Dear honourable members of the House of Representatives...

I salute you for yet another stunning performance. And when I said stunning, I meant the honourable members were stunned. They just stood, one was constantly smiling, and (I'm sure) tried really hard not to explode. One might ask, what happened?

This time, a slap right on their faces. Yes, finally some people had the nerves to show these useless scums that they are no more than useless scums who happily take taxpayers' money to make useless overseas visits with their families under the pretext of doing a comparative study. The Indonesian student association (PPI) in Germany used a Q&A session during a meeting with the members of Commission I of the House as a chance to directly criticise these politicians and stated their objection over their visit. In the end of their harsh speech, they walked out of the room quietly and the meeting was continued as if nothing happened. Poor KBRI's host. She had to pretend she didn't hear all those insults coming from one of the students. Everything was video-tapped and uploaded to YouTube for everyone in the country (and world) to see. It quickly became the main topic on different social media, and of course the media picked up soon afterwards (note: I may well be wrong with the sequence, but nevertheless the end result is the same). 

Now, let's just say, this similar situation happened when internet and social media were not so popular in Indonesia, would it get the same strong reaction? Since the student association smartly uploaded the video of the meeting on YouTube, lots of people picked this story up really fast and then spread it on an equal speed. And amen for internet. How strong is the impact of social media on Indonesia's democracy (I would advise anyone who reads this post to tread the word "democracy" carefully before abusing me with criticism)? How effective social media as a medium to create a better change in Indonesia's social and/or political life?

I honestly hope the current hype will change something. At least, I hope, the House would try hard to fulfil the student association's demands. One of them is transparency. The students asked for the House to publish a complete financial report of the visit and also a full report of the visit's results. I think it's fair, considering it, allegedly, is a comparative study-visit. They should study something and report the finding(s) and do something with their findings. You know, like any normal people do when they do a comparative study. But, my hope is not high on this matter. You see, I used to work for these people. I know how they roll, and I believe they won't do anything about the students' action. They were mortified, I'm sure. But, will that change anything? I doubt it.

I'm not trying to belittle the PPI's action at all. I appreciate their courage. There aren't many people who would do such thing, especially when it comes to the honourable members of the House. On their turf, these dudes are GODS. They are invisible. So, watching the video, looking at the expression on the House members' faces, feels great. Though, this is not the first time the House got heavily criticised by students from PPI. The PPI in Australia criticised the reason of the visit done by Commission VII in April 2011. Basically, the House members went there to do a comparative study on policies on poor people (or unlucky Australians, as the equivalent) management. However, the House members visited the country during recess period. Yes, it's beyond understanding. If you are interested, you can read the PPI's open letter to the House here and also their evaluation on the visit here.  

We need to continue telling these people that they cannot do whatever they please just because they occupy an office in the government. If they are representing people, they need to start doing it now. As long as there are people like members of PPI in Germany and Australia, we can still be hopeful that maybe, just maybe, one day this country truly understands the meaning of democracy and people's representatives. 

Moving back to my parents' house...yay.

I have stopped working full-time after three years working in an office (or two). I have gone back to my parents' new house and settled in. My parents recently decided to move to a new house leaving the old house to be leased to other people. I finally unpacked my stuff after three weeks staying in the house. It was a long and slow process. Somehow, I couldn't see the room that I slept in as my own room. But, the fact started to sink in and I knew it would be ridiculous to keep my stuff in different boxes scattered all over the house.
After the first three weeks, I started to question myself a lot. Did I make the right decision with coming back home? Would it be better if I stayed in Jakarta and took that job offer (I was not interested in the job at all)? I wasn't feeling comfortable with myself and was anxious about the future. Few of my friends said that the reaction was normal, but I must focus on the positive sides instead the depressing ones. Well, yeah of course.
And then I realised what kind of role that I took when I decided to move back. Apparently, my parents need a third-party to create some kind of balance in the household. Their children, I am the youngest, have been living away from them for quite a long period and the absence of children in the household seemed to increase the friction and tension between them. I've heard from my mum how my dad sometimes acted incredibly selfish, and often I would take my mum's side on this kind of situation. But after living with them for several weeks, I realised that the problems lay within the two of them. Soon, I found out that I was the new conflict manager in the house.
It's a bitter-sweet feeling to play and act according to this role. I love my parents to death, but dear god, they can drive me insane sometimes. I keep on reminding myself that people most of the time act childish anyway and it's (kinda) normal...whatever normal means. It's also a bit worrying to see the way my parents are depending too much on each other. It seems like they cannot function well if separated. At least, that's my evaluation on my dad. He's way too depended on my mum. God forbid if she passes before him...not that I want him to pass anytime soon.
On the bright side, it still surprises me to see how both parents seem to manage tolerate each other enough to stop them from starting a shouting fight. I know when they are upset with each other and my mum would tell me directly what happened, while my dad just sulked in front of the telly. But she would make him his afternoon coffee, and he would drink it without saying anything much. I just don't understand. Maybe it's love, maybe it's old habit.
So, it's not all bad. Moving back to ze parents' house can be seen as a defeat. I got a friend who seemed surprised (not in a good way) when she found out I was back home. She said something like Jakarta would give a lot of opportunities and offer different prospects to me, and she was shocked that I didn't get them. I told her that opportunity had never been the case. I was tired, fed up, terribly lonely and lost my perspective. Going home felt like a warm idea in my empty head (and heart). I have lots of really lovely friends who supported my moving back, both in Jakarta and my home town. They really made things seem so much better.
Back to home situation, I'm feeling a bit tired now, which leads me to writing this entry. Anyone who has dealt with conflict knows that it's never easy, especially when it involves two of the most important people in your life. It hasn't yet reached the crazy melt-down point, but I know I'm quite upset with the general situation at home. Although, I'm constantly reminding myself that it IS still probation time. Wait another two months, maybe I will pass the insanity and come out as a new (better) more-patient and reliable (ha!) person. I wish myself luck. Godspeed!