A Universal Truth

Over the weekend, Jeremiah visited the resort town of Kaliurang, situated on the slope of Mount Merapi. Tucked in a corner of Kaliurang was the lovely Ullen Sentalu Musuem, which showcased Javanese art, music and history. A significant portion of the exhibit was devoted to the royal family here. According to the guide, the primary pursuits of female members of the royal family (then) were dancing and creating batik. Photos and paintings of them happily engaging in such activities were displayed in the musuem.

Apparently, life as a tai-tai is good everywhere!

Kampung Living in a Big City

Kampungs are usually the first victims of modernisation in Indonesia. In big Indonesian cities, kampungs are rarely be found in the city core. Not in Yogja though. Modern commericial buildings/shophouses would line the major ateries, but right behind them are kampungs a stone's throw away. These are often self-contained communities with a wide range of shops where various services and goods can be procured. For instance, numerous eateries, provision shops, handphone shops, two laundry shops, a guitar shop, and even a small Internet cafe can be found in the kampung next to Jeremiah's residence in Yogja. Exploring kampungs is becoming a pastime of Jeremiah.

An Exciting Saturday Night

Yesterday, Jeremiah tried to promote inter-agency understanding and camaraderie by accompanying his mates to the Alun Alun Selatan (South Square) to pay homage to the traditional local game of trying to walk between the two trees in the middle of the square blindfolded. The locals believe that if one does so successfully, he would have his wish come true.

The alun alun was bustling with families and students attempting the walk or launching light bulb contraptions into the air with catapults. After successfully completing the walk, Jeremiah adjourned for wedang ronde, a traditionally Javanese dessert akin to our cheng ting, at one of the roadside stalls lining the alun alun.

Jeremiah's biggest takeaway? Even if you are blindfolded, keep walking. It will bring you somewhere. Fail to reach your destination? Try again. You will get there.

The Power of Friends

As a marketing tool, word of mouth has traditionally been neglected as compared to its cousins like media advertising etc, though not by the brewers of Bir Bintang.

The label on Jeremiah's half-consumed Bir Bintang can reads, "Delicious Consumed Together With Friends".

Would you like to drink with Jeremiah? Maybe it would make his stale beer taste better.

The Things They Do in KSA

Go Hissa! You have Jeremiah's vote.

========

Veiled Saudi poet rises to stardom after bashing clerics

By Wissam Keyrouz (AFP)

23 March 2010

DUBAI — A Saudi housewife's bold poems which blast "evil" extremist fatwas by Muslim clerics have earned her death threats but could yet win her a 1.3-million-dollar poetry contest on Emirati television.

Ahead of Wednesday's finals of the "Million's Poet" aired weekly on Abu Dhabi state television, the poems have put Hissa Hilal, who wears a traditional head-to-toe black "abaya" cloak and veils her face, in the spotlight.

If on March 31 she is announced the winner, she will walk away with the grand prize from the competition, which draws masters of bedouin dialect poetry, known as Nabati, which is highly appreciated by Gulf Arabs.

But Hilal has drawn the wrath of Islamist conservatives in her country after criticising its strict segregation of the sexes and blasting fatwas that reject an easing to allow women to take on jobs that are currently for men only.

The Saudi mother's loud opinions have resulted in death threats on Islamist websites like Ana Al-Muslim, an online forum known for posting messages from Al-Qaeda, the Saudi daily Al-Watan said.

A participant in the forum even asked for her address, in an apparent threat to kill her.

"Of course, my husband, my family and I are afraid," she told AFP, adding that she has not been contacted directly with threats.

Hilal, who has not been to university, said that through her poems, she wants to "fight extremism, which has become a worrying phenomenon."

"A few years ago, society was more open. Now, things have become heavier. Some men do not even shake hands with female family members as they did in the past," she said.

In her poem entitled "The Chaos of Fatwas," which she has recited during the popular televised competition, she boldly charged that the "evil comes from those fatwas."

She compared their authors to "monsters wearing belts," an apparent reference to explosive belts worn by suicide bombers.

The contest's panel praised Hilal's courage for expressing her opinion "honestly and powerfully," giving her the highest score of last Wednesday's round at 47 out of 50.

Videos of Hilal's recital of the poem are available on the Internet.

The poem was seen as hitting out at Saudi cleric Abdul Rahman al-Barrak, who issued a fatwa last month calling for those promoting a mixing of the sexes in education and at the workplace to be put to death.

Hilal said, however, that she was not referring to Barrak's fatwa in particular, but said that she was "against the idea of killing a human being because of his beliefs."

She considers the mixing of men and women at work "a necessity for daily life."

"We are always told: haram," or prohibited, she lamented. "This dangerous extremism is no longer limited to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, but has spread to other countries like Egypt, Jordan and Syria."

Radical Saudi clerics were infuriated when the reform-minded King Abdullah inaugurated in September the kingdom's first mixed-gender university, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, on the Red Sea coast.

"Saudi Arabia has made great strides over the past five years" to improve women's status, Hilal said, praising the "courage" of the Saudi monarch.

In an attempt to prove his commitment to improving the status of women, the king appointed Norah al-Fayez deputy minister of education for women's education in 2009, the first appointment of a woman to a ministerial post.

Women in Saudi Arabia must cover from head to toe in public. They are also forbidden to drive and can not travel without a male guardian, while segregation rules severely restrict work opportunities for women.

Store Your Water in Your Safe

Splashed on Page 2 of today's The Jakarta Post is a photo story on water conservation.

The caption is as follows:

Miss Environment Zukhriatul Hafizah splashes water during a peaceful campaign to raise awareness on the importance of saving water at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, on Monday. The campaign was held in conjunction with World Water Day on March 22.

Like Ms Zukhriatual, Jeremiah wants his water to be safe (for drinking) too!

Hati-hati Interferensi (Beware of Interference)

Prior to taking up Bahasa Indonesia, Jeremiah was forwarned by his colleagues that he might have to unlearn some Bahasa Melayu as quite a few words in Bahasa Melayu had different meanings in Bahasa Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia can also be gramatically more complex than Bahasa Melayu in some instances.

For example, in Bahasa Melayu, "polis" means "police" while "polisi" means "policy" (e.g. insurance policy). In Bahasa Indonesia, the converse is true. Another example: "kereta" means "train" in Bahasa Indonesia and "car" in Bahasa Melayu.

A common joke here is about "pusing", e.g. a Malaysian arrives in Indonesia and asks his driver to "pusing pusing saja" ("just drive around"). "Pusing", however, means headache in Indonesia and the confused driver might interpret the instructions as "drive around until my head aches".

Jeremiah at first laughed off his colleagues' warning. Alas, Singaporeans are exposed to more Bahasa Melayu than they realised, even if they have not formally learnt Bahasa Melayu. He is now frantically trying to limit the interference, Insha'llah.

Luckily for him, invocations of God do not go wrong. Al-humdulliah.

An Angry Mother

Situated alongside the Gajah Wong river, Museum Affandi is an oasis of calm tucked in a busy suburb of Yogja. Featuring paintings by the late renowned Indonesian expressionist artist Affandi, the Museum, though small, is bursting with artistic energy. Designed by Affandi, the musuem also used to double up as a family living quarters. The tomb of Affandi is within the compound. So great was Affandi's attachment to his family and art that he had wanted to be buried in the compound.

Of the many vibrant items in the collection, the ones that struck Jeremiah most were Affandi's pieces on his mother. They were all oil on canvas. The first photo is of a transitive piece depicting Ibu Affandi's angry reaction when Affandi decided to leave her to study in New Delhi.

The most moving painting in the collection would be that of Ibu Affandi with her anger (about Affandi going away) having given way to sadness and resignation. It was an image that Jeremiah could not get out of his head. The best art, it seems, imitates life?

A Tale of Two Canteens

Before going over to Indonesia, Jeremiah was forewarned about the skewed distribution of wealth in Indonesia. Although it was not as acute as Jeremiah had thought it would be, it had nonetheless been lurking in the background over the past couple of weeks, as exemplified by Jeremiah's campus.

The faculty where Jeremiah goes to school, for instance, is less well-endowed with facilities than the economics faculty next door. The latter has multi-storey, modern-looking buildings with powerful WiFi and huge toilets. It even enforces a dress code -- T-shirts, shorts and sandals are not allowed.

Even the canteens are different. The one at the economics faculty is cleaner and has air-con.

The other one is shared between a few faculties, and is open-air. Yet, it has a distinct beat to it that is lacking in the economics canteen. Students hang out there. It is more lively. There are more food stalls and hence greater choice. There is even a small kiosk offering top-up services for pre-paid mobile lines. It has saved Jeremiah's butt on quite a few occasions.

The Economics of Cup Noodles

Jeremiah has been eating cup noodles quite a bit over the past few weeks. He has tried the various brands of cup noodles available here, ranging from the humble and least inexpensive Indomie cup noodles (S$0.50) to the most pricey Korean kimchi noodes (S$2).

One thing Jeremiah could not fathom was why all the various cup noodles came with forks in them. Afterall, the manufacturers, expecially the lower-end ones, could cut back on costs if they did not include the forks.

It was only today that he figured out why. Though a humble product elsewhere, cup noodles, even the least expensive ones, are quite "luxurious" here. When eating instant noodles, less well-off Indonesians would often buy packet instant noodles, which are about one-fifth the price of cup noodles, and add boiling water to the noodles before eating them.

The times we tend to take for granted at times...

Yogja, Round 2

After spending a short weekend in Singapore to decompress, Jeremiah is now back in Yogjakarta and ready for Round 2 of his Bahasa Indonesia training. Jeremiah would like to thank those who met up with him over the past few days. Thanks for providing a listening ear and for taking the time of your busy schedule to meet up. Jeremiah is also thankful to those who indulged his craving for Japanese food and is amazed by M, who guessed his craving for Japanese food. You are the best =) Terima kasih!

On a side note, the cabin crew did not have any immigration cards and customs forms on board during Jeremiah's flight from Singapore to Yogja. They were only distributed at the immigration counter in Yogja upon touch-down. The scene at the immigration counter was a tad hilarious.

At the line for foreign passports holders (who were mostly Singaporeans), the line was quite long. However, everyone was busy filling up their immigration and customs forms, with bored immigration officers at the counters looking bored from waiting. After helping an elderly Singaporean lady and her family get the necessary cards and forms, Jeremiah figured that the immigration officers would not give a hoot if he did not complete the departure segment of his immigration card and customs form, so long as the arrival section of the immigration card was completed. Hence, Jeremiah completed the arrival segment, mentioned aloud that he had completed the documents and was quckly ushered to the front of the line. The immigration officer at the counter behaved as predicted. Jeremiah managed to clear immigration quickly and after which he then completed his customs form. When he left the airport, he could still see people filling up their forms.

Local knowledge is important =)

Shopping on the Go, Indon-style

Yogjakarta is a renowned shopping paradise. Batik, art, wood and silver products can be found readily in Yogjakarta, often at a fraction of the price they command in Jakarta and outside of Indonesia. At Jalan Malioboro, the main thoroughfare in Yogjarkata, small warungs (stalls) selling food and trinkets line the street alongside shops, contributing to a festive atmosphere. Navigating Jalan Maliboro on weekends can be as challenging as making your way through Chinatown in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year.

Outside of the tourist strip and in certain parts of town, warungs are also a common sight. The route that Jeremiah takes every day to and from the gym, for instance, is packed with warungs on the pavement and the road shoulder. They sell a wide range of products including durians (as per the photo above), cooked food, drinks, sunglasses, rat poison and rabbits (hopefully as pets). When the locals see products that they want, they would pull over and do the necessary. From time to time, the stallholders would also tout passerbys.

Obviously, the overhead for such a set-up is low as the stall-holders do not need to pay rent and, possibly, tax. All these often translates into more competitive prices for the consumer. Welcome to shopping on the go, Indon-style.

Learning Bahasa Indonesia

A common difficulty faced by learners of Bahasa Indonesia is the use of affixes. Different situations call the use of different affixes. On top of that, a particular affix takes different forms, depending on what is the first letter of the word that it will be attached to.

For instance, the affix "men" takes the form of
(a) "me" if the first letter of the word is l, m, n, r, w, y, "ny"
(b) "mem" if the first letter is b, p, f, v (if p, then the p is dropped in the process)
(c) "men" if the first letter is d, t, j, c ,z (if t, then the t is dropped in the process)
(d) "meny" if the first letter is s, but the s is dropped in the process
(e) "meng" if the first letter is k, g, "kh", a, e, i, o, u (if k, then the k is dropped in the process)
(f) "menge" if the word is an one-syllable word.

When explaining this set of rules the other day, Jeremiah's grammar teacher said that there was no need to memorize the rules. Instead, it would suffice to remember the phonetic rationale for the rules as illustrated in the photo.

Hands up and out if you had at one point or another told Jeremiah that Bahasa Indonesia was an easy language.

If I Have a Million Dollars

Jeremiah came across this old ringtone of his in his handphone. It is one of the ultimate ah beng songs. Enjoy!

Excuse Me, Are You a Singaporean?

Jeremiah bumped into a fellow Singaporean today at the water section of a local supermarket. The other Singaporean was in Yogjakarta on business and was staying at a hotel next to the supermarket where Jeremiah was shopping. He looked like a Singaporean and when Jeremiah saw him checking out the price of the various brands of water on sale, Jeremiah knew that he had to be a Singaporean.

Singaporeans, it seems, are always on the lookout for a good deal when shopping.

How Much is Your Trishaw?

Of late, Jeremiah has been taking bacaks, the Indonesian version of the trishaw, quite a bit over the past two weeks. One is supposed to haggle with the bacak operator the cost of the ride before the start of the journey.


A typical exchange would be as follows:

Jeremiah: Ke Galleria Mall, berapa harganya?
*Confused look and after a pause* Becak Operator: 20,000 Rupiah
*Shakes Head" Jeremiah: Mahal sekali! [Very expensive]


Berapa harganya literally means how much is that. However, Jeremiah just learnt today that it should only be used for goods. For services, one should use berapa onkosnya . When Jeremiah asked berapa harganya , the becak operators could have interpreted the question as how much their becaks cost. Hence the confused looks.

Oops.

The Art of Wayang

Over the weekend, Jeremiah visited the Kraton, or Royal Palace, in Yogjakarta. The Yogja Kraton is believed to be one of the grandest in Indonesia. Every day of the week, a show highlighting a particular Javanese cultural tradition is staged. When Jeremiah visited, a Wayang Kulit (puppet shadow play) was being performed.

The set up of the Wayang was quite elaborate. The cast, equipment and screen occupied more than half of the pendopo (Javanese open pavilion). There were all in all about 90 to 100 performers for what appeared to be a simple play. Most of the performers were musicians playing the orchestra. The job of the dalang (puppeteer) is one of the most difficult. He must not only pull the strings but must also give the various cues to the rest of the cast, particularly the musicians. This means that he not only controls the puppet but is also the conductor.

Well, Wayang is definitely not for any Tom, Dick or Harry. Wayang is an art. Staging a good Wayang requires skills.