SARA

it's a short of Suku, Ras, dan Agama, or Ethnic, Race, and Religion.
it's a sensitive and widespread (or should I say epidemic?) issues in Indonesia.
your race, ethnicity, and religion will determine how you will be treated by others.

maybe it's not really obvious to you, Indonesians, who are never been taking care of official things, or running for something big that it involves the province or country itself.
not to say that I have, but the issues have never been obvious to me until I grow up and see it with my own eyes, instead of just listening.

even though I was born in 1992, I have no memory about the May 1998 tragedy.
when I heard about it, I asked my mum why I didn't have any memories about that?
she said I was not going to school because it was too dangerous during the tragedy.
but I have no memory about skipping class because of that.
after wondering so much and finding no answers, maybe it's because mum and dad were trying to protect me  from the trauma that I might get from the tragedy, or, maybe I was too young to understand, or maybe it's my goldfish memory.

okay, to the point.
waking up early morning, thinking of going to 8-am lecture, but I stumbled upon this video on facebook, shared by my friends.



in Jakarta, soon there will be election to choose the Governor of Jakarta.
Fauzi Bowo (FB) or Jokowi (J).
FB is currently the Governor of Jakarta.

There is an issue going on, saying that J's mum and his Vice Governor are Christians.
and it was said by Rhoma Irama (RI), a supporter of FB, that Indonesia can't be govern by non-Muslim.
RI stated that in Al-Qur'an, there is a statement saying that people should love each other, regardless of what their religion, ethnic, or race are. but in akidah (i don't know what it is, I am assuming official stuffs like governing or ruling a country), you are not supposed to choose a non-Muslim.
(P.S.: please do correct me if I am wrong. sorry if I misinterpret, but this is what I get from the video).

the old guy earlier said, "what a person's religion or condition is, it's a fact. there is no need to point things out. if we keep pointing out the facts in a rude way, it will become a unnecessarily big issue."
it is the flaws we (human) have, and maybe we, ourselves, have to reflect on this.

I don't blame RI for his beliefs, because, for what he stated, he understands it from the Al-Qur'an.
however, there are many ways to decipher what the noble book of each religion are trying to say to us.
interpretation of Bible, for example, it is different for each people.
it is like interpreting a novel, which only God and the writer know what the writer is actually trying to say.
there are many jokes in the internet, talking about teachers and their interpretation of poem.
"The curtain is blue".
for us, the statement might just be a blue curtain, a detail pointed out by writer.
but teachers, they are trying to let us see what we might not see normally.
blue can represent calmness, or maybe the longing of someone.

I don't blame RI for his knowledge about "everything on internet is valid".
I didn't know Wikipedia is not a good source of knowledge until I was in college.
education system should try to teach students, early in their age, that not everything on internet is valid.
many are rubbish.
you have to find and think, to know whether a source is reliable.
bias can still occur even in journal articles, a credible source for many intelligent individuals.

when the presenter said, "but SARA is everywhere, if I am trying to be Solo Governor, they will be saying I am from Padang. our people (Indonesians) are like that"
and J just reply, "I am a Muslim, right?"
inside, I really hope J will reply, "it is true that majority of Indonesians are like that. but it has to stop somewhere. someone should start to stop the racism, and maybe this election can be the right time for it."

and I saw another video under the previous video.



for me, the woman, Ratna Sarumpaet, is  really brave for pointing out the sensitive things, which is really needed in Indonesia.
she pointed out, "in Indonesia, most of the official positions are seated by Muslim. but the corruption is still going on and it is a very big issues".
she was not pointing out that Muslims are bad person, for she is a Muslim herself.
then, she stated again, "I am not saying that Muslims are bad person. I just pointed out what could happen if you keep connecting everything with religion."

I remember when mum said to me:
"you can be into any religion you want. there is no bad religion. all religion are trying to teach us to be a better person. but you must promise me that you will be practising it right. all bad things that happened and connected to a certain religion (e.g. terrorism and Muslim), were due to the individuals understanding of the religion, not the religion itself."
I am very lucky to born in this family :)

I really need to go to lecture now.
P.S.: i feel kinda old for interested in such things now.

who deserves the gold medal?

it's been sometimes since I've posted, but yet I write about my anger.
sorry.

last nite was the men's single final badminton match in London olympics 2012.
Lin Dan (LD) vs. Lee Chong Wei (LCW)
at the end of the match, LD won.
LD and LCW had put up a great performance to show how much they wanted to bring the gold medal back.

the thing that I could not understand is, why do many people posted about 'LD is sooo arrogant', 'LD just won out of luck', and stuffs like that.
he won, because he has the skills to be a winner.
people keep saying LD is arrogant bla bla bla. he IS arrogant, but he has the skills that allow him to be arrogant.
does arrogant people do not deserve victory?
does he practice less than his opponent?
does he do not want the gold medal as much as his opponent does?

people please, put your point of view into both of them.
I admit that LCW had put up a lot of efforts to bring the gold medal back for his country, and I am sad to look at his face on the podium.
your complaints won't make the gold medal to be LCW's anyway.

perfect relationships.

I have just realized that there is no such thing as perfect relationship.

when you have a guy that loves and respects you, can be trusted, has all personalities and stuffs you have dreamt about.
then you can't meet him everyday or anytime you want to.
then magical sparks will slowly fade away.

when you can meet him everyday and everytime you want to.
he does not understand you.
you just do not get why he acts that way.
patience has reached its limit and promises are broken.
then, goodbye.

in what-seems-like perfect relationship,
both person understand their partner.
fights and arguments are there, but each other knows their partner limits, and stop when they should stop.
one might wander off and piss off their partner, but they will know when they need to get back and apologize for what he/she has done.

I should have been doing my lab reports now.

week 11.

third semester is indeed hectic.
it's week 11 and I haven't started studying anything for my exam.
fyi, my exams are on 31st oct, 2nd, 3rd and 10th nov D:
and I still have 3 assignments left for week 12.
THIS IS CRAZYYYY!
hope for the best for all Monashians tho :D
wish we can pass with flying colourss :D

anyway, just found my friend's note in Facebook that has been there for years but I only realised it again now because someone commented on it.
the words are, beautiful and real.
help me realise that I am a lucky girl among the other lucky people :D
so, here it is!

*************

It is....

It's nice to know that you're secured with that someone. That even if the rain is pouring hard and the sky is almost dark, he'll never leave you just so you won't feel alone. Even if his friends had left him (and even if he has to be somewhere else) he'd still stay by your side, just so you won't feel alone.

It's so good to know that you have someone who'll be willing to help you cope up in every frustrations you're having. Every depressing moments, every down moments, every self-worthless-realization moments, he'd be there, not because you want someone to be with you, but because he wants to be with you.

It's great to know when a person appreciates every little thing you do. Even a smile would mean a lot to him, just because you own that smile. And that even if no words are expressed as long as the eyes understand, you'd be able to communicate, just like that.

It's overwhelming when a person tells you that he loves you for who you are. He may not have an answer when you ask him why, but really, he doesn't have to have reasons for loving you.

It's more grateful to know that someone is grateful to have you. We don't choose the people who enter our lives, so it must be luck that you have that person, then you have to be thankful. It may just be coincidence or fate, but whatever the reason is, you have to be thankful in having him the same way he is thankful for having you.

It's a wonderful feeling when you're on the verge of giving up the things you've worked hard for, someone isn't just helping you carry the weight on your shoulders, but he carries it on his own because he'd also be in pain when you are in pain. And then you'll realize, trials would all be worth it as long as you have him, not because he would do things for you, but because you gather all the strength you need, in him and his love.

It's a superb feeling when one is willing to take the risks just so you'll be happy. Unselfishness rule in him just so happiness would take over you.

It's a nice feeling that when you're apart, and days seem to be long, that person misses you. Yes, you might feel bad about not being with each other, but knowing that you feel the same way would drive those blues away, thinking, you'd fight over that feeling because you're looking forward to seeing each other, and that's something to be happy about.

It's a great feeling when he wants to be with you because of the happiness you have when you're together. That even if corny jokes and senseless stories are told, it won't matter as long as you're together.

It's a lovely feeling when someone thinks about your future, with or without him. He cares and he cares enough to think of you and what you'll be someday. But of course, he also wants to be in it someday.

It's a nice feeling when you can be who you really are with that person. No pretending, no lies, no hypocrisy, because he accepts you for who you are. You can be funny, you can be embarrassed, but it won't matter 'cause it doesn't matter to him. Trust and faith in each other keeps you alive. And it will always do.

It's good to know that you have someone who'll not have the intentions of breaking your heart. Instead, he would be willing to mend it, picking up the broken pieces of your heart that your past love have scattered in the ground. He may not be able to put the pieces back to where they really belong, but you shouldn't mind, because he had repaired that heart of yours, and he fixed it in his own way. He loves you in his own way, not the way your past did. He fixed your heart in a different way, to keep you from feeling the pains of your past heartache and to make you feel the love that he's unselfishly giving.

It's a great feeling when that person has every effort to let you feel what he feels for you. Because of the distractions, you may not hear him shout it to the world, but as long as you feel it, his efforts have paid off, big time. And when you feel the same way too, he'd feel as if he's the luckiest person alive.

... when in fact, you're more blessed to have him.