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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:29 PM PST

NOV 7 ― To survive among Indonesians, you must understand the social structure of its people. All that talk about human rights, anti-corruption, women's empowerment, democracy, itu semua wayang, sayang.

Indonesia is not dissimilar to other Asian countries when it comes to power and status. But you must remember, they were once ruled by the Dutch, and say what you will of our colonisers, the Dutch were crueller than the English.

Add warring warlords and royals, the distrust the tribes have for each other, and yes the poverty. Poverty. Don't ever think for once that poverty is equivalent to godliness. It can be the sole driving force for an Indonesian in his pursuit for a better life. They live by their wits, and they die by them too.

As an Indonesian-Malaysian friend counselled me over a four-hour dinner ("I have no illusions about my people and heritage. Every time I go back, I'm looking over my shoulder all the time."), who you are matters.

Imagine a Venn diagram. Is the family renowned in the country or community? If so, in and among which communities is the family influential? Who is the patriarch and matriarch that can be depended on? Now, how are their relations with the local governing bodies, or at least society? Even the humble beca man may exert some form of influence if he comes from the "right side" of the family, my friend said.

Your family friend is a Senator? She sniffed. Now, which side of the family is he from and is he a Batavian? Madurese or Javanese? Each tribe has its own social structure and language.

What's the use of being powerful if in a certain community, nobody knows you from diddly squat? And so what if you're corrupt or you're known to have raped a few women along the way ― the Indonesians respect power.

I blinked. Many times.

"When I go back to Bandung, Jakarta, mbak," my friend told me, "I go with my family, straight to where we need or want to go, and socialise with the family members who can be trusted and wield some power within the family.

"The rest either want to fleece my family, or will not help. Imagine, my own brother was in trouble when he studied here and our father had to fly over with the patriarch! The rest didn't do anything. My brother was not important enough for them."

She shuddered. "Shopping is cheap though."

I mentioned that Jogja is a city of travellers. Many of its original inhabitants and descendants have moved on to Jakarta or elsewhere, to eke a living. True blue Jogjans are not as many as the outsiders who have come to make the city home.

"It is no longer the centre of the Javanese," a friend's driver said. He too left Jogja many years ago, and when he visits, he is disheartened. The new Javanese have adopted the ways of the outsiders who have settled in the city.

You see, he told me, as we crawled through the Jakarta traffic, once upon a time, Java was a Hindu empire. It had always been very spiritual. The arrival of Islam only served to create an even more spiritual city.

The marriage of tradition and faith gave birth to a lively syncretic practise. Sunan Kalijaga, one of the famed Muslim saints of Java, used the arts and culture to spread the teachings of Islam. Sheikh Siti Jenar, the much maligned Sufi saint of Java too, was an influential and colourful character, whose influence spread right up to Melaka.

"And now, we have outsiders who come with habits and traditions that are alien to our culture. People no longer pray to God, for the sole sake of honouring Him. It's all about their needs and desires. I want this, I want that. I agree it is good for outsiders to get to know our ways, but sacred sites and places of worship must remain off-limits. Now we have tourists!"

Spiritual tourism.

Jogja now offers the curious and spiritual traveller a chance at divinity: spiritual tours around the many candis in the city and outskirts educate the tourist about its religious heritage. Prambanan temple is the largest Hindu temple in the country, and throngs visit it. Its more famed sister is the Borobudur temple in Magelang, though there are many sacred Hindu, Javanese and Muslim sites in Java.

And this was how I met with Patrick Vanhoebrouck of Javanese Wisdom and Healing. I had about given up trying to find leads on the famed Songo saints ― Wali Songo ― when I came across his advertisement in Jogja Ad, a local version of our TimeOut, and found his page on Facebook.

Patrick, a handsome anthropologist who has spent years in Java, is passionate about his work. Setting up the company was just one step towards his love: the Javanese religion. He's also a walking encyclopaedia of Java, and generous with knowledge. In the weeks I was in Jogja, he emailed me link after link, essay after essay and loaned me a book on the Javanese religion.

It was a pity we could not meet up as often; I had to visit sites relevant to my Holy Men study, and he had his hands full with spiritual tourists and shamans who had come to Java to visit, detox and be ignited by the energies of sacred candis.

"There are French shamans?" I was gobsmacked. As far as I was concerned, the French were immaculately dressed, intellectual sophisticates a la Bernard-Henri Levy and toted Chanels. The nearest French shaman I could think of were witches and wizards.

"Yes," he said.

But even he, and Pak Moko, Patrick's guru and friend, a powerful dukun, were perplexed. The energies in Jogja and the rest of Java have changed over the last six months. Divorces, fights, disagreements, unhappiness ― Java needs a major cleansing.

Pak Moko looked up from his coffee. "Iya, mbak. Java… is rather strange these days."

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Sisi positif pusat membeli belah

Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:26 PM PST

7 NOV ― Baru-baru ini Kuala Lumpur atau lebih tepat, Lembah Klang telah dinobatkan sebagai kota membeli belah kedua terbaik di wilayah Asia Pasifik. Dalam laporan kaji selidik "Globe Shopper Index", Kuala Lumpur hanya kalah kepada Hong Kong dan amat mengejutkan jiran kita Singapura yang terkenal dengan Orchard Road hanya menempati posisi kelima.

Laporan penuh "Globe Shopper Index:Asia Pacific" yang dipelopori Economist Intelligence Unit dan didanai Global Blue boleh dibaca di sini.

Kajian dibuat berdasarkan lima kategori: kemudahan hotel dan pengangkutan, keselesaan, tarikan kebudayaan seperti makanan, tempat pelancongan dan cuaca, jenis produk yang ditawarkan serta harga dan kos untuk barangan umum dan keseluruhan trip.

Laporan itu menyebut, "Kuala Lumpur's main strength as a shopping location is its low total cost combined with an ability to deliver a shopping experience of a relatively high quality. It finishes third in the Index for affordability, including being tied for the lowest cost for the Index shopping basket and the second-lowest dining and hotel costs of any city. Unlike other low-cost cities, however, which tend to perform poorly in several other categories, Kuala Lumpur delivers consistently in almost every area of the Index. It is the only city to finish among the top half in every category".

Meskipun laporan ini ditujukan khas untuk pelancong antarabangsa, relevannya terhadap penghuni kota-kota yang diselidiki tetap ada terutamanya di wilayah yang saya diami, Lembah Klang. Dengan jumlah pusat membeli belah berjumlah 330, muncul banyak suara yang mengkritik kewujudan gedung yang memuja konsumerisme ini. Kritik paling popular adalah perbanyakkan taman rekreasi dan perpustakaan.

Maraknya pusat membeli belah seiring dengan pembangunan ekonomi Malaysia pada awal 90an dan terus berlangsung hingga kini walau kadar pertumbuhannya mulai sederhana. Saya salah seorang yang menikmati kehadiran pusat membeli belah pada waktu itu kerana sedang bergelumang dengan zaman remaja yang memerlukannya untuk bermain game di SEGA City dan sebagainya.

Dari keperluan berhibur, saya beranjak dengan membuat buku skrap khas untuk pusat-pusat membeli belah yang ada dan bakal dibina berdasarkan negeri dan kemudian senarai semak untuk dikunjungi. Banyak juga yang saya berjaya sampai dan dua aspek yang saya nilai ketika itu adalah pertama, akses pengangkutan awam dan kedua, nilai hiburan.

Terakhir, saya mulai melakar secara amatur pelan pusat membeli belah idaman saya yang pada ketika itu tidak banyak dimasukkan di dalam pembangunan projek mereka seperti pusat sukan dan rekreasi, perpustakaan atau kedai buku mega, pejabat kerajaan dan pusat kesenian dan budaya.

Syukur kini banyak pusat membeli belah telah memasukkan unsur-unsur ini untuk memuaskan hati pengunjung yang semakin sopistikated seperti 1Utama dengan gelanggang futsal dan panjat tembok, Suria KLCC dengan Taman KLCC, Lot 10 dengan The Actors Studio, Sunway Pyramid dengan ice skating, Mid Valley dengan kedai buku MPH dan banyak lagi. Pusat membeli belah kini mengalami evolusi menjadi pusat sehenti secara perlahan-lahan kerana jika tidak mereka akan sepi pengunjung.

Menyamakan Malaysia yang bercuaca panas dengan Eropah dan Amerika Syarikat dalam membuat perbandingan budaya berbelanja adalah sesuatu yang kurang cerdik kerana konsep high street yang terkenal di United Kingdom tidak praktikal sama sekali dengan cuaca di Malaysia.

Malah dalam laporan itu menyebut, "These air-conditioned venues help to overcome Kuala Lumpur's big weakness: it finishes 23rd of 25 for agreeability of climate". Kunci di sini keselesaan dan penghawa dingin adalah faktor, jika tidak masakan pejabat atau tempat kerja yang tidak berbudaya konsumerisme secara langsung turut memakainya.

Kuala Lumpur seperti kota lain menghadapi masalah ruang yang semakin terbatas, maka keperluan untuk memaksimakan penggunaan ruang mahu tidak mahu harus dilakukan. Mudah untuk menjadi cool dengan menolak pusat membeli belah dan pro kepada taman rekreasi dan sebagainya.

Namun dalam menanggapi ini persoalan utama bukanlah pro atau anti sebaliknya harus dicari jalan bagaimana mencari keseimbangan di antara keperluan rekreasi dan keperluan ekonomi. Di sisi lain berbagai fakta menyedihkan terjadi di lapangan rekreasi baik yang terbuka atau tertutup seperti di pusat komuniti DBKL dan taman-taman tasik yang sepi pengunjung di waktu kerja dan hanya dipadati (masih sedikit dibanding pengunjung pusat membeli belah) pada waktu petang.

Jalan tengah yang mungkin boleh disepakati adalah dengan meminta pihak berkaitan membuat polisi mewajibkan pembinaan baru dan renovasi pusat membeli belah memasukkan elemen-elemen sukan rekreasi dan seni budaya di samping terus mempertahan dan memaksimakan penggunaan ruang-ruang rekreasi yang ada supaya lebih hidup.

Apa yang pasti membaca buku di perpustakaan/kedai buku, makan tengah hari, mesyuarat, bersukan, berdiskusi, menonton wayang dan sebagainya di pusat membeli belah kini bukan khayalan lagi.

Kelompok anti-konsumerisme baik garis keras atau garis lembut sepanjang masa akan meneriakkan slogan anti-pusat membeli belah, anti-konsumerisme dan sebagainya. Namun adalah kurang cerdik bersikap keras melihat fakta lebih setengah juta rakyat Malaysia bekerja di sektor peruncitan dan jutaan lagi yang bekerja di sektor pembuatan. Tanpa konsumerisme kelas-kelas pekerja ini akan bergelut mencari wang untuk penghidupan mereka.

Barangkali "Ethical consumerism" boleh menjadi alternatif, "(alternatively called ethical consumption, ethical purchasing, moral purchasing, ethical sourcing, ethical shopping or green consumerism) is a type of consumer activism practiced through "positive buying" in that ethical products are favoured, or "moral boycott", that is negative purchasing and company-based purchasing".

Namun persoalannya adakah ia mampu mengubah struktur atau sekadar menjadi eksklusif? Semuanya terpulang kepada kita pengguna dan aktivis untuk mencorakkan seperti mana berubahnya fungsi pusat membeli belah yang semakin demokratis dalam erti kata tidak perlu berbelanja banyak wang untuk menikmatinya.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Rabu, 7 November 2012

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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