Menjadi Manusia Sukses - 1

Sudah menjadi jamak ketika kita berbicara mengenai manusia, kita mengkaitkan banyak sekali hal-hal
buruk, hal-hal yang lemah pada kata manusia. Kita sering mendengar kalimat seperti, “Kemampuan
manusia sangat terbatas.” Pada kesempatan lain kita harus mempercayai kalimat-kalimat seperti,
“Wajarlah kalau kita putus asa, kita hanya manusia.. bukan malaikat.” Setiap kali kita melakukan hal yang
lemah, buruk dan merusak, setiap kali pula kita bisa dengan mudah menjadikan ‘kemanusiaan’ kita
sebagai pemboleh tindakan-tindakan itu seperti yang tercemin pada kalimat-kalimat tadi. Banyak di
antara kita yang menitik beratkan nilai manusia justru pada hal-hal yang sebenarnya kurang manusiawi
seperti kerakusan, keserakahan, pendek akal, dan lain sebagainya. Di sisi lain, Tuhan Sang Maha
Pencipta justru member tugas mulia kepada manusia di atas dunia ini. Mau buktinya?
Kita tentu sering mendengar kalimat bahwa Sang Maha Pencipta tidak akan menguji manusia melebihi
kemampuan kita. Pernahkah kita menggali kalimat tersebut dengan lebih dalam lagi? Pernahkah kita
bertanya, apabila kalimat itu benar, mengapa ada cukup banyak orang yang bunuh diri ketika
mendapatkan ujian atau cobaan. Mengapa pula banyak orang yang melarikan diri dari masalah yang
mereka hadapi dengan penggunaan obat-obatan serta zat terlarang atau menenggak minuman keras.
Pada masa penyusunan buku ini, ada satu kejadian yang menggegerkan warga kota Surabaya. Di salah
satu pusat grosir tersibuk di Surabaya ada seorang ibu muda yang mencoba bunuh diri dengan
melompat dari lantai empat pusat grosir tersebut setelah terlebih dahulu melemparkan anak kandungnya
yang berusia 3 tahun ke bawah dari lantai tersebut. Seorang sakasi mata menuturkan bahwa si ibu
terlihat mondar-mandir di lantai empat. Secara tiba-tiba dia melontarkan sesuatu yang, oleh saksi mata,
dikira boneka. Ketika sosok itu jatuh terbentur keras dilantai dasar, barulah saksi mata sadar bahwa itu
bukan boneka. Sosok itu adalah seorang ANAK KECIL. Belum selesai keterkejutannya, dia kembali harus
melihat pemandangan mengerikan ketika wanita muda tadi terjun dari lantai empat dan menimpa si anak
kecil. Akhirnya si anak tadi meninggal sementara ibunya dilarikan ke rumah sakit. Kabar di media masa
menyebutkan bahwa si ibu berhasil diselamatkan.
Bukankah itu artinya ujian yang di terima oleh wanita tadi sudah di melebihi kemampuannya?

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Bali not agree porn law

In a move of defiance against the controversial pornography bill, Bali's governor and speaker of the provincial legislative council informed the province would not be able to enforce the newly passed law.

In a two-point written statement, signed by Governor Made Mangku Pastika and Speaker Ida Bagus Putu Wesnawa, Bali made its historic mark as the first region ever to publicly declare an inability to implement a law passed by the House of Representatives.

"With the passing of the porn bill, we hereby informed that we cannot carry it out because it is not in line with Balinese philosophical and sociological values," Pastika said at the council building here.

"We further implore every element of the Balinese public to keep calm, stay alert, not be easily provoked and maintain the appropriate atmosphere to maintain the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia."

The pornography bill was passed with overwhelming support from 10 of the 12 factions in the House. The remaining two, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), walked out during voting in a show of resistance.

However, the legal force of the declaration remains unclear. Pastika did not elaborate on how the declaration would affect the island, calling it simply a "statement from the people of Bali".

Neither did he elaborate on the position of the provincial police on the matter or whether he planned to join forces with other regions that had explicitly stated their opposition to the bill.

"This is just a public announcement of our position. We simply cannot enforce this particular bill," he said.

Pastika said the letter would not be sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or any other government officials, as "this declaration will reach them anyway".

Asked whether the provincial administration would pursue a Constitutional challenge, Pastika said he and other leaders were still considering it, adding a legal challenge was the next most viable option.

Many organizations, such as the Bali People's Component, have stated their intention to challenge the bill through the Constitutional Court.

Made Arjaya, head of the council's Commission I overseeing law and security, said his office would wait until "further development". The President still had to sign the bill, he added.

Under the Indonesian legislation system, if a bill is not signed within 30 days after the House passes it, it automatically becomes legally binding.

Wesnawa refused to call the declaration an act of defiance, saying the province had no option because the bill goes against everything the Balinese stand for.

"An act of defiance is an act of refusal. We're not refusing the law, we just simply can't enforce it," he said.

"The fact is, many of our artists, our religious beliefs and our people are in danger of being persecuted by this law. So we simply cannot enforce it."

Bali's leaders and public have been united in their opposition to the draft pornography bill for years. Many in the island have called for civil disobedience should the bill be passed into law.

The previous governor, Made Dewa Beratha, even stated during the bill's first introduction to the public in 2006 that Bali "might as well declare independence" if the bill was passed.

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Indonesian parties turn to celebrities as election looms

With his sculpted abdominals proudly displayed on his Facebook profile, male model Adrian Maulana cuts a very different figure to the ex-generals and dynastic heirs who dominate Indonesian politics.He is at the forefront of a new push by Indonesian parties to field celebrities and other tabloid favourites -- collectively known as "artis" -- as candidates in next year's legislative election.

Sitting with his shirt on in a Japanese restaurant, the 30-year-old Maulana admitted he is "still learning" about politics even though he has already been accepted as a candidate by the liberal National Mandate Party (PAN).The former engineering student, who was part of the 1998 protests that overthrew dictator Suharto is visibly uncomfortable, his voice quavering, when tackling policy questions.
However the sometime soap opera and film star said "artis" are quick learners and had to memorise scripts at short notice.They also have the common touch, he said
"We celebrities, we are used to talking to the poor people, we are used to taking pictures with them. So we are more sensitive. We know what they want, we know what they need," he said.
The celebrity candidates are an attempt by parties to reconnect with a public that has become disillusioned with 10 years of democracy, persistent poverty and a steady stream of high-level graft scandals, analysts said.
Sitting lawmaker Nurul Arifin, herself a former actress, said the explosion of celebrity candidates for the April polls exposes how poorly parties have connected with Indonesian voters.Parties remain the vehicles of big personalities with money. Any candidate who wants to break into politics needs stacks of cash to pay party members and promote themselves through advertising.Celebrities, already well recognised by Indonesia's masses, get to bypass -- or at least get a discount on -- this process "because they already have social capital," Arifin said."I'm worried about the substance of these artis. Do they know the substance of politics? Do they know what it means to be a politician?" she asked. The party most enthusiastically recruiting celebrities, Maulana's PAN, is working hard to make sure its famous candidates don't become embarrassments.
PAN has appointed its own "head of cinema and infotainment" to look after its 15 celebrities and has hired a private political consultancy to run special training sessions.
The star candidates gather at least weekly at a conference table in front of a bank of plasma screens for workshops on party strategy, current issues and political basics.
Political scientist Bima Arya Sugiyarto, who has been hired to help in the training, said some of his charges still had a lot of work to do before they could enter parliament.
"For some people they do have an adequate knowledge of politics, for others they really are beginners," Sugiarto said.The push for celebrities by parties across the spectrum is an acknowledgement that politicians are trying to combat a dirty reputation for brown-paper-bag politics, he said.
"Massive publicity for corruption scandals by party politicians has really damaged the image of party politics," he said."They hope that by recruiting celebrities and public figures, the public will still vote for the parties' candidates."
PAN's celebrity coordinator, Amazon Dalimunthe, said the party valued the relatively clean image of celebrities enough to risk the ire of rank-and-file party members passed over for candidacy."Of course there's jealousy (from party cadres). They protested, but the party leadership is looking at it from a wider perspective," Dalimunthe said.
Celebrities have been embraced with fervour across much of Indonesia's fractious political spectrum.The parties of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his main rival Megawati Sukarnoputri have recruited TV and film stars, joining tickets that include one of ex-general Yudhoyono's sons and one of Megawati's daughters.
Former special forces chief, alleged human rights violator and Suharto son-in-law Prabowo Subianto has also tapped a sweet-faced soap star to run with his nationalist Gerindra Party.Even the Islamic United Development Party has a popular singer of "dangdut," an Arabic and Indian-infused pop music associated in equal parts with sleazy dens and the country's rural heartland.

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Re election Yudhoyono for President

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has conformed that he will once again be a presidential candidate in the 2009 presidential election.

“When the general election nears, I will propose my self again,” he said.

Yudhoyono said that Jusuf Kalla could be his running mate again, however, it was too early to confirm this.

“There are still many possibilities and dynamics with the Golkar party and Jusuf Kalla himself,” said Yudhoyono.

He mentioned that the current political situation in his last year of office was becoming sensitive.

“As the incumbent, there is a real likelihood that I will be made many people’s enemy. But I am ready, and this is a risk in the world of politics,” he said.

Regarding the presidential election bill that is still being discussed at the House about candidate having to gain between 20 and 30 percent support, Yudhoyono said that he was not worried.

“I am ready for anything considered right by the political parties,” he said.

However, he suggested that the bill not become a tool for political parties that failed in proposing their candidates during the last election.

Yudhoyono said he would focus on his candidacy after the legislative election was completed.

“I will follow the regulations,” he said.

According to the schedule of the General Elections Commission (KPU), the legislative election will be conducted on April 9, 2009 while the first round of the presidential election will be on July 6 and the second round on September 21 next year.

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Accident during pasca idul fitri at tol

JAKARTA: The Jakarta traffic police recorded 10 people died in traffic accidents in the city during the annual holiday exodus since Sept. 25.
"Most of the accidents happened to motorcyclists who were driving carelessly," Adj. Comr. Sunarto, an officer at the Traffic Management Center, said Friday.
Of the 39 victims, Sunarto said, 10 died and 25 were injured. The rest suffered financial losses from vehicle damage.
Sunarto said traffic monitors as of Friday still had not seen any signs of returning flow of holiday travelers.

"The bus and train stations are still relatively quiet today."
He said traffic congestion had only caused jams around recreation centers such as Ancol, North Jakarta; Ragunan Zoo, South Jakarta; and the cultural park Taman Mini Indonesia, East Jakarta.
It was estimated the influx of travelers would peak this weekend.

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To remind the tragic of mudflow at Sidoarjo

Hundreds of Lapindo mudflow refugees held Idul Fitri prayer at the site of the mudlow in Sidoarjo, East Java on Wednesday. The refugees picked one site for their prayer in Ketapang Keres village cancelling the two previous locations within the mud flooded area prepared the day before.

A legislator Ario Widjanarko told reporters after the prayer that the house will monitor the compensation for the remaining mudflow refugees who have not receive the pay off. A member of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission also joined the prayer at the mudlake area.

Refugees held an annual visit to the grave of their relatives, a tradition which follows Ramadan and Idul Fitri in some places or groups in Indonesia, and the areas where their properties were.

The mudflow in Porong subregency spurred in 2006 at one of the exploration site of the Lapindo Brantas mining company in the region. More than 10.000 residence were forced to leave their land as the mud form a 2,5 square miles lake which drowned everything in the area. The mudflow is still continuing.

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