Adit on Hijab Bylaws

Religious resurgence felt around the world also reverberates to the country. Since a few years ago, many ulamas became instant celebrities (and one also became an instant public enemy) preaching in high class venues to even higher class audience. The resurgence also reached the grassroots level. Such celebrulama are adored by the average citizen as the guiding light. Yet, this religious development isn't directed to the right place.

Due to increased awareness and interest in hijab from Indonesian women, many had decided to wear it. Unlike women in Turkey, Indonesian women are able to wear hijabs as they like, no matter where they are, because they're protected by Pancasila and the constitution. Indonesia has been open to many forms of faith for centuries, and this is also the reason why Islam grew so fast in the archipelago.

Negative connotations about hijabs in the past has changed, and now it is viewed as normal as t-shirts. It was suppressed during past regimes, but as reformation came, the freedom of religion is also recognized. Any women can choose to wear or not to wear hijabs, and if they choose to wear it, they are free to choose how they'll wear it. Hijabs and nonhijabs relationship hasn't been an issue in the society because we have respect for other people's choice.

Sadly, this positive changed is being exploited by politicians and religious zealunatics. Many institutions have made hijab-wearing compulsory, so have many regions throughout the country. Regents and many regional leaders have enacted bylaws forcing its citizens to comply to a certain set of dress code including hijab, labeled as "Islamic". Citizens who fail to do so are at risk of fine. Politicians support these laws as a way to woo religious votes in the local election, while the people itself, in a high of religiosity, easily approve anything called "religious", "moral", or "Islamic" without thinking.

Hijab bylaws are blatant deviations from the constitution of Indonesia. The most severe region is Aceh, where the so-called "Islamic" sharia is used instead of Pancasila. These bylaws deprive citizens of their rights to practice their religion according to what they believe. Faith is in a very private domain, and the govt cannot touch it, not even a little. No law can force people to comply to other people's belief.

To wear or not to wear the hijab, and how to wear it, is strictly a personal choice. Indonesian constitution has guaranteed this right from the very beginning. These bylaws cannot be justified by baseless arguments such as religious majority or "moral improvement". Pancasila and UUD 1945 is not based on any religion, but they do accommodate different religious views and give space for their development. It is then against the law to favor one faith over the other, or to declare one form of faith as "right" and the other as "wrong".

Many scholars, including many leading Muslim scholars, have condemned these bylaws and demanded the govt to evaluate them. They realize that this kind of law is not in any way Islamic since Islam itself doesn't approve of any kind of forcing faith upon others. The path of Islam is a path taken with faith of what someone believe in, not what someone is made to believe. If one chooses to not wear the hijab for real reasons, then she should take the path. No one can say that their path is the most direct way to heaven.

Sadly, the govt seems reluctant to strengthen its own foundation. The new Home Minister shrugged off demands to review the controversial bylaws amid mounting protests. The people who should guard the nation's Pancasila and Constitution are too afraid to lose votes that it prevents them to take real drastic actions.

Adit on Another Month before UN

"The judgement day is near! Prepare yourself, students. Get your hands moving from books to books, tryouts to tryouts." The Ujian Nasional is just another month away, yet it has already impacted many people's life, both in a good way and in a bad way.

The test, conducted on April 22-24, is naturally very appropriate to be dreaded. The number of subjects has doubled from the original three (Math, Bahasa Indonesia, English) to include subjects belonging to specific programs. Yup, students in natural sciences program will have to face physics, biology, and chemistry; students in social sciences will meet sociology, geography, and economics.

Those subjects will be crammed into three days, allegedly caused by limited funding from the govt. The result (for IPA): Bahasa Indonesia gets paired up with math, English with chemistry, and (oh God!) physics settles with biology. This is insane! The govt is going to push students just because the can't allocate adequate fund if the exam goes more than 3 days. This will, of course, raise doubts about the govt's seriousness in the whole UN thing.

If the govt really cares about improving education quality in the country, they should really think about this test. How can they expect a student to endure such a burden? It could only be logical if physics and math are given it's own day so that these essential subjects are given adequate attention by test-takers. I wouldn't mind a day with two tests as long as one of the test is on language.

My propsal: swap biology with math and split math from physics. On the first day, students will face biology and Bahasa Indonesia; on the second, chemistry and English, physics on the third; and math on the last day. This should relieve teachers and studens alike. They are under enough pressure already after the UN is expanded into 6 subjects.

Adit on Nyepi '08

If you don't mind looking at a calendar, you'll find that the 7th of May is a holiday. Our Hindu friends will be celebrating their New Year, famously known as Hari Raya Nyepi. The Island of Gods (and also tourists) will stop its pace for a day to reflect on itself.

The ritual of Nyepi is adapted by the whole island. So during that day, everything will close down. This is due to the conditions of Nyepi: Amati Geni (no fire/light), Amati Karya (no working), Amati Lelunganan (no traveling), and Amati Lelanguan (fasting). Just like previous years, even the airport will not operate during Nyepi.

Look at the calendar again, you'll notice that it falls on a Friday, the day when Muslims go to the mosque for Friday prayer. Well, this is a test whether Indonesia's religious tolerance is based on mutual understanding or simply on ignorance. Muslims living in Bali must respect Nyepi by trying to minimize violations of the Nyepi ritual. They should do the Friday prayer in the nearest mosque, so they can go there on foot rather than car or motorbike. The khatib should also try to lower the volume of the khutbah so that it won't bother their Hindu friends.

The people observing Nyepi should also respect the rights of other religion during Nyepi too. Consequently, they must allow Muslims to go to the mosque that day. It would be very shameful if Muslims aren't allowed to do so while Hindus are allowed the whole island for Nyepi.

Last but not least, the principles of Nyepi itself is quite enlightening. Maybe every other religion can take part in the Nyepi by their own way. Every religion wants its devotees to be close to God, and Nyepi is a good opportunity to do so. It is a time for introspection and prayer, which all religion ask for, not war or disrespect.

Adit on 5cm

Just as I finished saying that life has become so monotonous these days, it turned around 180 degrees or maybe more like twisting around a thousand-something degrees. Every stuff that could happen in the universe decided to gang up on me in the last few days. Tests are coming, yearbook stuffs, and so many unthinkable things. God, forgive me!

Anyway, I also finished reading 5cm and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story follows the life of 5 super-glued friends that decided to split up for 3 months. They wanted to see the world in another frame. And after the 3 months were up, they went...hiking! Where else would we go when we meet someone again? To the top of the highest mountain in Java, Mount Semeru, no doubt.

Now, that was the main part of the story. During their hike, we are taken along on the rugged path, the clear lakes, and the rocky slopes. The hike was a rollercoaster of emotions and thoughts, which are very dominant throughout the book. The author certainly did everything he could to make sure we feel like we're in the mountains as we are reading the book.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed reading 5cm, I wouldn't say that it is a top-notch thing. The book is "oh-yeah-it's-interesting" not "WOW-this-is-just-wonderful". Do you get what I mean?

Some kinda weekend

Where should I start??

School's been a hellish monotony these days: everything comes so just-like-that without any "bang" or "boom", not even an exclamation mark. Tryouts, tests, reviews will surely be an everyday menu soon, just like "Dunia Dalam Berita" was (thank God those days are waaay over). Oh, I hope the UN/US results are worth the sacrifice I had to do! I let my life be thrown into this mess, so I'd better have a "happy ever after" result. End of story.

To be more precise, most of the subjects have finished the sixth semester's topics. We're moving on. From March till UN in April, all we'll have in school is reviews on 6 of UN-ized subjects: Math, Bahasa Indonesia, English, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. And more reviews at home and maybe throw in a little sleep inbetween.

Now, I'm reading a novel titled 5cm. Saw it for a long time in Gramedia, but I only wanted to buy it recently. It was a contemporary novel, so I'm sure I'll finish it no longer than a week; just like I did Dee's Supernova. I'll tell you more about the story later.

Of all people in the world, I saw one of a kind celebrity in PIM today. Guess who? It was Cinta Laura, Mrs. I-can't-speak-Indonesian-fluently. Blurgh...

Grey's Anatomy season one

In a post that I didn't get to publish, I should've told you about my getting season one of Grey's Anatomy DVD. It was fantastic! I became a regular viewer only recently, so when I started to catch up, it was like whoa. Why did it take so long for me to realize that this program is top notch?

I watched all nine episodes in just 3 days, a record for me. I was literally getting pleasure from someone else's pain. When the surgeons were excising a huge tumor in one episode, I really want to take my knife and cut through the tumor myself. In another case, after seing Meredith accidentally punctured a human heart, I strangely has a craving for chicken heart (normally cooked, of course, not some red, beating chicken hearts).

I'm looking forward to watching season two. I guess I've watched some episodes already on Star World, but now I'm armed with knowledge of the previous season. OK, open those bodies!

New PT KA Policy Paints Wrong Picture

What do you get when you mix art and trains in Jakarta?? As much as I want to say that you'll get a uniquely painted trains, I'm afraid that it's not what happens. Instead, you get unfortunate passengers being sprayed with paint.

In an effort to get passengers off the train roof, PT KA deployed innovative "paint squads" to major city train stations. Their task is to spray roof riders with paint so that they can be easily identified when getting off the train at their destinations. These violators will then be processed by officers, but the fine will only be effective after socialization period.

Does it really solve the problem with roof riders?

Jakarta's inadequate public transportation system is very well-known. We don't have any efficient and comfortable form of transportation, and people just flock to existing ones. Jakarta's commuter train system is no different at all. Commuters from all around the city still use it, many in daily basis, simply because they can't choose. Despite its severe lack of capacity and unreliable service, millions use it everyday to continue their lives. Trains are packed with people like stomachs in all-you-can-eat buffets.

In that condition, hundreds of ticket holders are forced to look for extra space -train roof. They can't wait for the next train, because only God knows when it will come. When it does come, who can guarantee that they'll have some space. They just have to take the train, no matter in which part.

PT KA should really hold a mirror to its own malformed face (my condolences to the mirror). It's their responsibility that commuters get enough train services. They can't blame passengers for riding on the roof because they just don't give enough sevice. If PT KA really wants to get roof riders off the trains, they just have to give them space inside the train cars so that there will be no reason to climb on the roof.

Here again...

Another blog, another restart, and here I am. This isn't my very first blog, I had quite a few blogs before and there are some times that I feel disconnected to my own blog. So, I decided to kill them and hide every evidence of their aimless existence.

Still, there's some part of me that says, "Keep blogging, keep blogging! Even Ahmadinejad has one", which makes me ask whether blogging makes Ahmadinejad cool, or Ahmadinejad makes blogging not cool?" Just kidding. In spite of my disagreement with many of his hardline policies, I do admire him for his openness and his strength. Compared to US-ally Saudi Arabia, Iran is a lot more open. Take one case: Iranian women are educated and they can enter the workforce if they wish, while in KSA women aren't allowed to drive.

Enough about the guy in the desert, back to my life. Thanks to CERN guys Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau almost two decades ago, now millions of people are able to pour out their heart and brain, from the high-quality to the just insane, on the internet. Including me.

Just wait, and you can see what I'm thinking about on life. I'll write anything, that's why I name it "Adit on Life". My very personal take on life. Life, hold on tight.