2 weeks later, I sang the national anthem again. This time in Jakarta - at a national day celebration organized by the Singapore Embassy. I sang together with hundreds of other Singaporeans and their families gathered at the Anglo Chinese School.

It felt different. I didn’t feel that connected as when I sang the “Majulah Singapura” with my wife and kids - even though we were just at home in front of the TV set. In Jakarta - at the impressive Anglo Chinese School auditorium - I didn’t sing with gusto. There was no feel.

Could it be because my family was not with me in Jakarta to give that “connection”?  Family has been said to keep you rooted. Frankly, despite meeting so many Singaporeans at the celebration, I didn’tfeel too “Singaporean” compared to when I was with my family at home - watching the parade.

By the way - talking about roots - many Singaporeans I met in Jakarta would have known by now that I am a Singaporean. My Indonesian name is courtesy of my late father who hailed from Central Java. So part of my roots are in Indonesia.

Nevertheless, the Singapore food served at the celebration was quite good. Briyani rice, chicken rice, kaya toast, mie goreng etc. Of course they weren’t as good as the ones in Singapore. But as the Singapore ambassador jested it was meant to be that way so that we would always come back home to have the best and the original. Haha! Nice one Mr Ashok!

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON..

Fandi and youngest son, Iryan. Fandi’s 3 other sons have been scouted by Spanish football club Valencia and Italian giant AC Milan.

Met my former secondary school mate who had just moved to Jakarta with his family. And it was nice to hear football stories from Fandi Ahmad who is coaching a local club. By the way his fifth and youngest child, Iryan shares his birthday with Singapore. Pity, this fact was not known at the celebration. May be next year Iryan can lead in singing the national anthem.Hmmm..but would the 2-year old know how to sing the “Majulah” since he lives abroad?

Being perceived as a rich neighbor comes with certain expectations – namely to assist when the need arises. And being able to be the first to extend a helping hand. Personally, I learnt this a long time ago because I still have many relatives in Central Java. Although I’m sure they are not among the 40 million poor Indonesians, they certainly need help to send their children to school.

Collectively, I believe Singapore has somewhat met this expectation. The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami presented Singaporeans the opportunity to demonstrate that we have our hearts in the right places. Singapore’s contribution may be small compared to the more than US$6 billion raised by international donors for Indonesia. But if you had the chance to visit Meulaboh, West Aceh – you will hear the locals praising Singapore for its “small” efforts. The orphanages, schools, hospital and the pier Singapore helped rebuild mattered to the people.

But one project which I thought touched the people of Meulaboh most was the memorial for those who perished during the Tsunami. No one bothered about the mass grave that became overgrown with bushes and trees. But Mercy Relief spent SGD80,000 to construct the memorial where more than 20,000 residents were buried. Residents now have a decent place to remember their loved ones and offer prayers. This memorial will be remembered for generations to come.

Upon leaving Meulaboh last month, I met Samsul at the airport – actually more of an airstrip. I saw him during my previous visits. He’s the shoeshine man, in his 30’s, retarded and frankly, quite scary looking. And he looks like the street beggars you’ve seen in many parts of Indonesia. But Eddie - a Mercy Relief staff based in Meulaboh - pointed to me that Samsul is not a street begger. I spoke to him for a bit while waiting for our aircraft. He would not take any handouts. He would only take payments for his shoeshine service. He rejected Eddie’s offer of help for materials to build the roof over his damaged house. Instead he asked for leftover materials. Samsul proudly claimed Eddie is his good friend and vice versa. As I was about to board the single-propeller, Samsul proudly opened his shoe-shine box to show a photo of Eddie and him glued on the inside of cover. It moved me.

Samsul had polished thousands of shoes worn by people from different countries that passed through Meulaboh airport to help in the aftermath of the Tsunami. But its Eddie’s that he remembers most. I supposed Samsul sees Eddie as a friend, not just another NGO worker who came to help. I wonder – collectively - is Singapore similarly seen in the same light by most other Indonesians?

There are only 123 dialysis centres in Indonesia catering to an estimated 2 million kidney patients. And only 64 kidney specialists.  Ir’a not difficult to imagine what happened to those who could not get to the dialysis machine in time after waiting in line for so long.

A kidney specialist I met at the dialysis centre echoed the sentiments of many who had close contact with kidney patients when he said desperate situations call for desperate measures. He knew some of his patients had their transplant overseas with kidney purchased from another person whose identity was never revealed. But he couldn’t stop them because he wasn’t able to offer alternatives for them to lead normal lives. This is about saving lives. Organ trading - I hate this term - will continue to flourish because kidney patients want to live. And there are people out there - facing different kinds of desperate situations - who are willing to sell their kidney so that they too can live.

Yes, there are ethical and moral issues that need to be extensivelsy discussed. But let’s not forget that the whole exercise is about saving lives. As experts deliberate, patients continue to perish.

Let’s face it - the middlemen helped save lives too. Without their services, many patients may find it difficult to locate willing donors. Yes, in the case of Indonesia they helped forge documents which should not be condoned. Like other middlemen, they charge for their services. And like in other businesses, there are a number of them who give the industry a bad name by grossly overcharging or under-paying their clients. By all means weed out the bad hats. But to kill their services will dim the hope of kidney patients for a new lease of life. Maybe the middlemen services need to be regulated.

In the light of recent cases of organ trading in Singapore, it’s high time the issue is revisited. But I hope this time round, there’s light at the end of the dark tunnel for kidney patients. This is about saving lives…

So, to gauge how long it takes to travel within Jakarta - you need to take into account Day, Time and Weather. In short, DTW. Simple, right? Ok, here goes..

DAY: DO NOT believe anyone who says it’ll take only a few minutes from point A to point B - IF there’s no macet (traffic jam). There WILL be macet during weekdays - Monday to Friday. It’s worse now because they’re constructing special bus lanes on major roads which they call bus-way. Therefore the space for private vehicles is being squeezed. The macet includes the toll road(expressway) from/to the airport. Here, they are widening and elevating the roads to prevent them from being submerged by flood water -like what happened a few months back.

The rule of thumb is to X2 the time quoted by the driver to take you to your destination during weekdays. You can breathe easier on Saturday and Sunday. BUT do remember that there’s a CAR FREE DAY every last Sunday of the month. The main road - Jalan Sudirman and Thamrin (it’s like Singapore’s Shenton Way) - will be closed to traffic from early morning till about 4 or 5pm. There’s a silly reason behind this initiative which I would rather not go into. My purpose in raising this point is that this CAR FREE DAY causes MACET on SUNDAY! Argh!!!

TIME: There’s hardly any time that Jakarta roads are not clogged with traffic. However the worst part of the day is 7.30am-10.30am and 4pm-8pm - on weekdays. And also lunch time between 12-2pm. If you’re in Jakarta for leisure, it’s better to remain indoors between 4pm-8pm. And if you’re in the capital for business, it’s best you keep to 2 appointments a day.

Avoid arriving in Jakarta between 5pm and 8pm. The 45 min journey from the airport to centre of Jakarta may stretch to  1.5hr to 2 hrs. So you see what I mean? There’s very little time when there’s no macet.

Oh yes…if you’re leaving for the airport between 6pm and 8pm, I suggest you give yourself an extra 15 mins on top of the 1 hour regular journey. That’s why I prefer to take the early morning flight - before 8am. Yes…get up at 5am! But I can get to the airport in 35 minutes…haha!

WEATHER: Rain means Macet. Heavy rain for 1 hour means flood. If it’s raining and you have a flight to catch, I suggest you turn on the radio or tv to check if the road to the airport is still passable. My personal best time to the airport is 3.5 hours. And the taxi I was in almost turned into a submarine. The wet season usually comes around in the early part of the year. But recently, high tides have also submerged the roads to/from the airport.

So remember DTW. Wait…one more to remember. Street demonstrations or Demo as they call it here. They cause macet on major roads when thousands of Indonesians take to the streets protesting against almost anything. They usually take place in front of the parliament house - which you have to pass if you’re heading towards the airport. Another favourite Demo location in the circle called Bunderen HI - in front of Plaza Indonesia. You may know in advance when the Demo will take place from online news portal such as detik.com.

Finally, if you stuck in Jakarta traffic, you will need lots of vitamin P — Patience.

Yes…I was on leave the past week. And every long school holidays, I turn driver/tour guide for my family who comes to visit me in Jakarta. Not that I begrudge it. I do it willingly simply because I want to spend as much time with them.

My kids have become fascinated with volcanoes in Indonesia following reports of volcanic activities in the country the past few years since I have been here. So this time we headed to Mount Bromo in East Java. This is the 3^rd active volcano we’ve visited after Mount Merapi in Central Java and West Java’s Mount Tangkuban Perahu.

I’m sure many of you have been to Bromo or at least read about it somewhere. Watching the crack of dawn at 2694 meters above sea level was just breathtaking. Mount Semeru was clearly in the background – spewing hot clouds the past week. Crossing the volcano’s “desert” on horse-back to the foot of the crater makes you feel like you’re Indiana Jones. Then the sulphur-choking climb – on foot - to have a ringside view of the volcano’s belly. Don’t forget to bring your puffer if you’re asthmatic.

Yes, of course it was dangerous. Bromo could just release its trapped energy while we were gazing at its belly. That was what happened a few years back. 2 people were killed – one of them was a Singaporean. And guess what? There’s not a single shelter for you to run for cover. And no ranger post either to warn of the impending danger. The only people you had to count on were the locals who run the horse-rental service. They are the Tenggeres – not Javanese. Hindus – not Muslim.

But even if there is a bunker, visitors may have a slim chance of surviving if Bromo decides to release its hot gas and ashes. That was what happened at Mount Merapi 2 years ago. 2 persons were cooked alive after the bunker they were taking shelter was covered by hot volcanic rocks and ashes. During one of my “live” crosses while covering Merapi, Dominic Loh asked me where I would run for cover if the volcano erupted. I simply answered – to the bunker. Hmmm…

Despite the potential risks, people still flock to view the volcanoes up close. Some how – whether as tourists or journalists - you tend not to think too much of the potential dangers when you’re close to the action. Most times you go by gut instinct and trust the judgment of the locals. Too bad if you happen to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time. You’ll miss the beauty of Indonesia if you only go to Bali. Like the sticker on my laptop says: Travel Warning – Indonesia, Dangerously Beautiful.

]]> http://blogs.channelnewsasia.com/sujadi-siswo/2008/06/15/dangerously-beautiful/feed/ http://blogs.channelnewsasia.com/sujadi-siswo/2008/05/28/fueling-trust/ http://blogs.channelnewsasia.com/sujadi-siswo/2008/05/28/fueling-trust/#comments Wed, 28 May 2008 12:54:45 +0000 sujadi-siswo http://blogs.channelnewsasia.com/sujadi-siswo/?p=4 So no more petrol top-ups in Johor Baru for Singaporean motorists. The Malaysian government finally decided enough is enough. With oil prices worldwide soaring, Abdullah Badawis administration could no longer allow foreigners to enjoy subsidized fuel, meant primarily for Malaysians. Yes, I admit, Im one of the hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans who has enjoyed the Malaysian governments generosity.

All this while I never thought I had deprived Malaysians of their share of subsidies whenever I topped up my fuel tank. To me, I was responding to market why pay more when you can pay less?

I continued enjoying subsidized fuel in Indonesia even more because Jakartas fuel price is one of the lowest in Asia. A litre of subsidized petrol costs only about SGD0.80 cents.

But bit by bit, reality began to bite. I no longer could look into the eyes of the Jakarta street beggars at traffic junctions as I counted  my loose change. I felt Ive deprived them of better lives; the street kids of proper education and the sick of better medical. I stopped buying subsidized fuel.

The Indonesian government has successfully convinced me that they are serious and sincere about channeling the fuel subsidies from the better-off vehicle owners to the 19 million poor households. I bought the argument put forward by my favorite Indonesian minister Sri Mulyani (Finance) for the fuel hike. Maybe this is because I’m biased, I personally like her. Maybe also because Im a Singaporean who has learnt to trust the government of the day.

But the Yudhoyono administration is having a tough time convincing its own citizens. Not that Indonesians do not understand the mathematics behind the fuel price increase. Its just that they are still learning to trust the government. You cant totally blame them. The scars of corruption, cronyism and nepotism - KKN in Indonesia - left by the Orde Baru regime have not healed. In fact KKN is still alive in this new democracy. So Indonesians have every reason to be skeptical about this whole exercise of reallocating fuel subsidies to the poor. Time and a more transparent government may one day win them over.

Thereve been daily protests and demonstrations across Indonesia the past few days following the Indonesian governments decision to raise fuel prices. Its expected. Anyway, demonstrations are common here after Reformasi part of democracy as some Indonesians believe. Ive covered many demonstrations since being posted here more than 3 years ago.But this time round the demonstrations are different.

I spent some time with 34 year-old Adian Napitupulu,  while producing the “Special on Reformasi- An Unfinished Agenda”. He was a student activist 10 years ago a militant one who clashed with security forces over a week in the streets of Jakarta. Now hes an urban legend among current student activists and ironically, a law grad. So they seek his advice on how to go about launching their protests against the governments move to raise fuel prices. I was there in his smoke-filled room on the night a month ago as Adian helped strategize for the young lads.

The last few days, I couldnt help but smile when I saw the students take to the streets and clash with riot police. It doesnt matter what the government has to say about the need to raise fuel prices. The students have long made up their minds. The current lot believe its their time to create history just like their predecessors did 10 years ago. I salute their activism and idealism. But someone may have forgotten to tell them that the times have changed. Yudhoyono is not Suharto. Maybe someone did tell them. But in Indonesia, youre not an undergrad unless you have gone out onto the streets fighting for a cause. Participating in demonstrations is part of their ECA.