Indonesians Vote !

Today, after a-two-weeks 2009 Indonesian Peacefull Elections Campaign (Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009), starting at 7.00am to 12.00am local time, Indonesians will begin voting for legislative member. This is the 3rd elections after the so-called three decades repressive governing by Gen.Suharto. Opposite to only 3 parties to choose from in Suharto's period, this time there are 38 national parties involved, plus 6 local parties for the special district Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. Besides the difference in the amount of the parties involved, there will be also changes in the way people will give their vote ("coblos" vs. "contreng".. let me lookup the words in the dictionary later .. lolzz) and people will have options to choose over the parties or the candidate of legislative members representing the parties , for municipal, provincial and national candidacy.

This "Pemilu 2009" election which will vote for 560 legislative member is quite important since the result will give indications whether Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- the incumbent president -- will have a majority support thus excalating his chances to run for a second five-years-term presidency. If his Partai Demokrat (Democratic Party) fail to gain a fifth of the parliament seats - or 25 percent of the popular vote - he will have to seek coalitions from many a.k.a it would be hard for him to run smoothly .

Many pollings showed that Partai Demokrat (Democratic Party) will gain quite a significant numbers of votes in this Pemilu. The Indonesian Survey Institute poll indicated that the Democratic Party would win 26 percent of the popular vote; the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle headed by former President Megawati Sukarnoputri 14 percent; and Golkar 13 percent. The four Islamic-based parties each came in at around 4 percent (to note: quick count indicated that one of the Islamic party, Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, already gained around 8 percent) The survey, based on interviews with 2,486 people, had a margin of error of 2.3 percent. But with around 171 million elegible voters getting smarter and becoming more independent, nothing is certain.

Being a national holiday, up to this moment the situation seems calm and, despite of the technicalities shambles of the Elections Commissions, people are lining up to give their vote.

Whatever the result will be, let's hope this Pemilu 2009 will be as peacefull as the Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009 peacefull campaign period.

Let's celebrate Democracy!

LIFE IS SHORT

I was trapped in a traffic jammed last Thursday because of this long convoy of one party participating in Indonesian Election Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009, when my BlackBerry (not mine lolz) beeping. Feeling bored of doing nothing in the car, I opened the message and found the touching story of of a girl named Katie. I've read these a couple of times before, yet it still moves me everytime I'm reading it:

L I F E - I S - S H O R T




The girl in the picture is Katie Kirkpatrick, she is 21. Next to her, her fiancé, Nick, 23.
The picture was taken shortly before their wedding ceremony, held on January 11, 2005 in the US . Katie has terminal cancer and spend hours a day receiving medication. In the picture, Nick is waiting for her on one of the many sessions of quimo to end.




In spite of all the pain, organ failures, and morphine shots, Katie is going along with her wedding and took care of every detail. The dress had to be adjusted a few times due to her constant weight loss.



An unusual accessory at the party was the oxygen tube that ketie used throughout the ceremony and reception as well. The other couple in the picture are Nick's parents. Excited to see her son marrying his high school sweetheart.



Katie, in her wheelchair with the oxygen tube , listening a song from her husband and friends. At the reception, katie had to take a few rests.The pain do not let her to be standing up for long periods


Katie died five days after her wedding day. Watching a women so ill and weak getting married and with a smile on her face makes us think.....
Happiness is reachable, no matter how long it last. We should stop making our lives complicated.

Life is short
Break the rules
forgive quickly
kiss passionately, love truly
laugh constantly
And never stop smiling
no matter how strange life is
Life is not always the party we expected to be
but as long as we are here, we should smile and be grateful

I guess I should always remember this story every time I feel a bit frustrated and sobber about my life. Like the time when I'm close to giving up with my Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009 or undergoing a turbulence in my personal life.
Be brave.
Celebrate life.
And leave the rest to Allah SWT.




Salam Damai.
Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009.

Presiden Boleh Pergi, Presiden Boleh Datang

Karya: Taufiq Ismail


Sebuah orde tenggelam
sebuah orde timbul
tapi selalu saja ada suatu lapisan masyarakat di atas gelombang itu selamat
Mereka tidak mengalami guncangan yang berat
Yang selalu terapung di atas gelombang
Seseorang dianggap tak bersalah sampai dia dibuktikan hukum bersalah
Di negeri kami ungkapan ini begitu indah
Kini simaklah sebuah kisah
Seorang pegawai tinggi gajinya satu setengah juta rupiah
Di garasinya ada Volvo hitam, BMW abu-abu,
Honda metalik, dan Mercedes merah
Anaknya sekolah di Leiden, Montpellier dan Savana
Rumahnya bertebaran di Menteng, Kebayoran dan macam-macam indah
Setiap semester ganjil istri terangnya belanja di Hongkong dan Singapura
Setiap semester genap istri gelapnya liburan di Eropa dan Afrika

Anak-anaknya ….

Anak-anaknya pegang dua pabrik, tiga apotik dan empat biro jasa
Selain sepupu dan kemenakannya buka lima toko onderdil,
lima biro iklan, dan empat pusat belanja.

Ketika rupiah anjlok terperosok, kepeleset macet dan hancur jadi bubur,
dia, hah!
dia ketawa terbahak-bahak karena depositonya dolar Amerika semua
Sesudah matahari dua kali tenggelam di langit Barat,
jumlah rupiahnya melesat sepuluh kali lipat
Krisis makin menjadi-jadi
Di mana-mana orang antri
Maka 100 kotak kantong plastik hitam dia bagi-bagi
Isinya masing-masing:
Lima genggam beras, empat cangkir minyak goreng,
dan tiga bungkus mie cepat jadi.

Peristiwa murah hati ini diliput dua menit di kotak televisi
dan masuk koran halaman lima pagi sekali
Gelombang mau datang,
Datang lagi gelombang setiap bah air pasang
Dia senantiasa terapung di atas banjir bandang
Banyak orang tenggelam toh mampu timbul lagi
lalu ia berkata sambil berdiri:

Yaaa… masing-masing kita kan punya sejeki sendiri-sendiri
Seperti bandul jam bergoyang-goyang kekayaan misterius mau diperiksa
Kekayaan… tidak jadi diperiksa
Kakayaan… mau diperiksa
Kekayaan… tidak jadi diperiksa
Kekayaan… mau diperiksa
Kekayaan… tidak jadi diperiksa
Kekayaan… harus diperiksa
Kekayaan… tidak jadi diperiksa


Diposting dalam rangka Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009


Salam Damai.
Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009.