SAYA baru sadar bahwa bulan ini, atau tepatnya momen belakangan ini adalah momen yang banyak sekali memotret pristiwa. Kalau kita amati, setidaknya dua bulan belakangan ini, sungguh bayak sekali pristiwa menomental yang terjadi. Mulai pemilu, lengkap dengan beberapa masalah dan juga kekurangannya, disambut dengan datangnya kembali teroris yang membuat huru-hara, lalu dilanjutkan kematian Mbah Surip dengan segala tetek bengek royalty RBTnya, juga kematian si Burung Merak Rendra, kemerdekaan Indonesia, dan bulan puasa. Bahakan, sebentar lagi kita akan lebaran, lalu di ujung bulan September, kita akan mengenang tragedy berdarah 1965 yang masih jadi misteri tak terpecahkan hingga saat ini, dan tentu saja banyak momen lain yang tak kalah penting dengan banyak kejadian di atas.
Saya baru sadar, ternyata saat inilah saat yang paling banyak momen beruntun dalam hidup saya. Saya tidak sedang ingin mebicarakan banyak hal yang barangkali terkait atau barangkali juga tidak. Saya hanya ingin melihat sebuah pristiwa yang paling transdental dalam sejarah bangsa kita, yakni kemerdekaan. Ya, kemerdekaan republik Indonesia yang ke 64.
Anda barangkali tahu ke mana arah pembicaraan ini. Saya akan menyoal lagi kemerdekaan Indonesia. Anda bosan? Atu anda ingin berhenti membaca dan melemparkan kertas ini ke keranjang sampah? Hahaha… tunggulah sejenak, saya ingin berbicara sesuatu. Mungkin hal ini sangat klise, tapi saya tidak juga sedang ingin mempermasalhakannya. Saya hanya ingin bertanya pada diri saya sendiri, apakah memang kemerdekaan ini sudah saya rasakan atau belum? Tentu saja akan saya jawab sendiri dengan apa yang saya rasakan saat ini.
17 Agustus 2009. Pagi-pagi sekali saya bangun, lalu menyalakan tv dan menonton. Berita-berita mengabarkan kemerdekaan. Mulai dari liputan jejak pahlawan, upacara bendera, hingga wawancara dengan para veteran perang di era perjuangan dulu. Saya berhamburan ke jalan, saya melihat banyak kendaraan memasang bendera merah putih ada yang besar dan ada yang pula yang kecil. Headline sejumlah surat kabar juga menggambarkan kemeriahan tersebut. Masih banyak lomba-lomba rakyat, balap karung, sendok kelereng, panjat pinang, sepak bola dangdut dan lain sebagainya. Semuanya ingin memeriahakan 17 Agustus, mewarnai kemerdekaan dan menikmati kebebasan tanpa Negara jajahan.
Apakah ini kemerdekaan sesungguhnya? Kemerdekaan yang penuh dengan pertunjukan tari di istana Negara? Kemerdekaan yang penuh dengan upacara bendera, pawai, karnaval dan lain sebagainya? Lalu kalau ada yang bertanya apakah saya sudah merdeka? Saya belum ingin menjawab. Saya hanya ingin menjabarkan pendapat saya.
Bahwa, kemerdekaan adalah saat-saat di mana rakyat jelata tidak kesulitan untuk mempertahankan hidupnya. Tidak sulit membeli bahan makanan pokok, yang harganya terus membumbung tinggi, Tidak sulit memperoleh minyak tanah yang harganya melangit dan sulit ditemukan, sementara elpiji juga dibayangi oleh kenaikan.
Bagi saya, kemerdekaan itu adalah saat-saat ketika para nelayan tidak kesulitan untuk melaut, mencari ikan untuk menyambung hidupnya. Tidak kesulitan untuk memperoleh solar untuk menghidupkan perahu motornya, tidak sulit menjual ikan-ikan hasil tangkapannya dengan harga yang pantas. Tidak lagi mengantungkan diri pada tangan-tangan dingin sang tengkulak.
Dan menurut pendapat saya (lagi), kemerdekaaan itu adalah saat-saat di mana para buruh dapat bekerja dengan tenang dengan UMR yang pantas dan tanpa dibayangi oleh PHK dan outsourcing yang sepihak. Tanpa harus mengeluh anak istrinya kelaparan, tanpa harus bingung mencari obat saat sakit. Tanpa harus jengah dengan biaya sekolah yang semakin melambung.
Kemerdekaan itu adalah saat-saat di mana para TKW dan pejuang-pejuang devisa, tidak diperlakukan seperti budak, yang disiksa, diperkosa, dan berita-berita tentang mereka tak kalah jadi headline seperti Manohara.
Kemerdekaan itu adalah saat-saat di mana anak-anak kita mendapat kesempatan untuk memperoleh pendidikan murah, bahkan secara gratis, dapat sekolah di mana saja tanpa ketakutan ada pungutan-pungutan resmi maupun setengah resmi dan atau illegal tapi merasa resmi, tanpa rasa minder memasuki sekolah favorit yang kebanyakan dihuni oleh anak-anak dari orang tua yang kaya-raya.
Kemerdekaan itu adalah saat-saat di mana guru-guru dapat mengajar dengan tenang tanpa dibayangi oleh tuntutan kebutuhan rumah tangganya yang makin melonjak, tanpa harus menyambi jadi tukang becak, ojek atau pemulung, atau harus mengajar disekolah lain demi mencari tambahan penghasilan. Demi dapur tetap ngebul. Demi keluarga agar bisa makan.
Kemerdekaan itu adalah saat-saat di mana rakyat diperlakukan secara adil dan tidak pandang bulu di mata hukum. Copet uang lima ribu perak sudah babak belur dihakimi massa, bahkan hingga tewas, ditambah lagi harus mendekam di penjara, sementara koruptor boleh bebas sebebas-bebasnya, masuk penjara juga penjara rumahan, dapat hak istimewa, tidak dengan napi yang lain.
Kemerdekaan itu adalah saat-saat di mana rakyat jelata merasakan ketenteraman, tidak dibayangi oleh ancaman-ancaman terorisme, tindakan semena-mena, penggusuran dan penindasan. Kemerdekaan itu adalah saat-saat ketika bangsa Indonesia merasakan kebebasan, bukan saja secara politik, tetapi juga secara budaya, hukum, ekonomi dan social.
Kemerdekaan itu, seperti yang digambarkan oleh W.S. Rendra dalam puisinya berikut ini :
Negara tak mungkin lagi diutuhkan Tanpa rakyatnya dimanusiakan Dan manusia tak mungkin menjadi manusia Tanpa dihidupkan hati nuraninya Hati nurani adalah hakim adil untuk diri kita sendiri Hati nurani adalah sendi dari kesadaran Akan kemerdekaan pribadi Dengan puisi ini aku bersaksi Bahwa hati nurani ini mesti dibakar Tidak bisa menjadi abu Hati nurani senantiasa bersemi Meski sudah ditebang putus di batang
Yogyakarta, 18 Agustus 2oo9 Ganbar diambil dari sini
Within Indonesia, Islam is the majority religion, with roughly 88% of the population who identify with the Muslim religion. However, even though Indonesia is a majority Muslim state, geographically, Bali is a major exception. The Hindu religion, a minority religion within the whole country of Indonesia, is the dominant religion in Bali (93% Hindu). The historical context and reason for the influx of Hindus in Bali is still highly contested.
In the past few years, there have been two major occurances, deemed “terrorist attacks,” in Indonesia. In October of 2002 and 2005, there were a series of suicide bomb attacks in Jimbaran and Kuta near or in major tourist night clubs. Roughly, 20 people were killed and 129 people were injured, most of whom were Australian and foreign tourists. There were many domestic and international reports on the incident, and many claimed that it was a religious dispute, specific to the Islam community.
Official reports in the media theorized that the suicide bombers were radical Islamists who felt it was their religious obligation to attack social institutions that were contrary to their religious doctrines and beliefs. As a result, these bombers deemed Westerners as their enemy and wanted to attack Western influences, such as the nightclubs, to fulfill their religious duties.
This theory created much outrage within Indonesia, especially within the Islamic community. Specific to Bali, these incidents created much tension between the Hindu majority and Islam minority.
Research Questions:
After the bombings in Bali, how has the Islam and Hindu religious communities been influenced? How have the relations between the two religions changed? What are their perspectives of each other?
Why this question is important?
We were both initally very interested in the idea of majority-minority religions within Indonesia. More specifically, we found the religious breakdown within Bali of major interest, due to the sustainability of this community even though it deviated from the rest of Indonesia. Overall we have felt that the relationship between Hindus and Muslims in Bali have been relatively beneficial and harmonious thus far. With this in mind, we were interested in the effects of the Bali bombings and its religious implications on the two religions in Bali and whether the relationship is still beneficial or tensions have arised that are not being publicly discussed.
This topic is important because we feel studying the relationships between majority and minority populations are essential in understanding the social, political and economic dimensions of any community. Bali is a very unique community due to its exceptional ability for two major religions to coexist, at least on the surface. But after the two bombing incidents within Bali, the relationships between the majority and minority religions could have been impacted in ways that are not noticable or understandable through publicly dispersed media. This lack of understanding on the current relationships between the two is our point of interest, as we feel it is important to see the changes between the two and question the dynamics of the two communities.
Methodology
What are we going to do?
Our research will be heavily based on anthropological fieldwork, through observational data and interviews, and also some general research on the demographics of the two religions within Bali and media reports on the bombings that were widely dispersed.
We were planning to visit a small Muslim community within Bali to observe their living situations and religious practices. Afterwards we will interview various members about their reactions to the Bali bombings, their opinions of the Islam community, the relationship between the two religions and whether this has changed. We were careful to take into account that many Indonesians would not be comfortable in a very formal, interview session, so we were hoping to interview them without the formal list of questions or to be frantically scribbling down notes. Hopefully we can use a voice recorder and try to put them at ease. We will then apply a similar setup to observe and interview the Hindu community, by focusing on Teman 65 and Jenny’s homestay family.
Why these particular methods?
Due to the nature of our research questions, we feel anthropological fieldwork is important to understand the various perspectives of the two religious communities. We did not want to rely on official reports on the perceived relationships between the two and wanted to personally establish a more intimate interview to get a better sense of how they feel.
We also felt it would be important to look at the nature of the public reportings of the incidents to contextualize the potential influences that would prompt the change of feelings within both religious communities in Bali. And the demographics are all part of our general background research of the Hindu and Islamic religions specific to Bali.
Participant-Observation Fieldwork
For our field research, we conducted field observation with the intention of getting a better understanding of the Muslim and Hindu practices and communities in Bali. For our first outing, we attended the Hindu ceremonies that occurred throughout Bali. We observed the ceremony that occurred in Taman 65 and a small village ceremony near Jenny’s homestay. In addition, we also drove around the streets as there were prayers and festivities being held publically on the streets. For our field observation of the Muslim community, we went to a large mosque in Denpasar across from the police station and also a smaller, more intimate version of a mosque called Mushola in a small Javanese Muslim village.
What did you learn from this experience?
After a week of field observation, we feel we have a better understanding of the differences and commonalities between the two communities. We thought it was an ideal time to observe and compare the large scale ceremonies that occur twice every month for the Hindu community and just the daily prayers that occur five times a day in a Muslim mosque. Although this type of field research didn’t provide us with a lot of concrete information beyond a superficial glimpse of the religious practices held at each prayer, we found a few interesting points that could be linked to our study of the relationships between the majority and minority religious communities in Bali.
We were surprised to see the difference in the “visibility” of the two religions in Bali. We thought the Hindu community was much more open and inviting with their religious practices as compared to the Muslim community. For example, it has become a daily struggle for us to avoid stepping on the abundance of Hindu offerings on the sidewalks. Moreover, on practically every sector of the street, we can see women making and selling these offerings – women who would gladly teach outsiders how to make offerings. This sense of openess and visibility in the Hindu community became even more apparent when we observed the large scale Hindu ceremonies. People were praying openly on the streets and were walking around freely in their religious attire all day. And as long as you tried to assimilate to the customs and rules of their religious prayer, practically anybody could join the ceremony, as all the Haverford students were invited to attend and take pictures of the whole ordeal. The Muslim community however was much less visible in Bali. Access to Muslim mosques or communal religious spaces is noticably less convenient, and the prayer ritual is more private and contained indoors. For Jenny, a woman and an outsider to the religion, it was impossible for her to enter the mosque or even take pictures explicitly; whereas she had a certain level of access and invitation in the Hindu community. Although this might be the nature of Muslim prayer practices, we did think it was worthy to note the contrast in the general level of awareness or visibility of the two religions. It was very obvious and easy for the Balinese community and even outsiders to get acclimated and become aware of the daily Hindu offering practices and the ceremonies, whereas the Muslim community was much more reserved and people can barely hear the calls for prayer that occur five times a day. This contrast can be easily explained by the dynamics of majority-minority relations in that the majority is ofcourse more apparent, but we were still very surprised to see that those within the Muslim community embraced a very exclusive communal attitude.
From our field research, we also started to question our conceptions of the “coexistence” and the lack of visible “confrontation or resistance” between the two religious communities. We entered our research with the assumption that there is a level of peaceful coexistence between the two religions, in that the Hindu community never imposed on the Muslim minority and that there potentially might be some type of integration and acceptance of the Muslim community within the majority Hindu community. But from our field research, we felt the two communities were very divided not only in terms of their residence but also their daily social circles. For instance, it took us quite some time to locate a large Muslim community and we had to travel quite a bit in order to arrive at a Javanese Muslim community. From our short trip, we thought the Javanese community was less populated and the atmosphere differed from the bustling streets of Denpasar. The people were less receptive to us and the community seemed very closed off and disinterested in outsiders. Moreover, even when we visited a very official and impressive mosque in Denpasar, there weren’t a lot of people lingering around and many left directly after completing the prayer. Overall there was a lack of interaction between the two religious communities, as the Muslim community was confined (perhaps willingly) to a close-knit community that was separate from the mainstream parts of Bali. This lack of interaction might just explain the apparent lack of tension, because in order for conflict to be visible, interaction must necessarily be present first.
What were the challenges?
One major and relatively obvious challenge we encountered was the inability to integrate into the community or to even visit these places more than once due to the limited time frame for field observation. As outsiders to these communities, it was a challenging task to get genuine observational information because we didn’t know whether their activities were influenced by their uneasiness with the presence of foreigners. We weren’t able to build an intimate relationship with the people we observed; so generally we felt our findings only provided very superficial information that was potentially skewed or bias. More specifically for the Muslim community, it was hard for both of us to freely enter this community as we were both outsiders, especially since Jenny didn’t identify with the Muslim religion. We struggled to break down this barrier between the community of interest and our role as observers.
Another challenge we encountered was a logistical one since Muslim communities are hard to find in Bali. Moreover even though we were lucky to find a Muslim village, it was challenging to simply observe without attracting a lot of attention and suspicion. With this realization, we also recognized how hard it is to enter and integrate oneself into any minority community. In the case of Bali, the Muslim minority is on the outskirts of the island and is very segregated from the rest of the Hindu community. So as observers, we had to be mindful of their suspicions of outsiders and to try to get observational data without imposing ourselves in a burdening way.
Lastly we found observational fieldwork to be a challenging process on its own. The practice of sitting and observing for the purpose of gathering data while maintaining an open mind is a relatively complicated task. Sometimes we found ourselves sitting there not knowing what to find interesting or thought-provoking; whereas, at other times, we questioned whether our observations are really as substantive as we made it seem. But as we were reflecting on our experiences, we found it really helpful if we had overlapping points of interest and were able to share our different views on the data.
What kinds of questions did this experience provoke?
·To what extent is the Muslim community really integrated within the Hindu majority community in Bali? Is the lack of tension between the two religious communities really due to genuinely favorable relationships between the two or just due to the lack of interaction?
·Do Javanese Muslims feel disconnected from the rest of Bali?
·Does the overwhelming presence of Hindu practices bother Muslims in Bali? Are they comfortable with the level of visibility of their own religious community?
·How much interaction is there between the Hindu and Muslim communities? In what aspects or social spheres is there the most/least interaction or communication? When is this interaction unfavorable/favorable?
Link picture: http://www.lookingattheleft.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/bali1301.jpg
Begitu pidato SBY ketika dipastikan kembali menduduki Istana keperesidenan untuk masa jabatan 2009-2014. Suatu pidato yang sangat simpatik namun bermakna ambigu.
Pertama, pidato SBY tersebut merupakan langkah positif untuk meredakan situasi pasca pergulatan panjang menuju RI satu. Di mana masing-masing calon diliputi ketegangan menantikan hasil pemilihan yang tenyata tidak sesuai dengan target dan harapan.
Kedua, pidato tersebut memandang bahwa perolehan suara merupakan hasil final dari proses pemilu sehingga mencoba menafikan kecurangan dan kekeliruan yang terjadi di lapangan. Wal hasil protes lewat jalur hukum untuk menggugat hasil pemilu datang dari berbagai pihak karena dinilai memiliki banyak kekurangan dan kecurangan yang ternyata menguntungkan calon incumbent (SBY-Boediono).
Ketiga, pernyataan tersebut mermakna bahwa pemerintahan SBY hendak merangkul semua golongan di bawah komando SBY/Partai Demokrat untuk membentuk suatu blok besar dalam pemerintahan. Hal tersebut sama artinya hendak meminimalisir atau meniadakan samasekali oposisi dalam pemerintahannya.
Kekuatan di Parlemen
Memang sangat prematur bila kita memandang rezim SBY sekarang sedang membangun kekuatan tunggal dalam parlemen yang akan merongrong aura demokrasi di Indonesia. SBY- Boediono secara hukum akan dilantik pada 10 November nanti. Namun pergulatan di parlemen dan di meja kepresidenan beberapa hari terakhir ini cukup alot. Pergulatan di parlemen terjadi dalam hal penentuan kursi legislatif dan pencalonan ketua DPR. Mari kita simak komposisi kursi di parlemen yang dikeluarkan oleh KPU pada kamis, 3 september 2009. Secara keseluruhan kursi di Parlemen berjumlah 550 yang terdiri dari Partai Demokrat 145 kursi, Golkar 102 kursi, PDI Perjuangan 93 kursi, KPS 57 kursi, PAN 46 kursi, PPP 38 kursi, PKB 27 kursi, Gerindra 25 kursi, hanura 17 kursi, dan disusul partai kecil lainnya.
Bila melihat komposisi parlemen di atas kemudian sambungkan dengan partai pendunkung SBY-Boediono pada pemilu lalu, seperti Partai Demokrat, PKS, PAN, PKB, PPP maka secara keseluruhan jumlah kursinya adalah 313 kursi atau sekitar 60%. Belum sampai disitu hasil rapat petinggi Golkar memutuskan bahwa Golkar siap bergabung dengan koalisi yang dipimpin Partai Demokrat/SBY. Bermakna kekuatannya kini bertambah menjadi 415 kursi atau sekitar 80% kursi di parlemen. Belakangan muncul rumor bahwa Taufik kiemas petinggi PDI perjuangan dan juga suami dari Megawati, hendak mencalonkan diri menjadi ketua DPR-RI. Menufer politik ini dinilai merupakan upaya PDI Perjuangan untuk masuk dalam koalisi besar SBY, karena saat ini koalisi yang dipimpin Partai demokrat tersebut menjadi penguasa diparlemen.
Hal tersebut bermakna kekuatan oposisi yang semula diprediksi akan muncul dari koalisi Golkar, PDI perjuangan, Gerindra dan Hanura sirna sudah. Tak salah jika dikatakan executive heavy (pemerintah terlalu kuat) karena didukung oleh koalisi yang menguasai hampir 95% suara di parlemen. oversized coalition ini akan berdampak pada jalannya pemerintahan yang berjalan tidak evisien seakan tanpa kontrol dan penyeimbang.
Demokrasi mau kemana?
Situasi ini patut dicermati dan dikaji bersama. Kekuatan parlemen yang didukung oleh koalisi besar yang menguasai hampir 95% suara memiliki dampak yang cukup signifikan baik positif maupun negatif. Pada tataran positif tentunya jalannya pemerintahan akan semakin lancar karena kontroversi di perlemen menjadi berkurang. Namun pada tataran negatif maka banyak hal yang akan terjadi dimana kurangnya check & balance dalam jalannya pemerintahan. Selain itu banyaknya partai yang masuk dalam koalisi berdampak pada jatah masing-masing partai dalam pemerintahan. Bergabung dalam koalisi sama artinya mengamankan jatah masing-masing partai dalam pemerintahan. Suatu langkah oportunis, Indikasinya sudah muncul dengan riuhnya ajang penentuan menteri yang akan duduk di kabinet SBY-Boediono.
Apakah demokrasi sedang dirongrog? Tentunya itu pertanyaan yang sulit dijawab. Yang jelas dalam situasi ini seakan sedang didorong pada pembentukan pemerintahan yang kuat dan stabil, didukung oleh kekuatan parlemen yang kuat dan tanpa oposisi. Situasi yang sangat rentang dengan otoriterisme dimana penguasa menemukan diri sebagai kekuatan tunggal dengan kontrol yang longgar sehingga mampu menghasilkan kebijakan sesuai dengan kepentingan individu/kelompok.
Dalam demokrasi kita mengenal kekuatan ada di tangan Rakyat, supremasi hukum sebagai senjata dan kebebasan pers & media massa sebagai corong aspirasi. Bila pemilu dipandang sebagai ajang penyerahan mandat dari rakyat kepada wakilnya sehingga seakan rakyat kemudian kehilangan mandat untuk beraspirasi, maka di sinilah letak kelemahan demokrasi kita. Selain itu ketegasan penegakan hukum di Indonesia juga belum menemukan bentuknya, simak saja bagaimana sengketa pemilu (DPT) diselesaikan pada tataran politik sedangkan kasus tersebut seharusnya diselesaikan pada tataran hukum. Hukum kemudian dinilai sebagai pemanis politik semata?
Pilar selanjutnya adalah pers & media massa, perkembangannya akhir-akhir ini sangat pesat dan dapat menyentuh seluruh lapisan masyarakat. Namun perkembangan pers & media massa di Indonesia perlu dicermati lagi karena semuanya merupakan institusi bisnis yang menjunjung tinggi pendapatan/laba. Banyak dari contents atau isinya memuat berita yang justeru meresahkan masyarakat. Pers & media kemudian menjadi corong penguasa/donatur/sponsor/pemilik saham. isinya sudah dapat ditebak sangat jauh dari kebutuhan masyarakat banyak. Kedepannya akan banyak parlemen jalanan yang digelar. Hal tersebut sangat rasional karena DPR yang merupakan salah satu media aspirasi Rakyat telah ompong dan justru beroposisi dengan kekuasaan tanpa oposisi. Parlemen jalan kemudian dinilai sebagai gerakan sadar untuk menggantikan kekuatan legislatif yang ompong dan kekuatan pemerintah yang lupa terhadap rakyatnya.
Semuanya menjadi catatan besar dalam proses bernegara kita layaknya “demokrasi kacamata kuda” maunya lurus-lurus saja sesuai kemauan si-penunggangnya. Kurangnya check & balance sama artinya menghindari proses dialektika. Imbasnya adalah kemunduran perlahan tapi pasti.
Bangsa Indonesia adalah bangsa yang anti terhadap penjajahan asing. Pernyataan ini tidak hanya ditulis untuk mengagungkan bangsa sendiri, tapi fakta untuk hal ini telah terbukti, kita saksikan dan kita menikmati hasil dari sikap tersebut, yakni proklamasi kemerdekaan 17 Agustus 1945. Perasaan dan sikap anti penjajahan asing dimiliki seluruh suku bangsa, hal ini bisa kita amati dengan mulai dibangunnya konsolidasi kebangsaan sejak tahun awal kebangkitan bangsa, hingga penggagasan ide untuk mengikatkan diri menjadi bangsa Indonesia yang berdaulat dan bersatu. Kedahsyatan gagasan itu tercermin dalam Sumpah Pemuda 28 Oktober 1928 yang tertuang dengan format satu tanah air, satu bangsa, dan satu bahasa, Indonesia.
Dalam bentuk suku-suku bangsa, usia nusantara memang telah berabad-abad lamanya, sejak era sebelum Sriwijaya, bahkan hingga Majapahit dan menjelang penggunaan nama bangsa indonesia. tetapi sebagai bangsa Indonesia, usia kita belum sampai satu abad. Mungkin inilah alasan yang paling kuat, mengapa Bung Karno dan para pemimpin yang lain perlu mengulang-ulang doktrin "nation building and character," pembangunan bangsa dan karakter, karena memang pembangunan bangsa dan karakter negara memang belum kuat benar hingga saat ini.
Selepas dari perjuangan merebut kemerdekaan itu, bangsa ini masih perlu dirawat oleh semua lapisan rakyat, rawatan inilah yang sering terabaikan, pun ketika kita telah merdeka dalam rentang waktu 63 tahun. Akibatnya dapat kita saksikan sendiri, mulai dari protes yang paling sederhana sampai pada keinginan memisahkan diri dari jiwa dan bagian tubuh Republik Indonesia ini. Sejarah kita telah banyak mencatat gejolak itu, OPM, RMS, GAM, Timor-Timur, dan lain sebagainya. Semuanya ini telah memakan korban, mulai dari bentuk yang paling sederhana berupa bentrokan rakyat dengan aparat sampai perang saudara dan pertumpahan darah. Akar dari segala hal tersebut adalah kebelumberhasilan kita menerjemahkan doktrin "pembangunan bangsa dan karakter" dalam cakupannya yang luas.
Lalu, apa yang dimaksud Pembangunan bangsa dan karakter itu? Jawabannya tidak lain adalah, pengejawantahan Pancasila dalam format yang konkret, bukan sebatas wacana dan retorika belaka. Pancasila bukan sebagai semboyan mantra belaka yang harus dilantunkan setiap upcara bendera. Hal lainnya adalah mengintensifkan 'budaya saling menghormati’ antara suku bangsa yang sangat beragam di negara ini. Termasuk juga pemerataan keadilan dan kemakmuran, membongkar struktur kesenjangan, karena kemakmuran melimpah baru dinikmati oleh segelintir orang, sementara kebanyakan orang tetap miskin dan terlantar. Golongan miskin terpuruk dalam jumlah yang masih berkisar 40 juta jiwa. Bagi si miskin, merdeka atau terjajah tidak banyak bedanya; masih saja tetap miskin dan menderita. Pembangunan bangsa dan karakter tidak saja menjadi agenda politik, tetapi dimensi sosial-ekonomi menjadi hal yang perlu diperhatikan.
Konflik mendatar dan konflik menaik dapat ditelusuri sebab-musababnya pada jurang kesenjangan sosial yang masih menganga lebar. Makin jauh dari Jakarta makin terasa betapa rupiah kita menjadi barang langka, hal ini karena sekitar 70 persen uang beredar di ibu kota yang penduduknya tidak sampai lima persen dari 225 juta rakyat Indonesia. Pun kalau punya uang, harga untuk beberapa kebutuhan terasa sangat tinggi untuk dimiliki. Disparitas ini tidak boleh dibiarkan berlama-lama mengakar, sebab bisul keretakan bangsa bisa meledak sewaktu-waktu.
Bukankah kita tidak mau melihat bangsa ini hancur akibat kita gagal merawatnya? Kita harus tetap optimistis akan kebangkitan Indonesia dengan syarat semua orang mau bangkit dan berpikir jernih, tidak hanya pandai saling menyalahkan. Tetapi, juga harus ditunjukkan sikap apresiatif terhadap segala usaha dan prestasi yang baik, siapa pun yang melakukan: pemerintah atau masyarakat. Sikap "mutual distrust" (saling tidak percaya) dan saling mencurigai harus dihilangkan, karena sejarah telah mencatat banyak hal tentang kegagalan kita akibat rasa saling tidak percaya. Karena hanya dengan rasa saling percayalah, maka kita akan dapat melangkah bersama dan maju untuk membawa perubahan Indonesia ke arah yang lebih baik dan maju.
Di saat kita sibuk merayakan hari kemerdekaan, jangan sampai beberapa kelemahan dan penyakit yang kita derita kita lupakan. Kelaparan masih menjadi momok menakutkan dimana-mana, pendidikan dan pemenuhan kebutuhan hidup masih mahal dan tak terjangkau. Dan satu hal lagi adalah, bencana yang diakibatkan oleh kelalain manusia tidak boleh dilupakan, bencana Lapindo jangan sampai hilang dari benak kita. Kemerdekaan juga mengandung makna tanggung jawab kemanusiaan untuk mereka yang teraniaya. Apa guna merdeka kalau hidup masih teraniaya dan miskin?
Akhirnya, perlu diingatkan kembali bahwa para pendiri bangsa dulu melawan penjajahan dengan tujuan menyudahi penderitaan rakyat indonesia. Tetapi setelah kekuasaan berpindah ke tangan sendiri, mengapa penderitaan dan kemiskinan belum juga usai? Adakah yang salah dari kemerdekaan ini? Pemerintahan oleh bangsa sendiri. Jika demikian faktanya, jangan-jangan penguasa baru itu masih meneruskan politik penjajahan atas saudara sebangsanya.
Jika dulu 'londo tenanan', kini 'londo ireng' yang susunan struktur kekuasaannya setali tiga uang dengan penjajah lama. Semoga semua elemen masyarakat sadar akan kesalahan dan dosa kita terhadap bangsa dan negara kita ini, yang sekarang sedang berulang tahun ke-63. Semoga gemblengan derita, mengingatkan kita pada sejarah perjuangan bangsa untuk meraih kesejahteraan dan terlepas dari penderitaan. Mari kita kenang sejenak semboyan yang kerap diucapakan bapak proklamator kita; Jas Merah. Jangan sekali-sekali melupakan sejarah.
Research Question: What does it mean to be an ‘Ethical Tourist’ in Bali?
Background: Tourism has been a part of Bali since the Dutch colonial period in the 1900’s. Wealthy Europeans fell in love with the physical beauty of Bali and the culture. As years went by Bali experienced an increasing growth in tourism and subsequently an increased economic prosperity. However, this came at a cost, for hidden by the beauty of tradition was a traumatised population who suffered greatly at the hands of Suharto during the purge of 1965. As a result Suharto used tourism both as an economic boost and as a way to maintain a depoliticised island. Diana Darling writes, ‘Bali was promoted as the nation's "window to the world," and it was hoped that tourism would boost the nation's prestige after the republics messy beginning. It was understood that tourism would also be a tremendous cash cow.’
Nowadays many tourists, particularly Australians choose Bali as their number one travel destination. Although some might condemn the behaviour of drunken Australians in the bars of Kuta and Legian, many of these working class tourists come and bring money directly to locals in ways that wealthier travellers staying at large international chain hotels might not . For these tourists Bali is cheap, close and allows for certain social freedoms that might not exist in Australia. The balinese have also had to change their behaviour to accomodate these tourists. For many Balinese prayer and ritual takes up almost a third of their time and in order for them to compete within the tourist industry the Balinese are forced to change this aspect of their culture. Some feel they must choose between tradition/ritual and a livlihood. We see this question is mirrored all across Bali in the conflict between tradtion/modernity and identity vs. performance. Although tourism has brought a great deal of economic prosperity to the island of Bali the question remains as to whether this prosperity comes at to high a cost. Do the balinese actually play any role in their own economic empowerment? Some argue that the Balinese actually exist in a more marginal positions as tourguides, waiters, hotel staff and other forms of labour. In this sense, the balinese may not be empowered by tourism but rather they may have lost control over both their space and identity.
Ultimately the question still remains: Can the relationship between tourisists and Balinese be changed and if so, to what extent do the Balinese themselves see that change as necesary or even possible? Can an ethical tourist really exist in Bali? Significance of Research:
Tourism impacts the daily lives of all Balinese, whether they are directly involved in the industry or not. For many Balinese their sense of cultural identity is closely tied with tourism and tbe tourist perspective. This research has ramifications for both the Balinese and the tourists who come to Bali. While recognising the importance of tourism on Bali’s economic well being, ethical tourism can provide a greater deal of social and economic empowerment, thus in some ways truly returning Bali back to the Balinese.
Methodology: In order to complete this research we intend to conduct both formal and informal interviews ( such as participatory observation). Our formal interviews will most likely focus on hotel staff and tourists. In a more formal context such as a hotel or restaurant a more formal interview might allow us access to information. However, participatory observation, such as spending time on the beach, in bars, cafes or in people’s homes as guests will also afford interesting insights into the more organic relationships between tourists and locals. Finally, we also intend to spend time doing academic/library research in order to understand the current and historical tourist dynamics with locals.
Notes on Participatory Observation
As a researcher, participatory observation allows you to fully appreciate the complexity of an organic situation. You receive firsthand knowledge, coloured with the tastes, smells and emotions that are inaccessible through simple book research. We spent an afternoon on the breezy and panoramic Kuta beach, drinking a cold lychee-lime sports drink and watching the so called ‘Kuta cowboys’ play football in the sand. In doing so we had to chance to experience a few hours in the life of Mr. Joko, a man who has worked for 20 years in the same spot selling drinks to tourists like us. We spent time with this man in the hopes of better understanding the labour practices occurring in Bali as a result of tourism. Like many of the men and women who work in the tourist industry Mr. Joko is Javanese and he has spent almost 20 years in Bali. By talking to Mr. Joko and spending time with him we hoped to gain a more thorough idea of what it means to be a cog in the Tourism industry here in Bali. We felt relaxed around each other and enjoyed a very amiable exchange. However, despite this we felt that certain barriers in the form of culture, personal perspective, race and even class might have affected the this experience and prevented Mr. Joko engaging with us openly.
In talking with Mr. Joko we discovered that both immigrants and Balinese are labourers or shopkeepers at the beach, they are do not own hotels, restaurants or art studios. Although there are many Balinese investors, there are more Javanese and foreign investors. Most of these people are laborers or merchandise seller in the public places here in Bali.Even, Mr. Joko in Kuta beach is not selling his own products but instead selling drinks for an anonymous boss where he gets 25% commission. Mr. Joko said that he does not mind this situation. He feels that tourism in Bali has given him and his family a great deal of money.
Mr. Joko is Javanese and this can be a source of conflict amongst those who work in the tourist industry. After Bali bombing, there is something of a “cold war” between the Balinese and the Javanese immigrants. This mainly results from the fact that the main instigators of the Bali bomb were Javanese Muslim fundamentalists. However, according to Mr. Joko, the animosity between the two groups was more greatly influenced by the effect the Bali bomb had on tourism in Bali. The number of tourists that came to Bali after the bomb decreased significantly which impacted the economic wellbeing of the Balinese. Thus we can assume that the current conflict between the Balinese and the Javanese results not from religious differences but rather as a result of tourism and the protectiveness the Balinese feel for their main source of income.
In doing this research we became most aware of my own cultural framework and the obstacles in place that prevented us from engaging in the kind of dialogue we wanted. As an English speaker it was hard for me not only to reach a level of intimacy/ comfort with Mr. Joko that he might have felt if I could speak Indonesian. Irwan, however, had a different experience. As we quickly discovered, I was a tourist whereas Irwan was very clearly a guest, even though both of us were new to Bali. Irwan was not expected to pay the same amount for our drinks as me and he received less attention from the other vendors in the area. From our vantage point, we saw Javanese tourists taking advantage of the many attractions on offer, such as massages and pedicures. However, we did not notice the same kind of behavior from the ‘western’ tourists on the beach. We were told that if I could speak Bahasa Indonesia I could expect the same treatment as Irwan and ultimately spend less money doing the same activities. In this instance, language gave Irwan a certain power that I did not possess. Moreover Irwan felt that his ability to speak bahasa Indonesia allowed him access to a certain kind of open conversation that I could not participate in. Although I did try to practice my Bahasa Indonesia, I still felt that in this instance language served to divide us, maintaining the cool distance between tourist and local despite the friendliness of the conversation as a whole.
Finally, I discovered quickly that asking questions about tourism, while being a tourist myself, poses many obstacles. I wanted to get a better picture of Mr. Joko saw himself in relation to the tourists he worked for. Was he ever insulted by the loutish behavior of drunken Australians? Did he resent them or enjoy their company? In class we have spent a great deal of time trying to understand the impact of tourism on local identity, both positive and negative. Yet when I asked Mr. Joko about his feelings on the subject he seemed universally enthusiastic about tourism.
We do not want to assume that Mr. Joko is lying to us, yet we cannot ignore the fact that I, a tourist, also interviewed Mr. Joko. If what we have learned in class is true, those who work in the tourist industry here in Bali feel a strong social and political pressure to conform to a certain notion of ‘balinese-ness’. Even though Mr. Joko was Javanese he too maintained a kind, friendly and positive demeanor, entirely in accordance with this enforced Balinese cultural code. Would Mr. Joko’s answers be different if he spent time alone with Irwan and I was not there? Maybe. Yet although Mr. Joko’s behavior was not what we wanted or indeed necessarily expected, it perhaps contributed more to our first hand understanding of the divides that exist between the tourists and the locals. We sought the truth and instead found ambiguity. Perhaps, then both tourists and locals engage in a dialogue where the truth is actually what either party finds the most satisfying at the moment.
Adalah sebuah lembaga kajian dan kebijakan publik, serta sosial politik dan budaya yang mempunyai misi keadilan pembangunan. Wadah ini diharapkan menjadi sarana diskusi, belajar dan memberi masukan bagi segala pihak. Kerja-kerja CI adalah penelitian, seminar, kajian, advokasi, penulisan dan penerbitan makalah, buku serta jurnal baik ilmiah, tematik kebudayaan ataupun sastra. Kami berharap, Cakrawala Institute kelaknya dapat bermanfaat untuk kemajuan bangsa ke arah yang lebih gemilang. Demi terangkatnya nama baik bangsa di kancah hubungan antar negara dan dalam situasi global yang terus berkembang.
