A YouTube video of Miss Indonesia, Qory Sandioriva, answering interview questions in broken English during a preliminary round of the Miss Universe 2010 pageant, has provoked criticism of her (linguistic) abilities.
During the video, the interviewer asked her what was the best advice she could give to a man.
"I think when you down the women can make you up, and I think the women can be said that "I have advice for you" if you way up, you have to be nice with people, include women, so when you down, women can be nice with you,” Qory answered nervously.
> Man..... can I be down?
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/miss-indonesias-broken-english-sparks-online-ridicule/392402
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Perbandingan Bahasa Indonesia - Malaysia
Terjumpa artikel blog ini yang koq tak bisa dimasukkan komen. Maka komen saya ada di bawahnya ini.
Kita Indonesia juga lebih banyak pakai kata pinjaman seperti sepatu (dari Portugis/Spanyol "zapato") dan "kulkas", "bioskop" serta "mobil" dari Belanda; sedangkan di Malaysia mereka pakai bahasa Melayu asli; kasut, peti sejuk, pawagam dan kereta (pemendekan "kendaraan ke merata"). Ya teruskan listing di atas deh, tapi biar betul!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Kita masih over-reacting, harus periksa dulu...
Some issue that we have to handle rationally with Malaysia, and not jump the gun:
We now know that the video with the Balinese Pendet dance was not made in Malaysia. It was made by a Singaporean set-up for a private client, NOT Malaysia. The Malaysians have reprimanded the Singapore company and even graciously apologised even though it was not their fault. This has now been reported in Indonesian media. Link: ANTARA News: Pendet dance ad NOT produced by Malaysian govt
The song 'Rasa Sayange' has never been claimed by Malaysia as exclusively theirs. Instead cultural experst such as Raden Najib Ariffin have pointed out that it has long been shared by not just Indonesia and Malaysia but also by Brunei, Singapore and even southern Thailand Malay! It is a shared folk song, and we also have not been able to prove who in supposedly Maluku wrote it anyway. We should rejoice in this sharedness, and not be selfish.
The Malaysian national anthem Negaraku does not come from Indonesia's "Terang Boelan", because both of us borrowed it from a European tune! The song is believed to have been French apparently with some variations such as 'La Rosalie' or 'Oh Amelie'. It was played often in the French colony of Seychelles islands where a Malay Sultan Abdullah was exiled by the British, long before Merdeka. When he was released, he brought the tune back and made it a state song. We also got it from the Europeans, so it's not exclusively ours. This is well documented in France and foreign archives, but we didn't know it.
As for Ambalat, just as we think the area is ours; Malaysia may also have its own proof from British times. The culprit here is not Malaysia, it's the colonial Brits and Dutch who didn't demarcate the border properly - maybe on purpose as part of their 'Divide & Rule' legacy so that we will fight over it to their advantage. We must not fall into this post-colonial trap. It must be resolved through negotiations with internationally recognised proof.
We shouldn't create a fight with our Malaysian neighbour, especially when millions of our people rely on Malaysia for a living by working there [they can easily get workers from other countries if not us]. For a rational discussion of TKI in Malaysia, see my earlier posting below.
If we frighten them, we will also lose much tourism revenue as they are some of our best visitors. And we may lose the goodwill of their generous donations every time we have a disaster, when Malaysians were the first to send aid during the Aceh tsunami, the Jogja earthquake and other recent disasters. Beggars can't be choosers, dong!
We now know that the video with the Balinese Pendet dance was not made in Malaysia. It was made by a Singaporean set-up for a private client, NOT Malaysia. The Malaysians have reprimanded the Singapore company and even graciously apologised even though it was not their fault. This has now been reported in Indonesian media. Link: ANTARA News: Pendet dance ad NOT produced by Malaysian govt
The song 'Rasa Sayange' has never been claimed by Malaysia as exclusively theirs. Instead cultural experst such as Raden Najib Ariffin have pointed out that it has long been shared by not just Indonesia and Malaysia but also by Brunei, Singapore and even southern Thailand Malay! It is a shared folk song, and we also have not been able to prove who in supposedly Maluku wrote it anyway. We should rejoice in this sharedness, and not be selfish.
The Malaysian national anthem Negaraku does not come from Indonesia's "Terang Boelan", because both of us borrowed it from a European tune! The song is believed to have been French apparently with some variations such as 'La Rosalie' or 'Oh Amelie'. It was played often in the French colony of Seychelles islands where a Malay Sultan Abdullah was exiled by the British, long before Merdeka. When he was released, he brought the tune back and made it a state song. We also got it from the Europeans, so it's not exclusively ours. This is well documented in France and foreign archives, but we didn't know it.
As for Ambalat, just as we think the area is ours; Malaysia may also have its own proof from British times. The culprit here is not Malaysia, it's the colonial Brits and Dutch who didn't demarcate the border properly - maybe on purpose as part of their 'Divide & Rule' legacy so that we will fight over it to their advantage. We must not fall into this post-colonial trap. It must be resolved through negotiations with internationally recognised proof.
We shouldn't create a fight with our Malaysian neighbour, especially when millions of our people rely on Malaysia for a living by working there [they can easily get workers from other countries if not us]. For a rational discussion of TKI in Malaysia, see my earlier posting below.
If we frighten them, we will also lose much tourism revenue as they are some of our best visitors. And we may lose the goodwill of their generous donations every time we have a disaster, when Malaysians were the first to send aid during the Aceh tsunami, the Jogja earthquake and other recent disasters. Beggars can't be choosers, dong!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Ancient Philippine Boat Re-created to Sail the Malay World... and Africa?
It's good to hear of this news (link below) where Filipino Badjao /Bajau boat-builders have built a sea-worthy replica of the traditional Balangay boat using methods handed down from generation to generation. The Filipinos, like the native Malay of Malaysia, are basically the same ethnic Malayo-Polynesian family as us in Indonesia. These modern nations are just artificial political divisions created by the Colonial Dutch, British and Spanish - curse them all.
Any triumph of the Filipinos, especially of things prior to the colonial interference, is a triumph of Indonesians as well, as we were one region peacefully connecting and trading with each other for millennia until the colonial disruption. The Bajau seafaring people are found in all three Malay-based countries; Philippines south, Malaysia (Sabah) and Indonesia's north-eastern Kalimantan coasts.
The balangay ship may even travel to Madagascar island (once also known as Malagasy Republic) off Africa's east coast. Malaysian researchers have confirmed that the Madagaskars' ancestors came from the Malay Archipelago, quite likely Borneo via Sumatera from the linguistic roots, at least 1000 years ago if not much earlier. They may have even sailed from the Malay world using ships or boats like the Balangay or the Borobudur-inspired outrigger replica 'Samudra Raksa' below, which already made the journey to Africa in 2003-2004.
Why don't we have even more of these historic and anthropological research or efforts from Indonesians themselves, since we are the biggest Malayo-Polynesian country? Even that Borobudur-inspired ship was spearheaded by Westerners, although there were Indonesians involved (including the main ship-builder Pak Assad Abdullah Al-Madani) but not leading the overall project. Sigh, we are too embroiled in our own problems just to survive daily...
Anyway, long live the Balangay, and the Malay!
May we endure like the Borobudur.
Balangay link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31596466/ns/technology_and_science-science/
Balangay link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31596466/ns/technology_and_science-science/
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Menembak Kaki Sendiri Karena TKI di Malaysia
So Indonesia has banned sending our desperately unemployed women to Malaysia to work as maids! Sure it's in reaction to the recent horribly abusive treatment of some Indonesian maids by their Malaysian employees.
But isn't this over-reacting? Let's look at the overall facts (you can verify these over proper non-partisan 'Net reports).
1. There are over 450,000 Indonesian maids working in Malaysia, and more who have finished and came back with good money (billions of Rupiah!), good memories and experience. The few bad incidents make a small percentage, and shouldn't mean our people cannot work anymore in a close neighbouring country that benefits all parties. We just need to ensure that the victims get fair treatment when it happens.
2. The maids were abused not because they are Indonesian per se! It was the bad personality of their employers who were impatient and abusive. Hello? We have those kind of employers in Indonesia too who also abuse their maids right here in the country. Why no noise from our leaders and masses on these internal abuses?
3. The Malaysian authorities have actually done their level best to ensure care for the victim and punishment for the abuser. They didn't hide it or justify it, their police apprehended the culprits and their courts tried the cases openly with Indonesians present to see. Hey, this is much better than if the same thing happens here with the korupsi of our Polisi and our Pengadilan.
4. Our Indonesian people are not all angels in Malaysia. There are so many cases of Indonesians in Malaysia committing burglary, snatch thefts and even some maids stealing from their own employers. Who are the abusers? Ini kan bikin malu sama kita juga, dong? We Indonesians shouldn't be so one-sided and blinded by 'national pride' yang nggak bertempat lagi buta sebelah.
5. Let's face it, much of the Indonesian maid abuses were commited by CHINESE Malaysians, not the gentle Malay-Muslims who largely treat their maids like family members. It's the Chinese who are aggressive, abusive and have no respect for the native Southeast Asians whether it's in Malaysia, Philippines or even here in Indonesia. By the way, this is not a racist statement as I'm half Chinese Indonesian myself, so I know.
6. Haven't Indonesian workers been abused in other countries all this while - even more and even worse? There have been horror reports of Indonesian maids abused regularly in Singapore and worse, even raped and mutilated in Saudi Arabia, and even by millionaire employers in New York for God's sake. Why now single out Malaysia, where it's not as rampant?
6. If Indonesia doesn't send maids to work in Malaysia, don't think they'll be crippled and beg us forgiveness. I know many Indonesian women will still go through non-formal means as our people are desperate to find work, anywhere and in whatever situation. This is Indonesia's failure: we can't give enough work for our own people and now we prevent them finding work!
7. Latest news is the Philippine Government has already contacted Malaysia and ready to fill the void with Muslim Mindanao workers. They have said that they believe the recent maid abuses in Malaysia are NOT systematic and they are prefering to place maids in Malay-Muslim families as these fellow Rumpun Melayu are proven to be non-abusive.
What we should do is increase our monitoring of Indonesian workers everywhere, weigh the differences and act accordingly in correct proportion to each case. Why single out less problematic Malaysia where so many of our people benefit, and make little noise about the much more terrible abuse in Arab countries? Waduh kita menembak kaki sendiri koq...
Let's be rational. Kalau nggak rasional, kita Indonesia yang rugi deh.
But isn't this over-reacting? Let's look at the overall facts (you can verify these over proper non-partisan 'Net reports).
1. There are over 450,000 Indonesian maids working in Malaysia, and more who have finished and came back with good money (billions of Rupiah!), good memories and experience. The few bad incidents make a small percentage, and shouldn't mean our people cannot work anymore in a close neighbouring country that benefits all parties. We just need to ensure that the victims get fair treatment when it happens.
2. The maids were abused not because they are Indonesian per se! It was the bad personality of their employers who were impatient and abusive. Hello? We have those kind of employers in Indonesia too who also abuse their maids right here in the country. Why no noise from our leaders and masses on these internal abuses?
3. The Malaysian authorities have actually done their level best to ensure care for the victim and punishment for the abuser. They didn't hide it or justify it, their police apprehended the culprits and their courts tried the cases openly with Indonesians present to see. Hey, this is much better than if the same thing happens here with the korupsi of our Polisi and our Pengadilan.
4. Our Indonesian people are not all angels in Malaysia. There are so many cases of Indonesians in Malaysia committing burglary, snatch thefts and even some maids stealing from their own employers. Who are the abusers? Ini kan bikin malu sama kita juga, dong? We Indonesians shouldn't be so one-sided and blinded by 'national pride' yang nggak bertempat lagi buta sebelah.
5. Let's face it, much of the Indonesian maid abuses were commited by CHINESE Malaysians, not the gentle Malay-Muslims who largely treat their maids like family members. It's the Chinese who are aggressive, abusive and have no respect for the native Southeast Asians whether it's in Malaysia, Philippines or even here in Indonesia. By the way, this is not a racist statement as I'm half Chinese Indonesian myself, so I know.
6. Haven't Indonesian workers been abused in other countries all this while - even more and even worse? There have been horror reports of Indonesian maids abused regularly in Singapore and worse, even raped and mutilated in Saudi Arabia, and even by millionaire employers in New York for God's sake. Why now single out Malaysia, where it's not as rampant?
6. If Indonesia doesn't send maids to work in Malaysia, don't think they'll be crippled and beg us forgiveness. I know many Indonesian women will still go through non-formal means as our people are desperate to find work, anywhere and in whatever situation. This is Indonesia's failure: we can't give enough work for our own people and now we prevent them finding work!
7. Latest news is the Philippine Government has already contacted Malaysia and ready to fill the void with Muslim Mindanao workers. They have said that they believe the recent maid abuses in Malaysia are NOT systematic and they are prefering to place maids in Malay-Muslim families as these fellow Rumpun Melayu are proven to be non-abusive.
What we should do is increase our monitoring of Indonesian workers everywhere, weigh the differences and act accordingly in correct proportion to each case. Why single out less problematic Malaysia where so many of our people benefit, and make little noise about the much more terrible abuse in Arab countries? Waduh kita menembak kaki sendiri koq...
Let's be rational. Kalau nggak rasional, kita Indonesia yang rugi deh.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Lu/ Lo dan Gue/ Gua
Sebenarnya istilah Lu/ Lo dan Gue/ Gua itu bukan dari Bahasa kita Melayu (Malay)/ Indonesia tapi dari Bahasa Hokkien pendatang Cina dulu.
Nah, orang Hokkien itu telah datang menetap mula-mula di Semenanjung Tanah Melayu dan Singapura, juga Sumatera dan di Jawa (terutama Betawi/ Jakarta) lalu bahasanya menjadi ikut-ikutan kita. Makanya Lu & Gua ini memang ada di Singapore, Malaysia dan Indonesia dan bukan eksklusif kita aja. Itu facts-nya donk. Bagi " purists " atau pencinta kemurniaan Bahasa Indonesia, Lu dan Gue itu pengotoran bahasa kita, lagi kan kasar...
Elok dikikis Lu & Gue dan kembali pada Aku & Kau untuk panggilan akrab.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Apa sih? Indonesian parties turn to celebrities for elections
This news report below appeared worldwide. Unlike other reports about Indonesia that are sometimes unfair and overblown, this appears accurate and thus, all the more embarasing. Well, isn't it an embarrasment? Oh, you say: it's savvy politics as you need to use any and all means these days to win elections... Well, I think not! There's a limit to it when it becomes superficial entertainment and even a media circus.
Winning elections for running a country is serious business. It's legitimate if a celebrity or two seriously wants to "masuk politik" but to be lured and fronted to fish votes is downright degrading for national politics and serious democracy. And if the people buy it and vote for, or because of, particular entertainment celebrities that they like, this is downright shallow of the people too.
Indonesia is huge with a population pool of over 230 million. Yet we can't even seem to find a handful of good people to lead us, and have to resort to using handsome faces and beautiful bodies to galvanise the masses!
At least Malaysia had it's highly admirable and great leader Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who single-handedly whipped and prodded his people to bring their country from outright obscurity to commendable heights by international standards, and all that without executions or bloodshed. And we Indonesians went from a dictator to various forgettable figures including a near-blind clown of a cleric, then a housewife who was lucky to have a famous name. At least our current President is much more respectable, albeit working in a weak system where even his Deputy is not on the same track. Apa sih Presidential System ini?
Let me be blunt. I agree that whatever it was, that dictator did bring a lot of good to a relatively disparate and difficult to govern nation like Indonesia. I miss Suharto (can't say much about his family), may history be kinder to him.
Back to below - how could an 'Islamic' party bring in a 'dangdut' singer on its platform?! Well, that's Indonesia...
Indonesian parties turn to celebrities as 2009 election looms
JAKARTA (AFP) 5 Sep 2008 — With his sculpted abdominals proudly displayed on his Facebook profile, male model Adrian Maulana cuts a very different figure to the ex-generals and dynastic heirs who dominate Indonesian politics.
He is at the forefront of a new push by Indonesian parties to field celebrities and other tabloid favourites -- collectively known as "artis" -- as candidates in next year's legislative election.
Sitting with his shirt on in a Japanese restaurant, the 30-year-old Maulana admitted he is "still learning" about politics even though he has already been accepted as a candidate by the liberal National Mandate Party (PAN).
The former engineering student, who was part of the 1998 protests that overthrew dictator Suharto is visibly uncomfortable, his voice quavering, when tackling policy questions. However the sometime soap opera and film star said "artis" are quick learners and had to memorise scripts at short notice.
They also have the common touch, he said.
"We celebrities, we are used to talking to the poor people, we are used to taking pictures with them. So we are more sensitive. We know what they want, we know what they need," he said.
The celebrity candidates are an attempt by parties to reconnect with a public that has become disillusioned with 10 years of democracy, persistent poverty and a steady stream of high-level graft scandals, analysts said.
Sitting lawmaker Nurul Arifin, herself a former actress, said the explosion of celebrity candidates for the April polls exposes how poorly parties have connected with Indonesian voters.
Parties remain the vehicles of big personalities with money. Any candidate who wants to break into politics needs stacks of cash to pay party members and promote themselves through advertising.
Celebrities, already well recognised by Indonesia's masses, get to bypass -- or at least get a discount on -- this process "because they already have social capital," Arifin said.
"I'm worried about the substance of these artis. Do they know the substance of politics? Do they know what it means to be a politician?" she asked.
The party most enthusiastically recruiting celebrities, Maulana's PAN, is working hard to make sure its famous candidates don't become embarrassments.
PAN has appointed its own "head of cinema and infotainment" to look after its 15 celebrities and has hired a private political consultancy to run special training sessions.
The star candidates gather at least weekly at a conference table in front of a bank of plasma screens for workshops on party strategy, current issues and political basics.
Political scientist Bima Arya Sugiyarto, who has been hired to help in the training, said some of his charges still had a lot of work to do before they could enter parliament.
"For some people they do have an adequate knowledge of politics, for others they really are beginners," Sugiarto said.
The push for celebrities by parties across the spectrum is an acknowledgement that politicians are trying to combat a dirty reputation for brown-paper-bag politics, he said.
"Massive publicity for corruption scandals by party politicians has really damaged the image of party politics," he said.
"They hope that by recruiting celebrities and public figures, the public will still vote for the parties' candidates."
PAN's celebrity coordinator, Amazon Dalimunthe, said the party valued the relatively clean image of celebrities enough to risk the ire of rank-and-file party members passed over for candidacy.
"Of course there's jealousy (from party cadres). They protested, but the party leadership is looking at it from a wider perspective," Dalimunthe said.
Celebrities have been embraced with fervour across much of Indonesia's fractious political spectrum. The parties of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his main rival Megawati Sukarnoputri have recruited TV and film stars, joining tickets that include one of ex-general Yudhoyono's sons and one of Megawati's daughters.
Former special forces chief, alleged human rights violator and Suharto son-in-law Prabowo Subianto has also tapped a sweet-faced soap star to run with his nationalist Gerindra Party.
Even the Islamic United Development Party has a popular singer of "dangdut," an Arabic and Indian-infused pop music associated in equal parts with sleazy dens and the country's rural heartland.
Winning elections for running a country is serious business. It's legitimate if a celebrity or two seriously wants to "masuk politik" but to be lured and fronted to fish votes is downright degrading for national politics and serious democracy. And if the people buy it and vote for, or because of, particular entertainment celebrities that they like, this is downright shallow of the people too.
Indonesia is huge with a population pool of over 230 million. Yet we can't even seem to find a handful of good people to lead us, and have to resort to using handsome faces and beautiful bodies to galvanise the masses!
At least Malaysia had it's highly admirable and great leader Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who single-handedly whipped and prodded his people to bring their country from outright obscurity to commendable heights by international standards, and all that without executions or bloodshed. And we Indonesians went from a dictator to various forgettable figures including a near-blind clown of a cleric, then a housewife who was lucky to have a famous name. At least our current President is much more respectable, albeit working in a weak system where even his Deputy is not on the same track. Apa sih Presidential System ini?
Let me be blunt. I agree that whatever it was, that dictator did bring a lot of good to a relatively disparate and difficult to govern nation like Indonesia. I miss Suharto (can't say much about his family), may history be kinder to him.
Back to below - how could an 'Islamic' party bring in a 'dangdut' singer on its platform?! Well, that's Indonesia...
Indonesian parties turn to celebrities as 2009 election looms
JAKARTA (AFP) 5 Sep 2008 — With his sculpted abdominals proudly displayed on his Facebook profile, male model Adrian Maulana cuts a very different figure to the ex-generals and dynastic heirs who dominate Indonesian politics.
He is at the forefront of a new push by Indonesian parties to field celebrities and other tabloid favourites -- collectively known as "artis" -- as candidates in next year's legislative election.
Sitting with his shirt on in a Japanese restaurant, the 30-year-old Maulana admitted he is "still learning" about politics even though he has already been accepted as a candidate by the liberal National Mandate Party (PAN).
The former engineering student, who was part of the 1998 protests that overthrew dictator Suharto is visibly uncomfortable, his voice quavering, when tackling policy questions. However the sometime soap opera and film star said "artis" are quick learners and had to memorise scripts at short notice.
They also have the common touch, he said.
"We celebrities, we are used to talking to the poor people, we are used to taking pictures with them. So we are more sensitive. We know what they want, we know what they need," he said.
The celebrity candidates are an attempt by parties to reconnect with a public that has become disillusioned with 10 years of democracy, persistent poverty and a steady stream of high-level graft scandals, analysts said.
Sitting lawmaker Nurul Arifin, herself a former actress, said the explosion of celebrity candidates for the April polls exposes how poorly parties have connected with Indonesian voters.
Parties remain the vehicles of big personalities with money. Any candidate who wants to break into politics needs stacks of cash to pay party members and promote themselves through advertising.
Celebrities, already well recognised by Indonesia's masses, get to bypass -- or at least get a discount on -- this process "because they already have social capital," Arifin said.
"I'm worried about the substance of these artis. Do they know the substance of politics? Do they know what it means to be a politician?" she asked.
The party most enthusiastically recruiting celebrities, Maulana's PAN, is working hard to make sure its famous candidates don't become embarrassments.
PAN has appointed its own "head of cinema and infotainment" to look after its 15 celebrities and has hired a private political consultancy to run special training sessions.
The star candidates gather at least weekly at a conference table in front of a bank of plasma screens for workshops on party strategy, current issues and political basics.
Political scientist Bima Arya Sugiyarto, who has been hired to help in the training, said some of his charges still had a lot of work to do before they could enter parliament.
"For some people they do have an adequate knowledge of politics, for others they really are beginners," Sugiarto said.
The push for celebrities by parties across the spectrum is an acknowledgement that politicians are trying to combat a dirty reputation for brown-paper-bag politics, he said.
"Massive publicity for corruption scandals by party politicians has really damaged the image of party politics," he said.
"They hope that by recruiting celebrities and public figures, the public will still vote for the parties' candidates."
PAN's celebrity coordinator, Amazon Dalimunthe, said the party valued the relatively clean image of celebrities enough to risk the ire of rank-and-file party members passed over for candidacy.
"Of course there's jealousy (from party cadres). They protested, but the party leadership is looking at it from a wider perspective," Dalimunthe said.
Celebrities have been embraced with fervour across much of Indonesia's fractious political spectrum. The parties of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his main rival Megawati Sukarnoputri have recruited TV and film stars, joining tickets that include one of ex-general Yudhoyono's sons and one of Megawati's daughters.
Former special forces chief, alleged human rights violator and Suharto son-in-law Prabowo Subianto has also tapped a sweet-faced soap star to run with his nationalist Gerindra Party.
Even the Islamic United Development Party has a popular singer of "dangdut," an Arabic and Indian-infused pop music associated in equal parts with sleazy dens and the country's rural heartland.
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