Sunday, May 30, 2021

Israel - Palestine Conflict : We Just Need to be A Human to Stand for Beside Palestine

May 30, 2021 0 Comments


The conflict between Israel and Palestine continues to this day.  The conflict between the two countries started happening again on May 10, 2021.  The escalating tension between Palestine and Israel stems from the plan to evict residents in Sheikh Jarrah.  The Palestinians who live there refuse to move because they believe Sheikh Jarrah is part of Palestine.  The citizens' opposition was then responded by Israel harshly.  When residents protested against the planned eviction at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound on May 7, 2021, Israeli authorities attacked them.  Reporting from Kompas.com citing vox, the background of the Palestinian and Israeli conflicts is that each party wants to establish a state on the same land. Even though it looks simple, in reality the conflict that occurred between Palestine and Israel caused many complicated problems.  The conflict resolution process that has been going on for decades has actually resulted in another overlapping conflict.  Palestinian and Israeli relations are always hostile, even though they are side by side.  Israel undertakes a military occupation that makes Palestinians suffer.


The occurrence of conflict between the two countries has certainly reaped various pros and cons from various circles of society.  Those who are pro-Israel said that Israel has the right to live in peace and have its own territory. In addition, they also said that everything that Israel did was a form of their self-defense efforts. In the other hand, those who oppose it said that what Israel has done to Palestine is unnatural and outrageous. What is done by Israel is included as  colonialism and is a very cruel crime and this is also a gross violation of human rights.


We as humans cannot seem like we are closing our eyes about what is happening to Palestine at this time.  Israel's crimes against Palestine are very real in front of our eyes. Destruction, expulsion, coercion, plunder, violence and even terror are very visible at this time in Palestine. We as humans, especially Muslims, should defend Palestine, which is clearly being colonized at this time. So, why do we have to stand on the Palestinian side?  The following below are the reasons.


The first reason is that the Al-Aqsa mosque is the first qibla for Muslims to be located in Palestine.  The Al-Aqsa Mosque has an important history for Muslims. Reporting from Hidayatullah.com, this mosque became a Qibla for 14 or 17 months after the migration of Muslims to Medina in 624 AD. Then came the verse which ordered the movement of the Qibla of Muslims from the Al-Aqsa mosque to the Ka'bah in Makkah, which has become the Qibla of Muslims to this time.  Masjid Al Aqsa is also a historical place, where the prophet Muhammad stopped on his Isra 'and Mi'raj journey.  In addition, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is also the second mosque that was first built on this earth after the Al-Haram Mosque in Makkah. From this we can see how special the Al-Aqsa Mosque is for Muslims.  However, what is happening with the Al-Aqsa Mosque right now should be the concern of all Muslims in the world, therefore it would be nice for us to help and support our brothers there who are risking their lives in protecting this blessing place.


The second reason is that what Israel has done is a gross human rights violation.  As the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia is obliged to take part in cases of gross human rights violations in Palestine.  Because the actions carried out by Indonesia are a representation of the Muslim concern for the suffering experienced by the Palestinian people.  The colonial crimes committed by Israel against Palestine should open the eyes of all of our hearts that these crimes have harmed human values. Colonialism, imperialism, or other forms of colonialism that are taking place today cannot be justified regardless of their form.  Without pity, Israel could slaughter innocent people.  From women, the elderly, even children to babies.  Of course, this is no longer a form of self-defense but is a crime that must be stopped.  So, helping the Palestinians and supporting their independence is something that must be done together to bring about justice in the name of humanity.


And the last is, Indonesia and Palestine have a very close relationship.  Apart from all that, the Indonesian people should not forget that at the beginning of the independence period, Palestine was one of the countries that recognized and supported Indonesia's independence as a sovereign state. The closeness between Indonesia and Palestine has been going on for decades.  Palestine through mufti Amin Al Husayni became the initial state that supported and recognized Indonesia's independence.  Therefore, Palestinian independence is the most important thing that must continue to be voiced by the Indonesian people.


So, all elements should unite to support the Palestinian people and stop all human rights violations that occur there.  Indonesia and other countries must continue to support and help voice in handling cases of international disputes and crimes, so that Israel will stop aggression against Palestine. What we should be aware of and must always remember is that we don't have to be a Muslim to help Palestine, we just need to be human beings who have a sense of humanity towards others.

 

References:

“Mengapa Palestina dan Israel Berperang?”. (2020). Kompasiana.com. Retrieved on May 27, 2021 from https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2020/07/18/203605869/mengapa-palestina-dan-israel-berperang


“Tiga Alasan Mengapa Umat Islam harus Memerdekakan Masjid Al-Aqsha?” .(2021). Hidayatullah.com. Retrieved on May 27, 2021 from https://www.hidayatullah.com/spesial/ragam/read/2021/05/11/83347/tiga-alasan-mengapa-umat-islam-harus-memerdekakan-masjid-al-aqsha-1.html


 

Thursday, May 20, 2021

SKB 3 Menteri Reaps The Pros and Cons, Should this Policy be Implemented?

May 20, 2021 0 Comments


 

Three ministers, namely the Minister of Education and Culture Nadiem Makarim, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, and Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas issued a Joint Decree (Surat Keputusan Bersama / SKB) regarding the use of uniforms and attributes in the school environment. In this SKB 3 Menteri stated that students, educators and education personnel in the school environment have the right to choose to wear uniforms and attributes without specific religious characteristics in accordance with statutory regulations. However, the Supreme Court canceled this Joint Decree because it was considered contrary to higher laws and regulations.


The existence of the SKB 3 Menteri also reaps pros and cons by the public and officials in Indonesia. On the pro side, they agree with the SKB 3 Ministers because they think that the SKB 3 Menteri can stop the discriminatory intolerance that has occurred so far in Indonesian schools. Meanwhile, those who are contra do not agree with the SKB 3 of the Menteri because they think this policy is against Islamic teachings which oblige wearing the veil for women Muslims.


If we look at the purpose of this policy, it is quite good because the SKB 3 Menteri can stop discrimination against certain religions. Because as we know, students, teachers and education personnel in public schools come from various ethnicities and different religions. So, it feels inappropriate for public schools to regulate the provisions on the use of uniforms based on a certain religion. However, it would be better if the SKB 3 Menteri policy was for non-Muslim students only.


What needs to be underlined in this policy is that the government gives freedom to all students in wearing school uniforms.This is what raises the cons to this policy. If the government just gives freedom to all students this will create new problems. As we know, the majority of the population in Indonesia is Muslim, so Muslim students are taught from an early age to cover up and wear a veil from school so that students are accustomed to continuing to wear the veil in accordance with Islamic teachings which require women to wear the veil.


If the government just gives freedom to students, this will make students think about wearing the uniform as they like. If there is only one Muslim student who takes off the hijab and wears tight clothes, this will definitely trigger other students to imitate this because we know that the age of the students is still very unstable and easy to be influenced by things around them. Of course this is very unethical if this happens.


 In addition, if the SKB 3 Menteri simply gives freedom to students in school uniforms, this is very likely to cause social inequality among students. At this time there are still a lot of social inequality in school, especially if students are given freedom just like that, there will be groups of 'the rich students' and the groups of 'the poor students'. If students wear the same uniform so that no one feels superior and using uniforms also train students to be more disciplined, especially in clothes.


Therefore, this SKB 3 Menteri still really needs to be reconsidered. So far, there is nothing wrong with wearing school uniforms, especially the use of the veil for Muslim students. With this uniformity will avoid the existence of social inequality. It would be better if the policy of the SKB 3 Menteri is focuses more on students who are not Muslim and the government should follow up and even impose strict sanctions for schools that force non-Muslim students to wear the veil instead of giving students freedom because this will actually be a boomerang in the future.


Saturday, May 8, 2021

4 Negative Impacts of TikTok on Children

May 08, 2021 0 Comments

 



Who doesn't know the application that hits nowadays? Yaps, exactly! TikTok! The application, which was blocked by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology in 2018, has finally been reopened and has actually been increasingly booming since the existence of Covid-19. TikTok itself is an application to make short videos that provide unique and dancing effects and a lot of songs in it that users can use easily with great results. Therefore, this application has its own appeal from all ages to express their hobbies and work through this application. But who would have thought that along with its development, the sophistication of this application not only had a positive impact such as sharpening children's creativity in making short videos, but this application also had a negative impact on its users, especially for children who were underage. At this time, we can see that there are still a lot of videos uploaded by teenagers or children that contain content that is unnatural and not according to their age. What are the dangers of the TikTok application?  The following are the negative impacts of the TikTok application on children.


1.      TikTok contains a lot of inappropriate content
If we see, there is indeed a lot of content on Tik Tok that is not suitable for children to watch.  There are lots of Tik Tok videos that contain harsh words, hate speech, and even obscene content. The existence of these inappropriate videos can be harmful to the mental development of children and make them imitate this unkind thing.


2.  Make children addicted to playing TikTok
      There are various kinds of videos on TikTok, this will attract the attention of the children so that they forget the time. Children will be addicted and will continue to open this application until they forget about the time and even forget to study, and become lazy. Even worse, the effect of this addiction is to make children introverted, rarely socialize because they are only focused on their gadgets.  In addition, this can also affect children's emotions so that they get emotional faster when we warn them or forbid them.

      3. Trigger excessive children's narcissism
      As we know, in this TikTok application, people are competing to get a large number of likes and comments of praise from netizens to make them famous. This makes TikTok users willing to do anything for the sake of content so that they are viral and famous.  Not a few of these content creators from various ages from adults to children make content behaving strangely, dancing indecently, even taking dangerous actions.

     4. Damaging children's morale and behavior
     As explained in the previous point, because of the number of videos that were inappropriate and enlivened, this made more and more people to imitate them. For example, we can see when there is a video of a child swaying together showing off their bodies in school uniforms. This results in a loss of shame and morale in children.  They don't hesitate to do this just for content. In addition, there are those who create content known as “Prank” where someone will prank other people just for fun.  Not a few also do this from funny things to even endanger themselves and others. This is very detrimental to the morale and behavior of the children.

              The use of TikTok is indeed prone to dangers for underage children who use it, as the example described above. To address this, parents must also be proactive in supervising the use of gadgets, especially the use of this application by children. We as adults must be prepared to watch over the children around us so that things that are not wanted happen to children.


1.


Sunday, May 2, 2021

KRI Nanggala 402 Tragedy: The Importance of Modernizing and Improving Indonesia's Alutsista

May 02, 2021 0 Comments


 

Currently, Indonesia is in grief again. Various disasters seem to constantly shake our country. After in early January the Sriwijaya plane crashed in the kepulauan Seribu, floods in several areas, earthquakes in Malang and its surroundings, and now the submarine belonging to the Indonesian Navy, KRI Nanggala 402, sank.  KRI Nanggala 402 was initially reported to have lost contact on April 21, 2021. The last time KRI Nanggala was able to communicate at 04.30 WIB. After that the KRI Nanggala could not be contacted again and was declared drowned. Many people believe that the cause of this sinking was due to the many defects in the submarine's old engine. Therefore, there are three main reasons why Indonesia needs to modernize and improve the Main Tool of the Defense System (Alat Utama Sistem Pertahanan or Alutsista).


The first reason is that a country that has wide water areas like Indonesia really needs a modern and strong defense system. As reported by Kompas.com, according to military observer from the University of Indonesia Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, a defense budget revolution needs to be carried out using either a capability or threat basis - unlike now which uses a budget basis. The KRI Nanggala accident was a "hard blow" for a defense budget revolution to be carried out immediately. If it is not done and is still using the budget basis, it will be difficult to avoid future calamities. Connie gave an example, Indonesia should have at least 12 submarines, but in fact there are only 5 units and one has sunk. Meanwhile, Indonesia also has 282 warships consisting of 7 frigates, 24 types of corvettes, 5 submarines, 156 patrol boats and 10 minesweepers.


On the other hand, the area of ​​Indonesian waters is more than 5.8 million square kilometers while the land area is only 2 million square kilometers spread over 17,499 islands. This is very unbalanced. Indonesia's military strength, including its navy, which was the best under President Soekarno, is now teetering to protect the 5.8 million square kilometer sea or 71 percent of Indonesia's total territory. Therefore, the government must immediately consider this.  Lack of weapons under the sea will seriously endanger the underwater areas of Indonesia. Indonesian seas would be easily infiltrated by the enemy and attacked so that this would threaten Indonesia's sovereignty.


Another reason is that the Alutsista owned by Indonesia tends to be old and even used from other countries which are always being updated, so that the defense equipment often experiences technical problems. Purchasing used Alutsista is also a problem because it has bigger potential problems, it will not only burden the budget for maintenance, but will also risk accidents that threaten the safety and security of soldiers. Alutsista conditions that are below readiness standards will increase the risk of accidents. Tragically, the late Marine Lieutenant Colonel (P) Heri Oktavian, who was also a victim in the KRI Nanggala-402 accident, had expressed concern about the safety of used Alutsista when interviewed by Kompas.


Reporting from Vice.com, According to Heri, the Navy needs qualified equipment, but what has happened so far is the opposite, with the policy taken more inclined towards rejuvenating old weapons of war.  Heri, at that time, reminded policy makers to think about the safety of TNI soldiers. Heri also died in his duty with 52 colleagues at KRI Nanggala-402. His warning before his death was a momentum for the government to be more serious in thinking about the safety of soldiers while on duty. Especially if it is proven that the root of the problem is due to technical matters and old equipment, which can be avoided.


And the last reason is that apart from modernizing Alutsista, Indonesia must also have a submarine support and rescue vessel. Currently, Indonesia does not  have equipment for emergency situations, such as a submarine rescue ship. Reflecting on the search for KRI Nanggala-402, the existence of a rescue ship is very necessary. Reporting from IDNTIMES.Com, marine expert from the Sepuluh November Institute of Technology, Wisnu Wardhana, said that to evacuate the crew of the KRI Nanggala-402 ship, a small emergency submarine was needed. The deployed emergency submarine must have the capability of diving to a depth of more than 850 meters.


But the problem is, Indonesia does not have emergency submarine technology.  According to him, it is unusual to operate a submarine, but it does not have an emergency submarine to deal with accidents under the sea.  Therefore, Indonesia depends on assistance from neighboring countries in the evacuation process.  In addition, the encouragement for the procurement of submarine rescue ships also came from former TNI-AL senior Rear Admiral Soleman Ponto. He firmly stated that the submarine rescue ship was needed by the TNI-AL. He stressed that every submarine fleet must be strengthened with rescue ships.


The sinking of the submarine KRI Nanggala 402 is a tragic event and deeply concerns all of us. We should be sad and mourned for this incident. The TNI soldiers died in the middle of the ongoing training process. In the midst of this concern and grief, of course this incident needs to be seen and assessed in a bigger picture regarding the problem of modernizing defense equipment that is happening in Indonesia. Alutsista accident in Indonesia is not the first time has happened. There have been several accidents. This is a warning to the government to focus more on Indonesia's Alutsista so that no more of our soldiers become victims.  The procurement of defense equipment as part of efforts to modernize and strengthen Indonesia's defense is indeed very important and necessary. 

 

References:

Dewi, Santi. (2021). Pakar ITS: RI Tak Punya Alat untuk Evakuasi ABK KRI Nanggala-402. Retrieved on April 28, 2021 from https://www.idntimes.com/news/indonesia/santi-dewi/pakar-its-ri-tak-punya-alat-untuk-evakuasi-abk-kri-nanggala

 

Folia, Rosa. (2021). Kecelakaan Alutsista Berulang Kali Terjadi, Kebijakan Kemenhan Jadi Sorotan. Retrieved on April 28, 2021 from https://www.vice.com/id/article/g5gbbm/tenggelamnya-kri-nanggala-harus-jadi-momen-perubahan-kebijakan-pembelian-alutsista-bekas-kemenhan

 

Kompas.com. (2021). Setelah KRI Nanggal 402 “On Eternal Patrol”, Gerakan Membeli Kapal Selam hingga Desakan Revolusi Modernisasi Alutsista. Retrieved on April 28, 2021 from https://amp.kompas.com/regional/read/2021/04/30/061600578/setelah-kri-nanggala-402-on-eternal-patrol-gerakan-membeli-kapal-selam


Sunday, April 25, 2021

The Impacts of The 2021 Homecoming Ban Policy and How The Community Should React to This

April 25, 2021 0 Comments

 



Eid homecoming is the moment most eagerly awaited by Muslims throughout Indonesia to stay in touch and gather to celebrate Eid with their families.  Unfortunately, for Eid in 2020, the Indonesian government banned Eid homecoming due to the COVID-19 pandemic so that many people hoped that in 2021 the ban on going home would be abolished and they could celebrate Eid this year with their families.  However, unexpectedly all these hopes have disappeared. The government officially re-issued a policy to prohibit Eid 2021 homecoming activities from May 6 to May 17, 2021. All modes of transportation are prohibited from operating on that date.  This is not without reason that the policy was eventually re-issued, although it is natural that the ban has brought its own disappointments to those who want to return to their hometowns and spend time with their beloved families. However, behind all that, there are also positive and negative impacts of this policy, and how do we as a society respond to this policy? Let's scroll down!



First of all, let's discuss the positive impact of this policy. Of course we already know, the most important positive impact of this policy is to reduce the transmission rate of the Covid-19 virus and reduce the death rate caused by Covid-19. Based on data from the Covid-19 Task Force published by Kemenkopmk.go.id, last year's Idul Fitri holiday has resulted in an increase in the average number of daily cases by 68-93% with the addition of 413-559 daily cases and the number of weekly cases ranging from 2,889-3,917. Meanwhile, the weekly mortality rate is between 28-66% or 61-143 cases of death. According to the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy stated the high rate of transmission and death of people and health workers due to the Covid-19 outbreak was caused after several long holidays, especially after the Christmas and New Year holidays.


Meanwhile, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin also stated that every vacation there was always an increase in Covid-19 cases between 30-50%, both from confirmed positive cases and active cases of Covid-19.  In fact, the impact of the increase in cases during the Christmas and New Year holidays, the number of active Covid-19 cases is still increasing. Based on that reason and to control the spread of COVID-19 cases, the government re-issued a policy to prohibit the homecoming for Idul Fitri 1442 H, which is valid for 12 days, from 6-17 May 2021.


And the second positive impact is that the existence of this homecoming prohibition policy can reduce the number of traffic accidents during homecoming.  The number of people who want to go home is estimated to have a peak of two or three days before the Eid. At almost the same time tens of millions of people went home using motorbikes, cars, public transportation (buses) and trains, as well as airplanes and ships. Therefore, from year to year the number of accidents continues to increase. With this policy, it can also be proven by the decrease in the number of accidents during the Eid holiday last year. Reporting from Kompas.com, Police Traffic Police Inspector General Pol Istiono said the number of traffic accidents during the Ketupat Operation activities last year decreased by 31% when compared to the number of traffic accidents during last year's Ketupat operation, which was 2,851 incidents in 2019 to 1,980 incidents.  Likewise, the number of victims who died, decreased by 63 percent.  In Operation Ketupat 2020, the number was 418 victims while last year it reached 1,116 victims.


Everything that has a positive impact will always have a negative impact, as well as this policy. The most negative impact of this policy is on the economic sector.  Reported by Theconversation.com, based on Researcher of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara said that in a normal situation, the growth of money in circulation during Eid al-Fitr homecoming can increase by more than 10% than usual. In 2019 before the pandemic, the Ministry of Transportation estimated that the circulation of money during homecoming would reach IDR 10 trillion.


Bhima added that the retail sector sales also increased by an average of 30% higher than the usual month. The increase in transactions will make entrepreneurs recruit additional employees, for example at souvenir centers, restaurants and hotels and even transportation during the Eid holiday moments. With homecoming ban policy, the money circulation will be reduced and retail sales will be as usual.


On the other hand, Muhamad Rifki Fadilah, a researcher from The Indonesian Institute, added that homecoming ban policy will have an impact on the economy in the region.  He said that going homecoming for community has a multiplier effect on economic sectors in the region, such as hotels, tourist attractions, and places for souvenirs. In addition, transportation entrepreneurs such as inter-city and inter-provincial buses, planes, and ships must also suffer the impact of the homecoming ban in the form of decreased revenues from passengers who are usually busy going to their hometown. With the negative impact above, it is possible that economic growth in the second quarter of this year could decline, unless the government is able to keep the economy spinning with various other alternatives.


In addition, another negative impact is that the celebration of Eid this year will feel the same as 2020, where this year's Eid will feel less festive and tend to feel empty, unlike the Eid holidays a few years ago. Eid homecoming which is a tradition and is always eagerly awaited every year by our community, where people carry out activities to go home to stay in touch with their families in their hometown after Ramadan, the homecoming ban policy makes people feel disappointed and sad because there are many people who  hopes that this year they can celebrate Eid with their beloved family but were prevented again by the same policy last year. So, this year's Eid will again feel lonely and and not festive because many people are discouraged.


After considering the positive and negative impacts of this policy, we as a society must be able to respond to this policy properly. We as a society inevitably have to understand and accept the current situation. The phenomenon of the homecoming for Eid is the right of all citizens to travel and stay in touch with families, but on the grounds of the spread of Covid19, of course the government must also provide guarantees to protect every citizen, so let's give the government the freedom to show their work hard to handle the Covid-19 pandemic and we as a society also should participate to comply with health protocols and avoid crowds.


So, all policies that have been issued have definitely had positive and negative impacts, and many have also reaped pros and cons. Likewise with this homecoming prohibition policy.  Many people have voiced their disapproval of this policy, and there is some people also have voiced that this policy is correct. After seeing the positive and negative impacts, hopefully we as a society can consider the decisions that will be taken.  Even though we cannot go back to homecoming this year, this does not mean that it is a reason for us to be discouraged to carry out Eid later on. We as a mulsim already know that Eid is a day of victory for Muslims, so let's celebrate together with great joy.


References:

Kemenko PMK. (2021). Larangan Mudik Kurangi Resiko Akibat Covid-19. Retrieved on April 22, 2021 from https://www.kemenkopmk.go.id/larangan-mudik-kurangi-risiko-akibat-covid-19

 

Kurniawan, Ruly. (2020). Selama Periode Lebaran 2020, Jumlah Kecelakaan Kendaraan Turun 31 Persen. . Retrieved on April 22, 2021 from https://amp.kompas.com/otomotif/read/2020/06/09/122200715/selama-periode-lebaran-2020-jumlah-kecelakaan-kendaraan-turun-31-persen


The Conversation. (2021). Bagaimana Pemerintah Bisa Mengurangi Dampak Ekonomi dari Larangan Mudik. Retrieved on April 22, 2021 from https://theconversation.com/bagaimana-pemerintah-bisa-mengurangi-dampak-ekonomi-dari-larangan-mudik-158707


Saturday, April 17, 2021

Artist and Public Figures Should Not Show Off Their Wealth, Why?

April 17, 2021 0 Comments

 



The life of artists in Indonesia often attracts people's attention, one of which is their luxurious lifestyle. Moreover, nowadays the use of social media is increasing from all ages.  Various social media content that shows the rich side of the content creators is a common thing that we can see everyday life, such as on Instagram, Youtube, and even the currently popular application, TikTok. Starting from giving large sums of money to certain people, making challenges with prize money, or even the latest trend among public figures is to show off the contents of their account balances. In fact, showing off wealth is something that could be considered unethical in our culture, but now everything seems to have changed. Flaunting wealth is no longer viewed as something taboo and negative. Therefore, there are several reasons that must be considered twice by public figures if they want to show off their wealth, especially during the conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic.


The first reason is that it will lead to criminal action from irresponsible people.  Artists and public figures who openly defame their wealth on social media have indirectly provoked people to commit crimes. As we know, not all people on social media are good people in adequate conditions so that those who see the actions taken by these public figures are motivated to work hard so that they can imitate the success of the public figures who are their role models.




However, what if it was the opposite?  If it turns out that the tendency of people to see this success and luxury causes the people around them to want the property that is owned by other people by means of violence, crimes such as theft, robbery, and a series of quite terrible crimes.  As reported by Kompas.com, the Banten Regional Police noted that crime cases that occurred throughout 2020 increased compared to the previous year.  Fiandar said that as many as 3,323 cases of conventional crimes such as motorbike theft, fraud, robbery, and others. According to Fiandar, the increase in crime cases is the impact of the corona virus pandemic.  The perpetrators are compelled to commit crimes due to economic pressure. Therefore, this will have fatal consequences, not only will it endanger the public figures and the artist itself but also endanger other people.


Another reason is that there are still many poor people who really need help at this time.  During the current pandemic, many people are affected by the economy.  Many people have lost their jobs, their businesses have gone bankrupt, and they have difficulty finding jobs.  As reported by Kompas.com, the number of poor Indonesians in the period of September 2020 reached 27.55 million people.  The latest data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows, now the poverty rate in Indonesia has again reached 10.19 percent in September 2020. The number of poor people in Indonesia has increased by 2.76 million people when compared to the same period last year.  The increase in the number of poor people occurred due to the pandemic which caused many economic activities to not run as usual, so that people's income was reduced.


Therefore, it would be unethical for an artist or a public figure to compete to show off their wealth just to have fun and get praise, however, there are a lot of people out there who need help.  If it feels like they can't help a lot of people, it would be better for these artists not to flaunt their wealth openly to public and simply keep it for privacy.  At least this will reduce the existing social inequality.


And the last reason is that an artist and a public figure is a role model for his/her followers who must set a good example to people.  As someone who is a role model, it would be better for the artists and public figures to set a good example by showing a good attitude too.  As we know, flaunting wealth and being arrogant is bad behavior.  If indeed the artists and public figures show this wealth to motivate people not to give up and work hard, it doesn't matter as long as don't do it too often while demeaning people and being arrogant.


As previously explained, currently social media is not only used by adults but also by children who use it.  Artists and public figures should show examples of good attitudes so that today's younger generations can imitate them.  Because at this time, the existence of public figures, artists and influencers greatly affects the lifestyle and mindset of young people.  Therefore, they should give examples of good attitudes and motivate people with the work they create.


Apart from that, as a humans being we have no right to prohibit others from exercising their rights.  Showing off wealth is the right of the artist and the public figures themselves.  There's nothing wrong with motivating people by doing this, it's just that they need to put limits on what they're doing.  Don't flaunt wealth by creating content that is a waste of money just because you want to go viral and get praise from people that you are 'rich'.  Of course that is very unkind and unethical especially during this pandemic.  In addition, we as netizens must also be smart in choosing content spread on social media and we should more supervise children in using social media.



References:

Kompas.com. Penduduk Miskin Indonesia Naik Jadi 27,55 Juta akibat Covid-19, Tren Penurunan Kemiskinan Terhenti. Retrieved on April 15, 2021 from https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/02/16/073400926/penduduk-miskin-indonesia-naik-jadi-27-55-juta-akibat-covid-19-tren-penurunan


Kompas.com. Pandemi Covid-19, Angka Kriminalitas Meningkat, Kecelakaan Lalu Lintas Menurun. Retrieved on April 15, 2021 from https://regional.kompas.com/read/2020/12/24/06351531/pandemi-covid-19-angka-kriminalitas-meningkat-kecelakaan-lalu-lintas-menurun

Why is The AA Couple's Luxury Wedding Reaping a lot of Controversary? Check This Out!

April 17, 2021 0 Comments

 



Recently, Indonesian society is being enlivened by the wedding of a famous celebrity and youtuber in Asia.  I'm sure almost all of you already know, right?  Yeps!  The wedding of Atta Halilintar and Aurel Hermansyah.  The couple's wedding, which is often nicknamed the “AA Couple”, was held on April 3, 2021 and is known as the most luxurious wedding party in this year.  Lots of other celebrities attended this AA Couple wedding and there were even several state officials who were invited, and one of them is the number one person in Indonesia, namely President Joko Widodo. Many prayers and congratulations continue to flow from fellow celebrities to this AA Couple.  In addition, not a few people also prayed for this couple to always be happy, stay lasting and romantic, and get a baby soon.  However, behind all the luxury of this wedding, it also creates a lot of controversy among today's society.  Lots of people have criticized and commented on AA Copule's marriage with various arguments.  Here are the reasons why this wedding is so controversial.


First, because of the arrival of President Jokowi himself as well as the Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto.  The presence of Jokowi and Prabowo is considered to be the inconsistency of the leaders in pandemic conditions.  Currently the government is voicing and making regulations so that people do not crowd and hold any party, but instead the leaders themselves violate these regulations. As reported by CNN Indonesia, according to an Epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Hermawan Saputra, he said that Jokowi and Prabowo were not wise and insensitive even though Atta and Aurel's wedding was considered to have implemented strict health protocols.  For him, the presence of these two figures can trigger the public's desire to increasingly hold a wedding party.  The presence of these two figures will actually make a new shield for the community when they want to hold a party by giving the excuse that they have strictly followed health protocols.  It could be that this will make people think that “The President and the Minister of Defense are allowed to attend the wedding, why can't we?”.


Othe reason is many people were surprised and questioned the existence of a post on the official Twitter account of the Indonesian State Secretariat Ministry that uploaded the AA Couple's wedding photo.  Netizens also flocked to the Twitter reply column from that account.  Many netizens have questioned what the urgency of the wedding party is related to state affairs.  The public questioned how this official account of the Ministry of State Secretariat of Indonesia thought to posting things that were not related to constitutional matters.  So, many people think that this wedding party has become one of the country's agenda that must be done.  Meanwhile, this wedding party itself has nothing to do with state affairs.


A public policy observer, Trubus Rahadiansyah, also commented on this. Reporting from Tempo.co, Trubus questioned the reason the State Secretariat ministry shared news regarding the presence of Jokowi and Prabowo at this celebrity wedding reception. He said that there was no urgency in the presence of these two figures at the wedding party which needed to be broadcast by the State Secretary's account.  He also said that what the Secretary of State had done was clearly not in its place and function.  Even Trubus considered it unethical because it was not related to state matters.


And the last thing is that many people feel the injustice committed by the government.  Many people are disappointed with the government which has created social inequalities.  The government has made a regulation in the form of prohibiting the community if it invites many people and if there is a violation of health protocols in holding a wedding party will get sanctions.  So, lately it often happens in society when they hold a wedding party, they are often forcibly dispersed by the security forces even being criminalized because they are considered to have violated health protocols.


However, the existence of celebrity weddings attended by state officials has finally become a paradox in society.  Where society considers when famous people and people in power can carry out a wedding party at will without any pressure from any party and without being touched on the problem of violating health protocols.  This is what makes people angry and disappointed because this injustice is being demonstrated.


Therefore, because of the large number of people who criticized this couple's wedding, the AA Couple's wedding became a hot topic at the beginning of this month.  Because many people were furious at the paradox that occurred at this wedding, netizens responded with harsh criticism, satire and seemed to make fun of it.  Many people hope that this incident does not happen again.  In addition, the community also hopes that the government must maintain the consistency that has been made.  The laws and regulations that are made must be equal to everyone regardless of their status.  And as the holder of power in the country, the community hopes that the government can be a good example for its citizens and don't even break the rules they have made.




References:

CNN Indonesia. Tak Peka dan Politisi Jokowi-Prabowo di Pernikahan Atta-Aurel. Retrieved on April 6, 2021 from https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210405193047-32-626269/tak-peka-dan-politis-jokowi-prabowo-di-pernikahan-atta-aurel

Adyatama, Egi. TEMPO.CO. Pengamat Pertanyakan Foto Jokowi di Nikahan Atta-Aurel Diunggah di Laman Setneg. Retrieved on April 6, 2021 from https://nasional.tempo.co/amp/1449357/pengamat-pertanyakan-foto-jokowi-di-nikahan-atta-aurel-diunggah-di-laman-setneg#aoh=16178083199605&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s


Tuesday, March 30, 2021

3 Poems about Nature in Indonesian Language

March 30, 2021 0 Comments

 



1. Surga Dunia Tempatku Dilahirkan



Di suatu pagi aku terbangun

Alunan udara menyapaku dengan lembut

Ku langkahkan kaki perlahan

Aku berdiri dan terdiam diambang pintu

Sembari melihat panorama indah yang terbentang luas

 

Gunung-gunung berbaris rapi dengan

Sawah hijau bergerak mengikuti aluran angin

Seolah menari-nari menyambut bangunku pagi ini

Burung-burung berkicau, menari, bersahut-sahutan

Menunjukan betapa bahagianya mereka pagi ini

 

Inilah surga duniaku..

Tempat dimana aku dilahirkan dan di besarkan

Tempat dimana aku diajarkan berjalan dan berbicara

oleh ibunda tercinta..

Rasa sejuk, nyaman, dan tentram begitu melekat di jiwa


Tak henti-hentinya aku berdecak kagum dan

Besryukur kepada sang Zat yang Maha Sempurna

Berkat-NYA surga ini tercipta..

Duhai desaku.. kau surga duniaku yang terindah..


2. Sang Sahabat Malam




Di malam hari yang sunyi dan dingin

Ku buka jendela kamarku

Ku lihat sang rembulan yang menatapku penuh hangat

Seolah-olah menyapaku untuk

Melenyapkan heningnya malam

 

Terlihat di setiap sisi sang bulan

Hamparan bintang yang berkerlap-kerlip

Menambah nuansa panorama indah sang bulan

Gelapnya malam ini

Menjadikan sang bulan dan bintang bak sahabat

Di malam yang kelam

 

Kehadiran sang bulan dan bintang yang slalu kunantikan

Untuk menenagkan jiwa yang berkecamuk

Wahai sang bulan dan bintang

Tetaplah bersinar di tengah pekatnya malam

Untuk menemani malam umat yang sepi

 

3. Andai Hutan Dapat Berbicara




Lihatlah..

Daun hijau ku yang mulai layu bertebaran diatas tanah

Serpihan ranting ku berserakan di tiup angin

Batang ku nan coklat terbelah menjadi dua

Akar ku mulai melemah tanda ia sudah tak mampu

untuk bertahan..

 

Aku pun bertanya-tanya..

Kesalahanan apa yang telah aku lakukan

Hingga kalian tega berbuat seperti ini

Aku hanya ingin tetap berdiri dengan kokoh

Tumbuh segar berwarna hijau untuk menyejukan

bumi ini..

 

Aku hanya ingin tetap bercengkrama dengan udara

Agar aku tetap dapat memberikan kehidupan

kepada umat manusia

Aku hanya ingin tetap berdiri dengan gagah

Agar dapat melindungi bumi ini dari

gejolaknya bencana alam

 

Cukup..

Hentikanlah semua penyiksaan ini

Jaga dan rawat lah aku kembali

Jangan biarkan alam semakin murka

Karena aku tak sanggup melihat

ibu pertiwi ini menangis lagi..

 



LET'S learn english together!

HELLO, THERE!