80 plus Protestant denominations, many formed when congregations split over theological interpretations and personality clashes – something not exclusive to Indonesia.
Richard Daulay, head of the Communion of Churches, jokes of a liner rescuing a shipwrecked Indonesian. As the ship steams away the captain asks the lone castaway about the three buildings on his island.
The man replies: “The first was my house, the second my church.”
“And the third?” asks the captain.
The Protestant responds with contempt: “That’s the church I used to belong to.”
Churches are always packed in Indonesia and only early birds get a perch near a window, door or air conditioner, necessary because services can be marathons. At Easter and Christmas, marquees in carparks and streets accommodate overflow crowds following services on closed circuit TV.
The heartland of Indonesian Protestantism is North Sulawesi, Erlinawati’s homeland. When Dutch colonialists arrived in the 17th century with guns and Bibles the Minahasa people of this remote area converted en masse.
Their rewards were higher education opportunities, jobs in the public service and places in the army where they were used to put down Muslim rebellions in Java. Not a good start for inter-faith relationships.
The Catholics carved off the Eastern islands but Protestants can be found in most regions, often funding ostentatious palaces of worship.
Foremost is Bethany with the slogan ‘successful families’. Its Surabaya church is like an H G Wells’ flying saucer that’s landed among the slums. It can seat 20,000 and has five-star fittings and décor.
These and other factors have led to a common view that Protestants are rich and mainly ethnic Chinese, keen to ‘Christianise’ poor Muslims. This became a serious charge after the 2004 tsunami clean up in Aceh where some US aid agencies were allegedly proselytising.
Early this century church burnings in Java and open warfare between Christians and Muslims in the Moluccas stoked tensions nationwide. Although the big conflagrations have died down, the embers of hate still glow, particularly in West Java and Sumatra where churches have been torched this year.
The targets aren’t always Christians. Muslim mobs have razed mosques and compounds belonging to Ahmadiah, a sect that claims other prophets followed Muhammad.
By NZ standards most church services are sterile events where the God of joy is sadly absent. Puritanism is widespread and the hunt for sinners can be spirited.
Fundamentalism is not exclusive to Islam. Evangelists have been blamed for inter-faith strife by shouting hallelujahs in crowded Muslim neighbourhoods. Others have used religious differences as excuses to settle ethnic, political and business feuds.
Dr Paul Tahalele, chair of the Indonesian Christian Communication Forum, argues that Christian survival in Indonesia means taking a low profile, wearing plain clothes on Sundays, not driving Mercedes to church and doing welfare work among the poor without banging the Bible.
The Catholics have been better at this than the Protestants, running hospitals and schools attracting large numbers of middle-class Muslim students seeking high quality education with discipline.
In the East Java town of Malang where we retain a home, a progressive Muslim teacher called Yusman Roy, an Indonesian version of John Wycliffe, was jailed for two years for reading the Koran in Indonesian.
Roy reasoned few in his congregation understood Arabic and the crowds agreed. But his popularity attracted truckloads of fundamentalists from afar claiming he was a blasphemer.
Still in prison in the same city are 40 members of a Christian student group that videotaped a training session. This included abusing the Koran. Police saw the DVD. Mainstream Christian leaders gave fulsome public apologies and riots were averted.
There are many parallels with the Reformation making Indonesia an exciting place for a journalist. Leading the movement is the Jaringan Islam Liberal, (Liberal Islamic Network) a small group of Jakarta-based intellectuals pushing uphill against the mighty weight of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (Indonesian Islamic Scholars).
This conservative group is opposed to pluralism. It’s also the body seeking to control halal meat imports from NZ.
There’s nothing half-hearted about faith in Indonesia. Military dictator Soeharto kept a tight rein on all religions for 32 years with intelligence agents vetting sermons. Public discussions of issues involving race, religion and ethnicity were banned.
Following the strongman’s fall in 1998 the leash has been off and fundamentalists have been getting a free run. Their targets are ‘neo-liberals’, meaning anyone who thinks differently. There’s been a welding of radical Islam with nationalism.
The death of Gus Dur last December deprived Indonesians of an outstanding Islamic scholar and democrat, a champion of tolerance by word and deed – and an exceptionally funny and decent man.
So far no one of his intellect and standing has filled the gap, leading many Christians to fear a resurgence of persecution. The growth of Sharia law, financially backed by Saudi oil money is an issue, though so far mainly impacting on moderate Muslims.
The propensity for mob violence simmers just below the surface, threatening the nation’s claim to be the custodian of moderate Islam.
(First published in St Andrew's on the Terrace News, July 2010)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
GRACE PAMUNGKAS
Treating history with grace Duncan Graham
Grace Pamungkas got fed up working for the government.
As an architect with social justice ideals she became frustrated when called on to research public housing and restoration projects, and prepare budgets.
“When the money was allocated we got only 30 to 50 per cent to do the job,” she said. “The rest went elsewhere – who knows?
“I realised I wasn’t suited to working for government departments. I wanted to make a difference, and it was clear that many public servants were not servants of the public. They were just concerned with money. It was time to move.”
This wasn’t her only bad experience with the bureaucracy. The next lesson was about cultural imperialism and it didn’t come from a textbook.
After graduating in architecture from the University of Indonesia she went to Flores with UI staff. Her job was to assist planning the rehousing of people who’d lost their homes in the 1992 tsunami that followed a 7.8 magnitude offshore earthquake.
The army was responsible for providing temporary housing, which inevitably became permanent. But many homes were left unoccupied.
“The planners were from Java and looked at the project as though the homeless were farmers,” Ms Pamungkas said. “But these were fishers, people of the sea and the houses provided were not suitable. The locals weren’t consulted, or if they were their views weren’t heard.”
Back in Jakarta she took to walking to university and work and rapidly discovered a world invisible from the tinted windows of limousines. City poor are not so obvious as those in the villages. They live in kampong burrows, packed tight, squashed into airless and unsanitary low roofed, flimsy-walled rooms, or squat in old industrial buildings abandoned by their owners.
The gap between the wong kecil, the ordinary folk, and the rich was far wider than the multilane freeways that separated their homes.
“I was concerned about public housing for the poor,” she said. “I came across the gemstone workers who live alongside the railway tracks in Jakarta and learned about their lives in a very historical area. It was just a coincidence.
“The rich can pay to build what they want where they want. But the poor have to wait for government housing and this isn’t a good standard.”
But not all the rich are indifferent to history. With noted historian and Jesuit priest Adolf Heuken, who she met at a seminar, Ms Pamungkas was commissioned by Jakarta businesswoman Susilawati to research Galangan Kapal Batavia.
This was the 300-year old Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC – the United East India Company) shipyard on the banks of the river Kali Besar. Like many Dutch era buildings it had been used as a warehouse. Despite a study construction its ill-maintained timbers had rotted and brickwork fretted.
The building has now been renovated to become the VOC – the Very Old Café. Father Adolf and Ms Pamungkas had their work published as a book, complete with quaint and ancient drawings of a busy waterway full of swans alongside wide paddocks with prancing horses – areas now densely packed with houses and markets.
The pair then went on to another book, this time on buildings in the swish suburb of Menteng.
As the child of a Dutch Reformed Church pastor helping build schools for the needy Ms Pamungkas, 39, had the benefit of living in many parts of the archipelago - and the disadvantage of having nowhere to call home.
Though born in Bandung she spent only three years in the West Java city before moving to Riau. Then it was off to Sulawesi, Sumatra again and back to Java. Although good at art and design she chose to study architecture because it offered practical opportunities, though she found her natural talents in research.
Which is what Ms Pamungkas is doing at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. While improving her English she’s investigating floating eco-houses, an idea pioneered in the Netherlands to cope with flooding.
Next year she hopes to take up a scholarship so that she can study the preservation and conservation of old buildings. To fund her studies she and her graphic artist husband Enrico Halim sold their house in Jakarta.
Her thesis, which is still under review, will look at the way the Dutch imposed their building styles and town planning on Jakarta. When the walled city proved unsuitable the colonialists had to reset their attitudes to suit the tropics, borrowing from local wisdom.
She will compare the situation in her homeland with the way the British took their architecture to rugged earthquake-prone Wellington, which is reputed to be the world’s windiest city.
The newcomers had to rapidly modify their attitudes, learning from the Maori who built to survive a harsh climate, not hang on to hard-set ideas imported from another continent.
“When I get back to Indonesia, hopefully with a Western education, I plan to teach the importance of saving our past,” she said.
“The new generation doesn’t harbor hatreds against the Dutch and are more inclined to respect historical buildings.
“History education in Indonesian schools has just been a memorising of dates and places. Studying history has meant meeting an obligation to fill marks. Sadly it’s not part of our culture now to respect our ancestors, though I suspect it was different in the past.
“Look at the way we demolished the house where (first president) Soekarno read the proclamation on Indonesian independence. Elsewhere in the world that would be a nationally important part of our heritage.
“Jakarta is a coastal city but we don’t care for our rivers and the sea. They’re just used as trash bins, bad places for poor people to live. I want to see a return to our respect for water, as we had in the past, to resurrect the beliefs of our ancestors.
“Cultural tourism is a significant business elsewhere in the world. The Dutch made a big effort, importing, for example, tiles from Czechoslovakia to beautify their buildings.
“If we could preserve and renovate some of the old buildings in Kota we could sell our city to the world, maybe rivalling Singapore in attracting visitors. What happened in the past is valuable for our future.”
(First published in The Jakarta Post 30 June 2010)
##
Saturday, June 26, 2010
REMEMBERING BALIBO
The pain that won’t go away Duncan Graham
Far, far away, Indonesia continues to get a bad press. Not just because of corruption, smoking toddlers and women having to wear long skirts in Aceh, but because of a tragedy in 1975.
At an outdoor memorial service in New Zealand for Gary Cunningham, the young Kiwi cameraman who was shot in East Timor 35 years ago, an Indonesian citizen privately offering apologies and sympathy approached his aunt, Pat McGregor (pictured above.) Indonesian Embassy diplomats and NZ government representatives were not present.
“There’s no need to apologise,” Mrs McGregor said as spokesperson for the Cunningham family. “It was not the fault of the Indonesian people. I was bitter at first, but I’ve got over that. However I’d still like those two involved brought to justice.”
(She was referring to former Special Forces officers Yunus Yosfiah and Christoforus da Silva who are alleged to have ordered the killings.)
On 16 October 1975 Indonesian troops invading East Timor (now Timor Leste) shot Cunningham and four other foreign journalists in the village of Balibo despite a sign on their house wall saying the reporters were from Australia. Although two were British, two were from Australia and one from NZ, all were working for Australian TV channels.
The men became known as the Balibo Five and failure to find those responsible for their deaths has been a running sore in Indonesian- Australian and NZ relationships ever since.
Balibo, an Australian feature film about the incident released last year has been banned in Indonesia, despite protests by Indonesian journalists. It was going to be shown at the Jakarta International Film Festival last December.
The film, based on books about the event and an Australian coronial inquest, claimed the men were deliberately killed because their reports would have revealed news of the secret invasion into what was still a Portuguese colony.
The Indonesian government has long claimed the matter is closed, arguing that screening the film would open conflict between Indonesia and Australia. However there was a surprise development last December when retired colonel Gatot Purwanto confessed that the men had been ‘executed’.
The Australian government has started a war crimes commission investigation into the killings – the fifth inquiry into the tragedy
Gary Cunningham, who was born in Wellington in 1947, moved to commercial TV in Australia after working for the NZ Broadcasting Corporation.
Late last month (May) about 50 people gathered in the rain on a hillside above Wellington to remember Gary and his colleagues, speak of the tragedy, condemn the Australian and NZ governments for not confronting Indonesia, and unveil a memorial bench covered with a Timorese ikat (traditional woven cloth).
Tim Pankhurst, secretary of the Media Freedom Committee, and chief executive of the Newspaper Publishers’ Association said it was important to remember that journalists faced danger when reporting wars, and needed support and protection.
So far this year 13 journalists have been killed on the job, the latest an Italian reporter in Bangkok. Last year 71 died.
Mr Pankhurst said fear of offending Indonesia had been behind past governments failing to pursue the issue. He called on the NZ government “to show similar courage and commitment” to Australia in chasing the facts.
Media professionals and human rights activists have continued to press Indonesia to prosecute those responsible for the shootings. Indonesia has continued to claim that the men were accidentally shot during a firefight between the Indonesian military and Fretilin militia.
Fretilin was the socialist resistance group, the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor.
The journalists’ bodies were burned and some remains buried in Jakarta, though there are doubts that the ashes are those of the men. The men’s relatives were not allowed to fly to Indonesia for the funeral and could only attend a memorial service in Melbourne. Cunningham family members were not able to visit Timor Leste till 2003.
Mrs McGregor said support for the memorial had come from the Media Freedom Committee and the Indonesia Human Rights’ Committee (IHRC) a NZ organisation that has long been campaigning for justice for the Balibo Five.
Gary’s brother Greig Cunningham said many people were unaware that journalists put their lives at risk so viewers could get the news in the comfort of their homes.
East Timor had been a Portuguese colony for more than 200 years. When Portugal began to relinquish control in 1975 many nations, including Australia and the US, feared Communists might take control of an independent nation. After seizing control Indonesia made the little country its 27th province.
For the next 24 years fighting between Indonesian troops and East Timorese guerrillas took the lives of an estimated 100,000, Timorese and Indonesians, through warfare, starvation and disease.
In a 1999 referendum the people voted four to one to become an independent nation. Since then NZ troops have been part of the international peacekeeping force in Timor Leste.
Mrs McGregor said the news of her nephew’s death came on her silver wedding anniversary. At first the family was told Gary had died in crossfire, but later heard rumors that the journalists had been killed in cold blood.
“It was a great shock to us all,” she said. “Gary had worked in Vietnam during the war and knew the risks. He wouldn’t have done anything foolish. The government wouldn’t tell us what had happened.
“It’s important to honor him, even after all these years. We all feel just a little bit better now. Gary gave his life in the pursuit of truth.”
##
Monday, June 14, 2010
KONFRONTASI- A WAR FEW WANTED
A war few wanted
Voices from a Border War
Robert Gurr
Wilson Scott Publishing
We all know smoking kills, though it usually takes years of inhaling toxins before the heart shudders to a halt or cancer triumphs.
But back in 1963, lighting up in the jungle during Soekarno’s Konfrontasi offensive against newborn Malaysia could have meant death was just seconds away.
That’s because the Indonesian soldiers continued smoking kretek (clove) cigarettes while trying to infiltrate Sarawak and Sabah, giving away their locations to the keen-nosed troops tracking them, according to these accounts from the men who were there.
It was a lesson learned too late, indicating not just a lack of authority but also that the Indonesian army, which was largely using irregular militia, didn’t really have its heart in the job.
It’s widely believed that the Ganyang Malaysia (Crush Malaysia) campaign had been launched for domestic political purposes, diverting attention from economic problems.
Soekarno had earlier been indifferent to Britain giving its colony independence. Then he changed his mind and started arguing that Malaysia was destined to become a puppet state. Konfrontasi ended quietly after Soeharto became president.
The four-year undeclared war cost Indonesia 590 lives. More than 770 men were taken prisoner. By contrast the British Commonwealth forces supporting the Malaysian federation lost 114, most of them Gurkhas.
Australian and New Zealand troops were involved and took the opportunity to refine their jungle warfare techniques. These were later applied in Vietnam – though not always by US forces who seemed not to have learned the importance of stealth and discipline, radios off, hand signals only, no after-shave and no smoking.
The Viet Cong did not make the same mistakes.
Also important was winning the hearts and minds of the locals. The phrase has now been corrupted by cynicism but in the Borneo border fighting it had real meaning.
Without the help of the ferocious Dyaks known as Iban, and who were often hostile to the Indonesians and enjoyed collecting their heads, the Commonwealth forces would have been floundering in the swamps and lost in the dense tropical forests.
The Iban had families on both sides of the border so could move around easily, though not always safely. They were used in psychological warfare, taking false messages to the Indonesian military, such as warning them to beware of minefields that didn’t exist.
The egalitarian Ozzies and Kiwis respected the Iban culture, paid the people to work, gave them medical supplies and won their loyalty. By contrast the Indonesian militia were reportedly brutal.
Brigadier Robert Gurr was head of the 1st Battalion Royal NZ Infantry Regiment fighting in Borneo and in this book he’s collected the stories of the men he commanded. There are only a few minor attempts at balance – these are the accounts of the victors.
That doesn’t mean they’re non-stop Boy’s Own Annual yarns of gallantry and smart soldiering. There are plenty of tales of stuff-ups and incompetence. Some of the worst casualties on the Malaysian side were not inflicted by Indonesians but by helicopter accidents.
Other problems included communication systems failing and mistakes in translation. There’s also humor. A commander about to evacuate a limping soldier found the man had put his boots on the wrong feet in his rush to withdraw.
One Kiwi in the midst of an ambush was surprised to hear the Indonesians calling out in English: ‘Come and get it British!’
“At such times life becomes like a slow-motion movie,” the soldier said. “I recall being intensely irritated that Indonesian intelligence should be so bad it could confuse a New Zealand infantry company with a British one.”
Of course the Border War was no chuckle time. Jungle warfare was nerve-wracking, brutal close-quarter combat where the enemy could suddenly appear, fire, and then vanish behind the dripping green curtain.
Some in the Commonwealth lines wondered what they were doing so far from home risking their lives in mud and malaria for a political sideshow.
But this was also the era of the great Communist scare when Australians felt particularly vulnerable. The West was terrified that Soekarno was turning his country into a Communist state and had to be stopped.
Although there’s evidence the Indonesian military was unhappy with their president’s leftist leanings they found themselves on the same side with Communist guerrillas also fighting to destabilise the Malaysian Federation.
Technically the Commonwealth forces were not supposed to enter Indonesian territory to avoid inflaming the international political situation. They had to wait on the Sarawak side for the Indonesian soldiers to cross over or parachute in before they could attack.
Inevitably such rules were ignored. By entering Kalimantan, making contact and then retreating, the pursuing Indonesians were lured over the border and trapped.
The troops were also not allowed to bombard Indonesian bases with artillery “unless the enemy acted aggressively.”
The Indonesians tended to operate in groups of 20 to 30 men and had no such restrictions on their movements. Until the later stages of the conflict they were the numerically superior force.
Thirteen years after Konfrontasi ended, good relations had been restored between the former combatants. One NZ officer attended the Indonesian Staff College where he met some of his one-time enemies. He reported that he was impressed with their honesty:
“Amidst laughter tinged with some sadness I would be regaled with the hardships they suffered in Kalimantan. They (the Indonesians) existed on very limited supplies over very long and extremely complicated supply lines and communications, but they were still able to fight with determination.”
By contrast the Commonwealth forces were backed by artillery, air power and good support with munitions, food and medicines.
There’s clearly a need for histories telling the Indonesian side of the conflict. It wasn’t the greatest moment in the Republic’s history but it deserves recognition for the courage shown by the men on the ground supporting their country.
(First published in The Sunday Post 13 June 2010)
Voices from a Border War
Robert Gurr
Wilson Scott Publishing
We all know smoking kills, though it usually takes years of inhaling toxins before the heart shudders to a halt or cancer triumphs.
But back in 1963, lighting up in the jungle during Soekarno’s Konfrontasi offensive against newborn Malaysia could have meant death was just seconds away.
That’s because the Indonesian soldiers continued smoking kretek (clove) cigarettes while trying to infiltrate Sarawak and Sabah, giving away their locations to the keen-nosed troops tracking them, according to these accounts from the men who were there.
It was a lesson learned too late, indicating not just a lack of authority but also that the Indonesian army, which was largely using irregular militia, didn’t really have its heart in the job.
It’s widely believed that the Ganyang Malaysia (Crush Malaysia) campaign had been launched for domestic political purposes, diverting attention from economic problems.
Soekarno had earlier been indifferent to Britain giving its colony independence. Then he changed his mind and started arguing that Malaysia was destined to become a puppet state. Konfrontasi ended quietly after Soeharto became president.
The four-year undeclared war cost Indonesia 590 lives. More than 770 men were taken prisoner. By contrast the British Commonwealth forces supporting the Malaysian federation lost 114, most of them Gurkhas.
Australian and New Zealand troops were involved and took the opportunity to refine their jungle warfare techniques. These were later applied in Vietnam – though not always by US forces who seemed not to have learned the importance of stealth and discipline, radios off, hand signals only, no after-shave and no smoking.
The Viet Cong did not make the same mistakes.
Also important was winning the hearts and minds of the locals. The phrase has now been corrupted by cynicism but in the Borneo border fighting it had real meaning.
Without the help of the ferocious Dyaks known as Iban, and who were often hostile to the Indonesians and enjoyed collecting their heads, the Commonwealth forces would have been floundering in the swamps and lost in the dense tropical forests.
The Iban had families on both sides of the border so could move around easily, though not always safely. They were used in psychological warfare, taking false messages to the Indonesian military, such as warning them to beware of minefields that didn’t exist.
The egalitarian Ozzies and Kiwis respected the Iban culture, paid the people to work, gave them medical supplies and won their loyalty. By contrast the Indonesian militia were reportedly brutal.
Brigadier Robert Gurr was head of the 1st Battalion Royal NZ Infantry Regiment fighting in Borneo and in this book he’s collected the stories of the men he commanded. There are only a few minor attempts at balance – these are the accounts of the victors.
That doesn’t mean they’re non-stop Boy’s Own Annual yarns of gallantry and smart soldiering. There are plenty of tales of stuff-ups and incompetence. Some of the worst casualties on the Malaysian side were not inflicted by Indonesians but by helicopter accidents.
Other problems included communication systems failing and mistakes in translation. There’s also humor. A commander about to evacuate a limping soldier found the man had put his boots on the wrong feet in his rush to withdraw.
One Kiwi in the midst of an ambush was surprised to hear the Indonesians calling out in English: ‘Come and get it British!’
“At such times life becomes like a slow-motion movie,” the soldier said. “I recall being intensely irritated that Indonesian intelligence should be so bad it could confuse a New Zealand infantry company with a British one.”
Of course the Border War was no chuckle time. Jungle warfare was nerve-wracking, brutal close-quarter combat where the enemy could suddenly appear, fire, and then vanish behind the dripping green curtain.
Some in the Commonwealth lines wondered what they were doing so far from home risking their lives in mud and malaria for a political sideshow.
But this was also the era of the great Communist scare when Australians felt particularly vulnerable. The West was terrified that Soekarno was turning his country into a Communist state and had to be stopped.
Although there’s evidence the Indonesian military was unhappy with their president’s leftist leanings they found themselves on the same side with Communist guerrillas also fighting to destabilise the Malaysian Federation.
Technically the Commonwealth forces were not supposed to enter Indonesian territory to avoid inflaming the international political situation. They had to wait on the Sarawak side for the Indonesian soldiers to cross over or parachute in before they could attack.
Inevitably such rules were ignored. By entering Kalimantan, making contact and then retreating, the pursuing Indonesians were lured over the border and trapped.
The troops were also not allowed to bombard Indonesian bases with artillery “unless the enemy acted aggressively.”
The Indonesians tended to operate in groups of 20 to 30 men and had no such restrictions on their movements. Until the later stages of the conflict they were the numerically superior force.
Thirteen years after Konfrontasi ended, good relations had been restored between the former combatants. One NZ officer attended the Indonesian Staff College where he met some of his one-time enemies. He reported that he was impressed with their honesty:
“Amidst laughter tinged with some sadness I would be regaled with the hardships they suffered in Kalimantan. They (the Indonesians) existed on very limited supplies over very long and extremely complicated supply lines and communications, but they were still able to fight with determination.”
By contrast the Commonwealth forces were backed by artillery, air power and good support with munitions, food and medicines.
There’s clearly a need for histories telling the Indonesian side of the conflict. It wasn’t the greatest moment in the Republic’s history but it deserves recognition for the courage shown by the men on the ground supporting their country.
(First published in The Sunday Post 13 June 2010)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
THE SAMOAN CONNECTION
Finding Samoan roots in Indonesia
Where did the big brown-skinned people of the Pacific Islands originate? For Samoan public servant Tevita Simeki there’s no doubt his ancestors came from the Indonesian archipelago.
Thousands of years ago people from China slowly migrated south and then east. The evidence is based on DNA research, pottery fragments, farming methods and a few words.
Lua (dua) for two, lima for five and sefulu (sepuluh) for ten are widely quoted as examples of a distant shared past.
It’s a theory supported by many anthropologists, linguists and historians, though those who know Javanese are small, wiry-limbed people find the idea hard to grasp.
Tevita has no such qualms, and his beliefs were reinforced by three months in Java as a guest of the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs studying culture.
“I learned so much from Indonesia,” he said. “Samoan culture is under constant assault from Western values and entertainment. Indonesians seem to have resisted this international pressure, holding on to what they have while still accepting Toyotas and McDonald’s.
“In Yogyakarta I was impressed to find a modern, developed city with Western technology yet the people are maintaining their own music and dances. There’s no sign the culture has been corrupted by outside influences.
“It’s the same with meals. Everywhere I went in Java I ate local foods, like fresh ayam kampung (village chicken), now hard to find in Samoa because so much food is imported and frozen. There’s a lot that we can learn in the Pacific from Indonesia.
“A big problem we’re facing in Samoa is the way families try to gain status by putting on lavish and costly ceremonies such as for weddings and funerals. These events are done to impress, but they can be financially crippling.
“That can happen in Indonesia but it seems to me that people in Java are able to keep these things in check.”
Tevita, 26, was educated in Fiji at the University of the South Pacific where he studied history, politics and geography.
After returning to his homeland he became a public servant and a rapid riser. He is now a senior internal affairs officer in the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development charged with preserving Samoan culture.
Last year the Samoan government approved his bid to take an all-expenses paid Indonesian Art and Culture Scholarship, joining 15 other handpicked bright young folk from other Pacific nations. The program, also involving applicants from other nations, has been running for seven years,
Tevita and his colleagues face a huge task trying to slow down the tsunami of Western civilisation threatening (along with rising sea levels) to swamp their isolated tiny communities.
Although Samoan families tend to be big, the population of Western (properly known as Independent) Samoa is less than 200,000 spread across 17 islands, some little more than sand spits. An estimated 70,000 live on American Samoa, a separate state.
As in Indonesia, tens of thousands have migrated overseas seeking work and better opportunities, though Samoa’s tropical laid-back villages look appealing to stressed-out city dwellers.
Samoa is about 4,400 kilometers northeast of Sydney and 3,700 kilometers southwest of Hawaii. It was previously a German colony, then administered by New Zealand. It became an independent republic in 1962.
It lies east of the International date line and like Java is just below the Equator. Though lush and fertile the soil is not worked intensively as in Indonesia.
More than half the 260,000 Pacific Islanders living in NZ are Samoans, some gaining fame as rugby players. Around 55,000 also live in Australia. Their remittances along with foreign aid help keep the Samoan economy alive. Local wages are low by Western standards, about three tala (Rp 10,000) an hour.
Tevita’s department is using television documentaries to promote Samoan culture, but the programs tend to be static discussions. The idea of getting across social messages using Indonesian sinetron (soap operas) where dramatic story lines reinforce traditional values is attractive, but there’s no money for big budget productions.
Tevita, who is also a dancer and musician, said he’d been impressed by the formal training of Javanese dancers in Yogyakarta. He liked the fact that artists could make a living displaying their skills and talents at important functions – something that hasn’t happened in Samoa though cultural groups do perform at tourist resorts.
Pacific island dancing, usually accompanied by rhythmic drumming, is vigorous, unlike the slow refined movements of hand and eye by Javanese performers. The Samoan handicraft industry is not well developed.
“We have limited resources – we’re used to that,” Tevita said. “Indonesia is resource rich but it’s the way you’re using your culture that I find so impressive. It’s not just in the hands of the old people – youth are widely involved and they are doing so with passion.
“We have museums in the Pacific but not arts centres as in Indonesia. This is something I want to introduce where young artists can be trained and our customs recognized, respected and preserved.
“It comes back to people knowing their true selves – who they are. Samoa needs to get back to its roots. Like Indonesians we are community people with decision-making undertaken at the local level through big meetings. The way to power and authority in Samoa is through service. This is what I believe and want to do.
“Our language is hierarchical, like Javanese. Different words and tones are used depending on whether you are talking up to authority figures or to ordinary people. The young are forgetting this.
”A particular issue not experienced in Indonesia is the influence of returning migrants who import Western ideas. This is something faced by all Pacific nations.
“Naturally Jakarta and the other big cities are a shock for people from the Pacific but we were all made to feel welcome. Although only one member of our group was a Muslim the rest who were Christians went without daytime food during Ramadan (the fasting month leading up to Idul Fitri) to give him support.
“I never felt homesick. Maybe our ancestors really do come from Indonesia.”
(First published in The Jakarta Post 15 May 2010)
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