Free Health Care is Not Slavery

I am a medical student; I’m gonna be a doctor in about 5 long, torturous years. People say the process will push me to just an inch away from insanity. And they say if I am to be a doctor, I will have to eat thick books everyday until I die or retire, whichever comes first. And they say doctors will have to deal with annoying patients, which seems to be the category three quarters of all patients fall into. Now, pardon me for what I’ve said. Whoever they are, they made me question the path I have taken so far.

Those stuffs I understand. What I never get is how Indonesians perceive free health care.

As an example, my high school teacher once said that “in the future, doctors in the country will work as public service; that is, they don’t get paid”. He continued on with his dreams of affordable doctor’s fees and drugs -and doctors that will not prosper when the utopian health care system fell down to Indonesia from the heavens. Uncharacteristically, I ignored him and was like “What!? Doctors aren’t slaves!” (regrettably, not out loud) What was he thinking? Sadly, many people share his view on the issue.

Well, I felt a strong urge to clarify one thing: “free (or affordable) health care means that the government comes up with a brilliant idea to manage its money (including your tax money) so that it can PAY some of your medical expenses, if not most of them”. It is the government who will pay the doctors and hospitals for providing their care. If you ask me about the government’s coming-up-with-a-brilliant-idea-to manage-its-money part, I cannot give a conclusive answer, though, since I’m not wacky enough to be a politician. On this occasion, I’m emphasizing the point that the government, instead of the literally sick people, will be the one rewarding health care workers. Raising taxes? Opting to provide minimal coverage only? Cooperating with private companies? I think our lawmakers already have the whole parliament building to wrestle around on this matter.

If the government wants to claim that it has provided health care to all Indonesians and use the claim for campaign material -if you think that I’m referring to our dearest leader SBY…well, I said nothing-, they must allocate enough money to hospitals and community health centers. Additionally, since we are in Indonesia, the government must also must also ensure that fund’s safe passage, lest it will be trapped in some bureaucratic bigwigs’ pockets.

The way I see it, our media today is quite unfair to hospitals. They kept complaining about critical patients being left untreated, some eventually died. They whined about babies “taken hostage” because their parents cannot pay the bills. It’s true that those were terrible tragedies that should’ve never happened in the first place. However, when the newspapers blame state hospitals, they forgot one thing: state hospitals still need money to serve their patients. That money, we understand now, comes from the government. So, when our state hospitals do not have any money, and thus they abandon the sick, it is really the government’s fault.

I could go on and on on this subject, but not now. Through this post, I just want to tell people what “free health care” actually means and prevent their being fooled by misleading campaigns.

Oh My Idol!

Guess what? I was brewing some idea for another post when I suddenly remembered that I haven’t got my vital dose of What The Buck Show lately. No wonder life has been somewhat dull these days. So to the sacred YouTube I went, and What The Buck Show I watched. Of course, the recent Miss USA “opposite marriage” fiasco is up already, with the strong taste of a Michael Buckley production. However, it also reminded me that I’ve been silent on a topic that affects most of the cable-TV-connected world: American Idol!

In case you’ve been too busy picking your nose these months, American Idol is now in its eighth season. Kara DioGuardi joins the panel of judges. There were less wackiness during audition, and even more talent this year. The wild card round was back. The Top 12 surprisingly became the Top 13. A new feature, the “Save”, is introduced –and has been used- to rescue would-be Chris Daughtry or Jennifer Hudson from artistic freedom and independence.

The content of the Top 13 and its order of elimination has been more agreeable to me, compared to previous seasons. The first five people to get the boot, so insignificant that I’m not gonna list them, deserved it. Especially Alexis Grace. I didn’t know she existed until she was voted off. And then I heard something about Megan Joy, who was apparently another contestant on the show. She got kicked off too.

The sixth person we said bye to (the eighth place) had been very sensational from his first audition. Scott McIntyre is visually impaired; people simplify it to “blind”, although holy Wikipedia said he has tunnel vision. OK, he’s blind. His early performances were fantastic, but I felt that he lost his touch in recent shows, including his shout-y last song. Thus, I was more than happy when Seacrest told him good bye.

Next show, Matt Giraud got the lowest number of vote, despite giving one of his more memorable great performances. Lo and behold, he was saved by the judges. And I yay-ed, although not so much. But that save should be used at one point, so I don’t have any issue with it. As a result, the following week (this week) two contestants will be eliminated.

Fortunately, Giraud escaped the bottom three this week. Imagine the shame if he did. Instead, there were Lil Rounds, “Slumdog” Anoop Desai, and Alison Iraheta in the dreaded place. Both Lil Rounds and Anoop got chopped off the show; that I can understand. Yet, it’s too bad that Alison was there too.

Now, there are only 5 people left: Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud, and Alison Iraheta. They are all fantabulous and I can’t really decide who to root for. Nevertheless, I predict that we’re going to have an all-male Top 4. From there, I don’t really care who goes to the final and win. I will still watch American Idol religiously anyway.

Never Too Late for Earth, and for Ourselves

 Just a few days ago, April 22, a part of the world’s population celebrated another day for our one and only home in the universe: Earth Day. This post is a little off-schedule because I was trapped in the web of school assignments and exams; however, I’m back – and I’m on my holiday. I decided that I can still do my Earth Day post now, since every day is always an Earth day. I would like to highlight the importance of religion and religious figures in the joint effort to keep this Earth comfortably habitable.

The trend of religious resurgence, in all kinds of religions, has been quite drastic these years, especially in Indonesia. More people are turning to religious figures for a splash of wisdom and a breeze of serenity compared to, let’s say 5 years ago. Thus, even more religious figures enjoy the level of fame –and fortune- usually reserved for models, singers, and sinetron actors/actresses. They pop virtually everywhere: talk shows, gossips, traditional religious service programs, and the frequent REG<spasi> advertisements (even though I don’t really agree with what they’re selling there; “heavenly” ringtones, anyone?) They now wield an awesome influence over the country’s believers community.

That’s why I strongly believe in the virtue of promoting environmental values through religions and their people. I myself had a personal experience on that matter when I was in high school. I went to a private Islamic high school, but not a madrasa where students only study scriptures and strict separation between sexes exists. It was a normal high school with an added value, for a lack of better term.

Anyway, each month a student gets the burden opportunity of delivering the sermon before Friday prayers, chosen arbitrarily by the Islamic studies teacher. Being the nice and well-mannered student that I always am, she decided that I should get the chance to take the podium and preach. How could I say no?

Well, I could; but I wanted to rise up to the challenge and gave her a confident yes. Obviously, I also desired to serve something different, so I defied expectations and wrote a sermon about protecting the environment. At that time, I felt that the school need some shakes on the shoulder to remind them about environmental issues; it’s the new in stuff. I built my green case with real data and scientific explanations; I quoted the Qur’an, Muhammad, Gandhi, and many others. And I stood up there to tell the story.

The sermon caught the full attention of the congregation, despite the mediocre delivery that I regret so badly. It was nowhere near bad or abstruse, but there were some things I would’ve done differently. From where I was standing, at least I felt that everybody was awake and people actually paid close attention to my sermon. I got many positive feedback from my peers and teachers, some highlighted my breaking the unwritten, unspoken rules of tedious Friday sermons, and my bringing up a fresh topic of the world we’re living in.

It was a couple or so years ago; Earth Day 2009 seems to be a great day to reflect on that experience. I have realized that can learn about many precious things from that specific moment in my life. First, we don’t need to introduce environmental issue into religion per se because it has been there all along. Since I am a Muslim, I browsed several verses of the Qur’an and easily found verses touching the ecology and mankind’s responsibility toward the God-given Earth, both textually and contextually. I think other religions have such materials too – what kind of religion wants its followers to end up in a doomed planet? (No offense to any doomsday cult)

Second, people can accept religion making environmental cases and stances, and they are happy about it. This is certainly a good news because it means that religious figures make up another group of potential green crusaders. Imagine Qur’an recitals or Sunday masses encouraging its congregation to abstain from plastic bags or to print on both sides of the paper. Third, the environment is a topic on which all religions could work together in harmony. Of course, everyone is entitled to his/her own opinions; but when green issues forces people from various beliefs to cooperate, that’s another step towards tolerance and mutual understanding. Just what the world needs right now, amid the hatred that has permeated the air. We have to realize that no one religion is the “king” of the Earth and that we share a huge responsibility of taking care of this Earth, regardless of what deity/supreme being/concept we believe in.

Are we ready to harness the full potential of our beliefs for the sake of our Earth? There is no line that separates religious matters from environmental issues; in fact, respect for the environment is an important part of any belief. Someone should stand up and speak it really loud. Starting from YOU. Yeah, you!

To All Twelfth Graders of Indonesia

Ah, the national exam…Last year, we had it “good” in one way or another. The government insisted on holding the fateful test despite widespread protests. They also doubled our workload, and our stress levels too. We were the first batch to go through six-subjects national exam; our seniors did only three subjects. In effect, our teachers and principals were forced to pump out all efforts to make sure everyone graduates on time with scores as high as possible. Arranging special hours on the tested subjects, going to tutorial services/huge-money-extortionist, and hunting the previous year’s test papers (anything more recent than that clearly violates the law, and it’s lame).

Probably you are experiencing something similar now. All the anticipation building up in your head and stomach. Various visions of worst- and best-case scenarios. Reciting prayers you’ve never known before and doing rituals you eschew in normal times. The feeling that you are still missing an important piece of information that will prove useful in the exam. The fear of making a ridiculous simple mistake. Don’t you just wanna explode? However, I’m not making this post to scare anyone. In fact, I’m doing the very opposite of scaring people.

I am hoping that all twelfth graders in the country, who will have their tests starting April 20, will get the best results for all the preparations they’ve made. Special prayers goes out for the students of my high school, Al-Azhar 1 Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta. Don’t you let your teachers and parents down. Additionally, climb up that Top 10 High School ladder once again!

I believe that you have studied all the topics that they will dish out in the exam. (Otherwise, you’re pretty much screwed) With only a day left, there’s no time to catch up on anything and seriously, no screaming and stressing out over the 5-days-for-eternity - We have enough depressed people right now.

Tomorrow is your cool-off day and don’t underestimate the power of cooling off. Your brain has been working it’s ass off (weird choice of words, I know) and I bet it’s on the verge of setting itself aflame. So, calm down and be cool. You won’t lose anything by not touching the books in a day.

I hope that you can easily dig out your knowledge to answer all the questions. It would be very sad to just know about the question but you can’t seem to pinpoint its answer. Last, I seriously wishes you tons and tons of good luck. Believe me, you need it.

Taking the Hit a.k.a. Dashed Dreams

By this time, the fact is established that the current KPU members screwed up in their job and (dis)organized what many Indonesians see as the worst election in the country’s history. Some people excluded the elections during Soeharto’s time for being “undemocratic”, counting only the 1955 and post-reform elections; yet, they still say this election’s the worst of them all. They totally messed up big time in this election; don’t expect them to be able to arrange a full-scale traditional Javanese wedding ceremony with all its details.

The committee has been slammed over and over by various organizations and political parties (except the victorious incumbent’s, of course). In fact, I think the newspapers said that huge lawsuits are coming their way full speed. Errmm…KPU, good luck(?) The barricade looks good in front of your office, and my grandma said that it has a nostalgic value: it reminds her of Japanese colonial times in Jakarta during WWII.

However, KPU is not the only one taking a gargantuan hit after the election. Legislative candidates, half-affectionately called caleg, must also face the looming disaster of not getting that prestigious, money-showered representative seat. And some of them have already failed to cope with things going the wrong way. There are at least two types of stories from abortive calegs: the sad and the ironically funny, and perhaps a few that fits in both categories.

The sad stories are rather predictable. Calegs being suicidal are starting to (not) surprise us in the news. One female caleg from West Java, sources said she was pregnant, was found hanging in a hut in the middle of a rice field. Other failed calegs followed suit and ended their life after learning that they didn’t get a significant number of vote. Similarly, campaign managers of these calegs are joining the cruel trend too.

Another kind of sad story can be found more often: calegs from various parts of the country admitted into mental institutions. Some calegs and their family members prefer –maybe “were sent to” is more accurate- psychiatric hospitals, which have been on high alert status special for this election. I must say that the anticipation is one rare act of prepared prevention in this whatever-goes country. Also special for this election, those hospitals have equipped themselves with better amenities to accommodate these guys. Other calegs chose to enlist the help of spiritual gurus to guide them and ease the pain. Bathing in sacred lakes, holy waters, unintelligible prayers, or maybe more mainstream religious services like midnight prayers and Qur’an recital for muslims.

All of them are suffering from depression, ranging from mild to severe. They refuse to eat, talk, take a shower, and more than a few opt to bare everything, if you know what I mean. More belligerent calegs keep screaming at the open skies, demanding that their campaign money be given back. Not that strange, though, seeing that they’ve spent all of their assets to fund their campaigns and it’s very possible that they have taken out huge loans to add to the burden now.

Next, we have the funny stories. Let me start with this one: a caleg, who had donated carpets to a local mosque hoping to secure 20 votes from its Qur’an recital group, took the carpets back after somehow learning that he/she (sorry, got this one from Indonesian news) got only 19 votes. In a not-so-different fashion, candidates who gave out “cash donations” to his/her would-be constituents are now actively withdrawing those gifts. According to my mom, a TV news reported that a candidate who contributed his money to repair local roads tried to damage it back to its original condition, obviously because he lost. A more recent news covered a syukuran celebration of a failed caleg. He is very proud to say that he’d rather have a party than be sucked into a depressed state of mind. Either that or he’s just plainly went nuts.

These stories can tell us many things. First, the new election system put even more pressure on individuals running for office since they must compete with candidates from other parties and his/her own party. That translates to the necessity for more campaign materials and "contributions”. Second, because of all the costs, running for office requires lots of money that, sadly, doesn’t grow on trees. Life’s unfair, when you have little money. Third, our calegs haven’t quite grasped the concept of fundraising. Instead of owing here, there, and everywhere; calegs should have directly asked their supporters for donations to enhance their causes. Should they be elected, calegs pay the money back by actually serving those people, like making sensible laws and not sleeping on the job. If you see it like I do, these debt-ridden campaigns the calegs ran are clearly another form of gambling. Last, I must emphasize what people had said all this time, “they’ve spent so much money now and eventually, they will ‘multiply’ that amount in five years while being overpaid representatives.”

Man, this is sooo your Kryptonite!

Notes from a Grandson

Last Sunday, April 12, 2009, my big extended family celebrated the 70th birthday of my grandfather. As expected, great food abounded, some of which my mom supplied from the roadside stalls of my high school. This isn’t the first time we played out this strategy, and as usual, it proved to be a hit. There happened to be some singing too. Hmm...I’ll put it this way: it’s like the audition for American Idol, properly-sang songs were few and far between; however, you just really have to love it. Otherwise, my mom wouldn’t hesitate to chop me up and serve my meat for the next party we’re having.

Festivities aside, there were moments that really made the day what it is: an expression of gratitude and a rare opportunity to discover an essential part of my family’s history, plus precious life lessons my grandpa inherited from his ancestors. The event was somewhat different from my family’s typical birthday party. Before we got to the tempting lunch part, the day began with speeches and testimonials from people who had been around my grandpa for all these times.

There was one of his younger brother who spoke about his admiration for his older brother’s tenacity and hard work, reflecting on the hard days of yore when they were still students. My grandpa’s colleague, and friend, for more than 40 years reminisced about the days when they were in medical school (FKUI, yay!) and finally became pediatricians. He also told about the times when the three of them (my grandpa, grandma, and himself) had to relentlessly fight their way to establish the pediatric pulmonology field in the hospital and university. A former student of his, now a senior pediatrician, also shared his experiences when he was taught by my grandpa, whom he regards as a “real teacher”.

Then, my grandpa did a speech, which was so inspirational that some of the audience wished their family were there to hear it themselves. He began with a short history of his parents and ancestors. His father was a widely-respected village head in Ponorogo, East Java. He was known for his dedication and pluralism, uniting the so-called nasakom (nationalist, religious, and communist) of that time. He stepped down only when Suharto took the presidency because he was asked to force the villagers to vote for Golkar.

On a side note, I have experienced my great grandpa’s legacy myself: whenever I mention his house to a Ponorogo senior citizen, they always mention it as the village head’s house – almost half a century after his letting go of the position and more than 15 years after his death.

My grandpa continued on, into the topic of his being a doctor. This part was very revealing, especially for me, since there were soo many information I never knew before. Apparently, after graduating from a high school in Madiun, he tried out for three universities: the medical school in University of Indonesia (once again FKUI, yay!), the med school in Airlangga University, and Bandung Institute of Technology. Well, he got accepted to FKUI and became a doctor in 1965. He originally wanted to continue his studies to become an internist; yet, he didn’t pass the selection. That’s the point where he was offered a chance in pediatrics. Noting that his wife (my grandma, they’re already married by that time) was already accepted in pediatrics, he said yes to the offer.

Just a few years later, my grandparents and their colleagues established the pediatric pulmonology field, despite challenges from many people. At one point in the heat of things, my grandpa was told to go on a leave for a while as a time to refresh himself and clear his mind. Fortunately, they got the support from a professor and achieved their first goal. He ended the touching speech with ancient Javanese adages which had guided him all these years.

The whole thing made me a genuinely proud grandson, who aspire to be like him. It really was an inspiration and a motivation for me to keep going through the trials and tribulation of med school. His life story reminds me to always go for that extra mile, the mile that only extraordinary people would tread. Last, he is also well-known as a down-to-earth person, one who never forgets his roots - and he’s a person of great social values too.

This piece of writing is dedicated to my grandfather, whom I admire very very much.

A Big Week…

not counting the elections.

I’m going to get somewhat more personal in this post since this week is extra huge for me. First things first, your dearest blogger turned 18 last Monday, April 6. Woohoo! Yay-ya! Obviously I have been very happy, especially because this is my first birthday in the university. Compared to less than a year ago, I have gained a crowd of new friends who gladly splat new dazzling colors to my canvas of life. Thank you everyone! Thank you Facebook for facilitating people to congratulate each other on their special moments.

Looking at the other side, some people do freak out when their birthdays are coming as it means they are another year closer to their deaths –and receding hairline or being committed. Me? I just don’t buy into all these depressing stuffs. Like it or not, we grow older each day, regardless of our feeling gloomy or glowy about it; I’m telling ya, there’s just no stopping the natural process of aging. (Just don’t bring up the topic of cellular aging, unless you really hate me) What we can do is to age gracefully, like Madonna and George Clooney did.

What matters most is that we always strive for the best, that we live up to the fullest of our potentials, and that we are not even thinking playing small. In my case, I want to be a great doctor and contribute to, at least, the people of my nation. I will also rise to the challenge if I’m offered the chance to contribute in a larger scale. I have a desire to help the progress of this country to the right direction, save being a legislative candidate in Indonesia. I simply don’t think it’s my way, unless something extraordinary happens.

This week also includes the date April 10. It is a very very personal date for me. You can check this post from exactly a year ago, but I don’t think there’s enough clue there. You want the truth? On April 10, 2008, I received the letter from University of Indonesia stating that I got directly accepted to its Faculty of Medicine. It was the first time I can actually be sure that my life would take the path I intended, FKUI. God, Thank You so much for guiding me to where I am now!

Last but seriously not least, –seriously!- April 12 is my maternal grandpa's birthday. He, and my maternal grandma, are my inspiration and motivation. I wouldn’t be who I am right now without their help and guidance. They are the ones who inspired me to become a doctor, since they are excellent pediatricians themselves. I always look up to them; in fact, I want to be like them as I grow up.

Oh, phew…it certainly feels nice to get a tad emotional, in a positive way, at times.

April 9, 2009. It’s Here, After All.

Well well well, what have we here? Oh my, it’s the “celebration of democracy”, Indonesian-style! This morning from 8 AM till noon, Indonesian citizens who are lucky enough to get into the much-criticized Permanent Voters List a.k.a. DPT –and I really mean lucky like the blessings of a hundred angels smacked right into your face- flocked to local voting booths to cast their votes and hopefully get this country back on the right track. Evidently, the streets were somewhat abandoned until noon when people finished voting; then all Jakarta broke loose to the malls.

I want to be a polite guy; therefore, I believe the General Elections Commission (KPU) deserve some strictly-rudimentary compliments for finally holding the elections on time. That’s it. My compliment is valued roughly the same as your you-look-nice-today comments that you give to people because you just want to be, well, polite.

For what it’s worth, this legislative election is nowhere near perfect. Screw it, I think perfection itself is trying hard to run away from this election. Very sad and depressing, but frustratingly true. Ask your local voting organizer and they will happily confirm that the 2004 elections were far more neatly organized.

As predicted, if registered voters who chose to not vote (colloquially called golput) were to found their own party, they would be one of the biggest fraction in the Parliament, easily beating out mid-size parties. There are various explanations for this phenomenon. First, it has been widely reported –and often denied by KPU- that the DPT is messed up. Ghost voters, dead would-have-been voters, underage voters (whoa, talk about youth involvement!), and the millions of potential voters -first-time and umpteenth-time alike- who were left out of the list. Example: my grandparents, who have been living in the same address for like 50 years and have voted in the 2004 and Jakarta gubernatorial elections. These people are accidental golputs.

Second, there are people who are fazed by the number of parties and candidates competing in the election and by the complexity of the process. Don’t count them with your fingers: there are 38 political parties nationwide, plus another 6 in Aceh. Some field as many as 20ish candidates in each electoral district they enter. That translates to huge ballots which, I might frankly say, look utterly ridiculous. More importantly, it actually deterred people from exercising their right to vote. Third, there are people who doesn’t freakin’ care anymore about the election and wish that Simon Cowell be the next President of Indonesia. OK, I made up the second half of that sentence. These people have lost faith in the power of the election in changing the country; a stance that I myself can understand and we must respect. They are the real golputs, who think that golput is better than being represented by a clown.

No wonder many Jakartans opted to spend the long weekend away from home. Bandung, Bali, and what have they.

The shabby DPT is just one slice in the messed-up-election pie. From what I can gather from a number of news sources, there are obviously problems with campaign violations, logistics, socialization of the new system, vote-buying (including the famous serangan fajar, which is vote-buying in the early hours before the election), and allegations of manipulations to give advantage to a certain party. I’m gonna shut up now since I don’t want to be “visited” by police officers in the near future, or forever for that matter.

Anyway, I hope you, registered voters, have done your patriotic duty to mencontreng, but not mencoblos, your persons or party of choice. We may not think alike, and I just might even hate your choice; but hey, it’s your right to vote for what you believe in. At the end of the day, we all want the best for our beloved Indonesia, don’t we?

One more thing, the DPT issue is not your local voting booth organizers’ fault. KPU and the Ministry of Home Affairs have been shamelessly pointing their fingers to each other as the source of this brouhaha. In my case, the organizers have worked very hard to update the DPT so that it completely lists potential voters; however, their efforts were ignored by officials. In this spirit, I urge you to thank these organizers as they are your very neighbors who have worked hard, despite all the hardship KPU had thrown them, to make sure that this election can run as smoothly as possible.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Voter

In the new open-list proportional representation system used in this year’s legislative election, voters will directly choose the guy or girl they want to represent them in the House (DPR). The change forces candidates for DPR and DPRD alike to prove their individual mettle, since they can no longer rely on their strong nepotism connection “merits” in the eye of the party. Thus, the flashy nomor jadi on the top of the lists are not so coveted anymore (although I will still think twice whether I want to vote for someone listed in number 20). Each candidate must kick their rivals from other parties plus his/her own party, and come out on top.

In a perfect world, the candidates would compete against each other by showing off their ideologies, their platform, and track records so that people would be convinced to tick their names on the ballot. They would list out what they’ve done to improve their constituents’ lives and set an agenda if they get elected. However, this world, especially this election, is evidently nowhere near perfect. The sudden system change caught candidates unprepared with their campaign materials. Most of them, if not all, only managed to crank out tasteless stickers, posters, and huge banners adorned with their huge faces and number. Quite a lot of these banners simply crossed the line into Wackytopia, as I’ve commented in previous posts.

If it is the case, then only famous candidates can win the hearts and votes of the masses. No wonder candidates/stars are scattered in various districts, running for a seat through all kinds of parties. One prominent party even acquired a new nickname due to the numerous celebrities in its list of aspiring lawmakers. PAN, which actually stands for Partai Amanat Nasional (National Mandate Party), is being popularly renamed as Partai Artis Nasional (National Celebrity Party).

I myself have observed a phenomenon closer to home. A young, good-looking candidate from Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra is stealing the hearts of my friends in the uni. The guy is 28-years old Budisatrio Djiwandono, running for a seat in DPR for DKI Jakarta 2 electoral district which includes South Jakarta, Central Jakarta, and Overseas voters. (If you really wanna know, a search on facebook will unsurprisingly take you to his fan page). He swept many of my friends who happen to be girls off their feet; I haven’t checked on the guys yet. My friends have set their heart to ticking his name on April 9.

You see, these friends I’m talking about don’t really care about politics in normal times. Legislators could wrestle nude in the Parliament building or elect a monkey as the Speaker of the House, and my friends would still talk about what’s on E! last night. That’s why their newfound interest in politics is rather surprising and intriguing. The election committee has tried all moves in its book to attract voters, only to fail again and again; this young man with his “charming good looks” puts pictures of himself on trees and bajajs, voila, a throng of supporters appeared and pledged to vote.

OK, we have to admit that his fresh campaign pictures look way better than those oldsters who look like they’ve been fermented too long in the Parliament. The same case goes for the stars that vie for a seat in the House too. However, the story I told you earlier can only prove that Indonesians isn’t ready to directly choose its representatives. Most of these candidates don’t even disclose their plans, only promises to make stuffs free and cheap. Even worse, some only put their slogans like “Let’s Build Indonesia”, “Towards a Better Future”, “Young Voters’ Choice”, and many a tacky variations of “Yes, We Can!”

Looking at another side, the candidates shouldn’t be the butt of criticisms regarding this trend. The blame should fall on whoever changed the system so suddenly after parties have registered and made their candidate list according to the closed-list principle. Candidates and party big shots originally thought that they would campaign for their party as a whole. Then the new system struck down and they are scrambling to make themselves known to voters.

It would be much better if the change is applied for the next election in 2014 so that would-be candidates can come up with better strategies, rather than sticking their profile pics everywhere. The winners will probably be the bold (i.e. the ones who spend mountains of cash to campaign) and the beautiful (pretty self-explanatory, eh?). I don’t want to generalize these people as unqualified –some celebrities like Rieke Diah Pitaloka and Nurul Arifin really have what it takes to be a lawmaker- but the way this campaign season played out, I can’t help to think just that.

Anyway, the election is only a few days away, despite reports of mismanagement from all corners of the archipelago. We can only hope that those pretty faces we see everyday have the brains to boost this amazing nation to the right direction – if they get elected, of course.