Litani iklan lokal

orang periklanan sering mendaku insan kreatif
pemikir penantang arus, di luar kubus, kepala penuh ide yang tak pernah tergerus

tetapi

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal
nyaris tiada perempuan flores, ambon, papua tampak di produk kecantikan

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal

citra perempuan tiada jauh dari bubuk cuci baju, cuci piring, cuci kamar belakang

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal

citra lelaki tiada jauh dari pencari nafkah, petualang rimba, otot, mesin, kabel

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal

rupa yang menawan jadi pahlawan, yang kebal aib berperan abal

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal

si bunda yang mengganti popok, si ayah tak perlu repot

sengaku-ngaku kreatifnya agen periklanan lokal,

peran seksual tiada diubah, setiap kelamin dikurung dalam tempurung

Explaining collocations

There's one day when I had to teach English collocations. The simplest explanation of them, besides the definition 'two or more words that often come together', is a question like this.

'In infotainment, the word prahara (chaos, trouble) is always followed by...?'

Most students will reply in unison, 'RUMAH TANGGA!' (household).

Then I'll go, 'Now, why can you answer it almost instantly? The phrase (prahara rumah tangga) sounds so natural to you, doesn't it? And so do English collocations. There are fixed phrases that would come in tandem automatically, like commit a crime, apply for a job, bid farewell, etc. If you want your English sounds natural to native speakers, make use of collocations.'

Now they understand.

Culture as a learning process

Learning means the process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, or behaviour. In culture humans always accumulate knowledge and skills they have acquired and hand them over for generations. The knowledge, skills, and behaviour cover a wide range of topics, such as arts, religion, communications, technology, etc. In communications, for instance, humans have created and improved the Braille and sign languages, which allow the blind and the deaf to communicate with the world. As for technology, humans have invented different tools and machines enabling themselves to speed up the manufacture of goods—e.g. batik clothes, initially hand-painted by individuals, can be now produced using a stamp or a printing machine, which is much faster and more economical. The said examples obviously show that human knowledge accumulates along with human efforts to learn.

The accumulation and transfer of knowledge and skills are made possible thanks to language. This is perhaps the greatest human invention since it underlies all human activities, thereby rendering them possible. The term ‘language’ is defined broadly, including all forms of symbols and signs, which are manifested in words, pictures, dances, etc. Symbols are made by humans, external to their bodies, and thus are easy to modify to suit any problems that arise. For instance, when humans stored water only at room temperature, there was only one single tap needed. When humans created a machine able to heat water and store it, another tap was required—hence two colours, typically red and blue, identifying warm and cool water respectively.

Culture as a learning process indicates that humans have sociocultural inheritance, apart from biological inheritance. It means that learning activity always surpasses mere natural behaviour. For example, eating is a natural behaviour that occurs in all organic creatures. However, humans can go beyond their animal instinct by preparing the meal—cooking, decorating, and serving it in a delicate way—so that food satisfies not only their biological need but also their aesthetic sense. 

Bolak-balik Jakarta-Bandung

Dulu, Sherina panik, 'Jadi, Ayah tiap hari bolak-balik Jakarta-Bandung?'
Kini, si ayah menjawab, 'Naik travel juga bisa.'

French 'now'

The French word for 'now' is maintenant. Derived from main, hand, and tenant, holding, from tenir, to hold. So for the French, what you're holding in your hands, what you can take control of, is the now.

Smoking the Internet

Perhaps, cigarettes are to smokers like Internet connection is to me.

My preference for British spelling

I was designing an on-line exam on Google Docs for candidates of a youth exchange programme. Before publishing the form on the Internet, I let my co-trainer re-examine the questions. He pointed his finger at one spot on my laptop screen. 'Why is it organisational, not organizational?'.

British spelling is seen exotic for the eyes of many Indonesian learners of English today (note: -ize verbs are actually as acceptable as -ise verbs). It's understandable due to the great influence of US media on Indonesian population that they consider US spelling as the standard norm. To this category belong such words as standardize, traveler, skillful, etc.

Alumni to select youth leader, assistant of RI contingent for SSEAYP

Indonesian alumni association of the Ship for South East Asian Youth Programme (SSEAYP) holds a selection of youth leader and assistant youth leader (YL/AYL) of the Indonesian contingent over the weekend at the secretariat in South Jakarta. On the sidelines of the training, the board of directors of SSEAYP International Indonesia, Inc. (SII) interviewed the delegates attending the sessions. As for delegates residing in other provinces, a phone interview was conducted.

The shortlist of YL/AYL nominees was made based on, among others, recommendations from the contingent's members. Apart from the peer nomination, the SII board of directors also takes account of the nominees' CVs and the roles they have played in the contingent thus far.

Director of the SII directorate of SSEAYP Astary Dyah Sutjiningtyas reminded the delegates that the SII was not seeking the best individuals to fill the YL/AYL posts. 'We are looking for the most suitable couple,' she said ahead of the interview. She also said the YL was not necessarily a male participant and the AYL must be of the opposite sex.

During the interview, several candidates of Indonesia Participating Youth expressed their willingness to become a YL whereas the others preferred assuming other responsibilities. At the end of the selection process, former YLs/AYLs reserve the exclusive right to choose this year's YL/AYL.

SSEAYP is a Japan-ASEAN youth exchange programme sponsored by the Cabinet Office of Japan. Marking its 40th voyage, the programme will kick off in October.

Youth reps gear up for Japan-ASEAN exchange

Training: Youth delegates prepare themselves
for the 40th Ship for South East Asian Youth Programme.

Five youth delegates attend the training for Japan-sponsored Ship for South East Asian Youth Programme (SSEAYP) on Saturday in South Jakarta. Hailing from Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang, and Bandung, they will make up the Indonesian contingent together with other 23 delegates from across Indonesia.

Indonesian association of SSEAYP alumni, SSEAYP International Indonesia, Inc., holds the training sessions every weekend in the three months leading to the departure. The training module consists of a wide range of topics, from Indonesia's foreign affairs to discussion programme and contingent attire. Even though the training is attended merely by five participants, the knowledge gained from the sessions is then transferred to the other candidates via on-line conferences. 

Guest speakers delivered presentations to the participants and discussed different matters. In the attire session, Meika Hazim explained the classification of outfits required in the programme and the importance of personal grooming. Yunita of the Foreign Ministry put emphasis on ASEAN Community, which is slated to commence in 2015, and challenges thereof. 

During and after each session participants asked several questions. Naluri of West Java wanted to know about tips on attire funding, followed by Quincy of Jakarta, who had a query about managing clothes for the Pre-Departure Training and the programme. The latter was also curious about the extent to which CLMV countries were different from Indonesia. 

Indonesia as an autopilot state

Indonesia, an autopilot state?

My talk today examines the possibility of classifying Indonesia as an autopilot state. I would like to say that, yes, Indonesia is running on autopilot to some extent. The phrase ‘to some extent’ implies that such autopilot mode does not necessarily encompass the whole dynamics of human life within a state. In other words, there are some parts of human life that run with the state’s intervention and some that do not.

Before going any further, let me explain the outline of my talk. It behoves us, first of all, to agree on what the term ‘state on autopilot’ means—otherwise, the talk would be futile since we have got different definitions of it. Afterwards, we will compare the idea of the autopilot state with a number of examples taken from the three dimensions of human life in today’s Indonesian society, namely the economy, politics and law. Finally, there will be a conclusion drawn from the analysis.

Let us imagine an aeroplane. Suppose that an aeroplane is a republic. The pilot and the co-pilot then would be the president, the vice president—in short, the government; the flight attendants represent the state bureaucracy and the market; and the passengers are the citizens. Now, according to German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, we ought to distinguish two aspects: the System and the Lebenswelt. The System comprises the state bureaucracy and the market, while the Lebenswelt refers to the world of experience lived by the citizens.

Having this metaphor in mind, let us proceed to two kinds of situation. If the pilot strictly controls everything, then the aeroplane is a model of totalitarian state. On the other hand, if the pilot gives up everything to the mechanisms of the bureaucracy and the market, then the aeroplane is a model of liberal state, which is primarily based on a laissez-faire principle. 

Therefore, when we claim that the Indonesian government is on autopilot, we are actually saying that the government does not intervene at all in neither the System nor the Lebenswelt. In other words, the passengers cannot feel the presence of the pilot; the flight attendants are the only channel through which they express their opinions.

However, one may ask: Is such situation true?

Premature bosses

These days the millennial generation seems to be in rush to entitle themselves Founder, Entrepreneur, Owner, CEO, Executive Director. It's all about me, me, me.

Bookshelves in the toilet

Have you ever thought of setting up bookshelves inside your toilet? Sometimes I read books in the toilet, even though for only a few pages. Perhaps I'll have some made in my future place.

Philosophy as a pedagogic strategy towards leadership development

Quite a few analysts say the future of Indonesia seems promising. Our economy is growing at approximately 6 per cent; we are the only South East Asian country taking part in the Group of Twenty (G20); and as the largest economy in the region Indonesia is expected to take a leading role in the ASEAN Economic Community, which is slated to commence in 2015. These are good news in macroeconomics. The bad news is, however, our society is facing ever-increasing sociopolitical challenges at grass-roots level. The media covers them all every day: corruption, inter-religious conflicts, student brawls due to petty things, separatist movements and so forth. Given these mind-perplexing challenges and problems, one can but ask: What solutions do we need? 

Obviously, since the phenomena I have described are all human activities, it is the very human being that is capable of dealing with them. The economic, political, religious, social systems, and all the drawbacks arising therefrom, are all established by human being, hence human responsibility for them. The key, then, lies in the development of human resources so that they can take initiative and lead the way. In other words, we are in need of leaders of considerable intelligence and exemplary character. By the term ‘leader’, we are not merely referring to those holding office in bureaucracy or having an executive position in enterprises, but rather we are talking about human potential residing in each person.

I have mentioned two dimensions of a leader: intelligence, which is the cognitive dimension, and character, which is the affective dimension. Now, these two dimensions ought to be nurtured if we are to have true leaders—which then raises another question: What instrument does our society employ to instil leadership qualities in succeeding generations? Plainly, education. By educating children both inside and outside classrooms, the society is investing energy and time in developing their intelligence and character to the utmost.

However, just how effective are our schools in carrying out this enormous responsibility? Ladies and gentlemen, when you were a child and the teacher asked you to draw a panorama, did you draw two cone-shaped mountains with the sun, clouds, and unidentified birds above them and a street going through a village in which are located a modest house and a rice field? Sadly speaking, you and me, we belong to the generation that considers the picture as the only valid representation of panorama.

Mengenali yang sama dan beda dari Filipina

Filipina dan Indonesia

Setiap kali misa berbahasa Inggris di Gereja Santa Theresia di bilangan Menteng, Jakarta Pusat, berakhir, dan ketika jemaat beranjak keluar, dua bahasa asing hampir pasti terdengar di sela-sela percakapan santai mereka: bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Filipino. Sementara yang pertama dituturkan para bule dan warga Jakarta sendiri, yang kedua secara khas menjadi tanda kehadiran warga negara Filipina di ibukota.

Semakin banyak warga Filipina bekerja di Jakarta. Data dari kedutaan besar Filipina menunjukkan, pada tahun 2012 sekitar 8.000 warganya menetap di Indonesia—sekitar 70 persen berbasis di Jakarta. Sebagian besar dari mereka bergerak di sektor pendidikan, pelatihan, perdagangan, industri, keuangan, media, dan lain-lain. Peningkatan jumlah warga Filipina di Indonesia sebesar 100 persen dalam kurun empat tahun terakhir ini dapat terlihat dalam uji coba sederhana: Kunjungi sekolah berlabel internasional mana pun di Jakarta, dan hampir pasti Anda akan menemukan seorang guru dari Filipina.

UK royal baby

Just read posts about some British aspiring to a republic country. Naturally, they aren't enthusiastic about the royal baby, George Alexander Louis. Why should this baby so special? they cried, comparing him to thousands of ordinary babies born in poverty or hardship. I'd say, What's wrong with being happy for a newborn baby? As if it were a sin?

How not to argue using animals

Have you ever found someone who cites the animal kingdom to justify their arguments about human phenomena? And isn't it striking that the same person can use it to criticise human activities? 

Perhaps you don't follow me yet. Here are a few cases I've observed among Indonesian netizens.

1. Human evolution. Too often whenever one says that human beings, as a result of evolution, are related to primates, some people would yell, 'So you believe that your ancestors are monkeys? We don't buy that, because mine is Adam'. Here, they deny any evolutionary ties of kinship between human beings and animals.
2. Homosexuality. Report any news about same-sex relationship, and these people would be quick to say, 'But even God has created male and female animals, and none of them have same-sex copulation. It's against natural law.' Here, they criticise homosexuality as a deviant human behaviour and liken man-woman relationship to male-female animal relationship. Well, if only they read that homosexuality is also prevalent in animals. Knowing this unexpected fact, they will cry, 'But humans are different from animals!' See? they justify human heterosexuality with attribution to the animal kingdom but criticise human homosexuality on the basis that animals and humans are in no way alike. 
3. Polygamy. The proposers of polygamy rarely cite animal sexual behaviour as justification for its practice. Well, polygamy, does exist in animals, and it is even statistically much more prevalent than monogamy. If these people are faithful to 'natural law', then polygamy must be considered the norm of human marriage whereas their monogamous marriages are seen deviant. And of course, the cry 'But humans are different from animals!' will be heard again.
4. You behave like what you eat. They say, 'Don't eat pork because you will behave like pigs.' They mean to say human laziness and greed represented by pigs. Here, they recognise the influence of animal meat on human behaviour. Using the same logic, so what good is done to those eating chicken and beef, vis-à-vis pork? Flapping your limbs but cannot fly?  
5. Inspiration. These people are fond of taking inspirational or religious lessons from animal behaviour. For example there's a saying, 'Sekejam-kejamnya macan tidak akan memakan anaknya' (Even the cruellest tigress won't eat her cubs). Another example, if there's an unusual lovely relationship between a dog and a cat, they would see it as a lesson to make peace on Earth. Well, what inspiration then can we draw from a female praying mantis that preys her male counterpart after copulation? Or, a newcomer lion that kills cubs of the previous lion so that the lionesses will be willing to have sex with him?

Hart v Fuller Debate (part 2)

(To go to the first part, click here.)

Lon L. Fuller and Fidelity to Law

Lon L. Fuller (1902-1978)

Perplexed by Hart’s lecture, which Fuller says suffers from ‘a deep inner contradiction’, Fuller gives a response with another lecture entitled ‘Positivism and Fidelity to Law—A Reply to Professor Hart’. The lecture can be divided into the following steps. First, Fuller restates the definitions of law and morality as proposed by legal positivists and delivers his general critique of Hart’s article. Second, he accuses Hart of disregarding the internal morality of law, which is the source of all law and explains the obligation of fidelity to law. Third, he criticises Hart for focusing on the word level in terms of judicial interpretation; instead, he suggests that the whole objective of a provision should be the main attention.

The Definitions of Law and Morality

Fuller reminds the readers that Hart defends positivist views of such names as Bentham, Austin, Gray, and Holmes. Fuller recalls the definitions of law as proposed by Austin and Gray: (1) according to Austin, law is ‘the command of the highest legislative power’, which is the sovereign; (2) according to Gray, law is ‘rules laid down by judges’. A statute becomes law only if the court has interpreted and applied it. Moreover, Fuller points out the different views of Bentham and Austin on the constitutional limitations on the sovereign’s power: (1) Bentham said that the highest legislative power might be prevented by a constitution from making some kinds of laws; (2) Austin said that such limitation on the highest legislative power was absurd and impossible.

The definitions of law and the functions of the legislative body as offered by the said positivists are not sufficient, says Fuller. In times of crisis, he says, the obligation of fidelity to law cannot be explained by such positivist views. Therefore, he says that Hart has to seek first of all the definition of law that will ‘make meaningful the obligation of fidelity to law’.

According to Austin and Gray, Fuller says, morality refers to any standard ‘by which human conduct may be judged that is not itself law’. Law, then, excludes the idea of morality, which includes ‘the inner voice of conscience, notions of right and wrong based on religious belief, common conceptions of decency and fair play, culturally conditioned prejudices’. 

Hart v Fuller Debate (part 1)

(To go to the second part, click here.) 

This paper takes a plunge into the classic debate between prominent legal philosophers H.L.A. Hart and Lon L. Fuller, which now marks its 55th year of publication in Harvard Law Review. Published in 1958, Hart’s and Fuller’s lectures in the Review have been stimulating intellectual exchanges between legal positivist and natural law schools.

In the paragraphs that follow, I would like to demonstrate the development of arguments delivered by Hart and Fuller in their respective articles. The topics include the separation of law and morals, the imperative theory of law, legal interpretation, law under the Nazi regime, fidelity to law, etc. All these topics sum up in one question: How should one define the relationship between law and morals? These two schools of law take contrasting positions.

Hart and the Separation of Law and Morals

H.L.A. Hart (1907-1992)

Hart opens the lecture with a statement made by contemporary voices, that there exists a ‘point of intersection between law and morals’; in other words, ‘what is and what ought to be are somehow indissolubly fused or inseparable’. This is the subject of the lecture: to question such statements and demonstrate that they are either right or wrong.

In order to achieve this end, Hart takes the following steps. First, he clarifies the positivist understanding of law and morality as proposed by classic legal positivists. Second, he examines the imperative theory of law and demonstrates its weaknesses. Third, he criticises formalist interpretation of cases vis-à-vis legal realism by introducing the concepts of umbra and penumbra. Fourth, he tackles criticisms against legal positivism in the wake of the collapse of Nazi’s regime. All these steps are taken to show that there is no necessary relationship between law and morality.

Subscribing to NatGeo Indonesia

I begin to subscribe to National Geographic Indonesia and National Geographic Traveler Indonesia magazines in this month. I know it's a very late move given that NatGeo Indonesia published its first edition in 2009. Several reasons have prompted me to take the subscription.

Languages I've got to know

For over twenty years, I've grown up in a monolingual milieu. Living in a suburb to the east of Jakarta brings an ugly consequence: I don't have any privilege of acquiring a regional language effortlessly, unlike those raised in rural areas. While my parents do speak different dialects of Hakka, neither of them speak in that language to their offspring, except mere numbers 1 to 10 and interjections. As a result, Bahasa Indonesia is my mother tongue. A Bahasa-Indonesia-only-speaking Chinese man, that is enough for a Malaysian friend of mine to raise her eyebrows. Indeed, both Hakka and Mandarin are all Greek to me; at least as of now.

Despite my guilty feeling due to incapability of speaking the language of ancestors, I've been confident, though, to say that I am pretty much fluent in the language I'm now using to compose this blog post--English. And not just English, but a specific spoken variant of English--Standard British English. This is a particular goal, I must admit, that I have been aspiring to since I purchased the 7th edition of Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary in December 2009. With no exaggeration, I think I just need to get some exposure to more and more colloquial terms, mend some inconsistent pronunciation, and, voilà, the mission is accomplished.

But that's actually still far from the finish line--or, is there? My pursuit revolves around language learning, and human voice is becoming my playground. There's a list of languages I've got to be able to speak, or, at least, to write in. If I am to classify them, here's my language-learning plan.

The virtual me, reborn

This is my first post on Blogger after months of hiatus on Wordpress and Kompasiana. I personally do not know yet how long this brand-new blog can survive. Technical errors have prevented me from staying faithful to the previous platforms. And Blogger, on which I first created a now-defunct blog of mine, has appealed to me de nouveau. July 2013 saw this as my personal history.