February 9, 2011
Aku dan Ibuku
Aku bukan aku, aku hanya bentukan ibuku
Aku tak terlahir, aku diciptakan,
aku dibentuk, dibuat sedemikian rupa
Inilah aku dengan segala kesempurnaanku
Kesempurnaan palsu pahatan ibuku
Kesempurnaan semu tuk raih mimpi para ratu
Aku diarahkan, takdirku dituliskan
Tak banyak yang tahu kelak apa jadinya mereka
tapi aku tahu, ya, aku mengenal takdirku dengan sangat baik.
Ibuku telah memperkenalkannya padaku sejak lama.
Dan di sinilah aku, dengan takdirku, menjadi perpanjangan tangan ibuku
Aku hidup?
Ya, tentu saja aku hidup
terlebih bila yang kau maksud hidup hanyalah sekadar bernafas
Tapi aku tak punya pilihan, bahkan tak kenal apa pilihan itu
Pilihan bukanlah temanku, ia sahabat ibuku
Siapakah aku?
Aku adalah mimpi ibu yang tak tersampaikan
wujud dari obsesi liar maha sempurna ibuku
yang tak mendapat tempat di zamannya
Aku adalah bagian dari citraan ibu maha sempurna,
aksesorisnya yang hidup,
agar tak melulu kalung atau gelang katanya
Aku adalah ibuku yang lain,
yang ia coba nyatakan di dalam aku
November 28, 2010
Lima Tahun Silam
Lima tahun silam,
Musim seolah tak ingin berganti
Tentukan rupanya yang tak ingin kelam
Menjaga musim semi dua hati
Lima tahun silam,
Segala tak jadi halang
Bagi penyihir kata yang menanti hadir putri pagi hari,
yang tak berhenti menyulam kata seolah riang
Ya, lima tahun silam
Segala seolah memiliki arti
Debu yang bermain di tanganmu hingga airmata di pipimu
Seakan segalanya akan kekal abadi
January 20, 2010
Malnutrition: From Provincial to National Problems
Indonesia, a Southeast Asian country, is well known for its rich natural resources. There are various kinds of natural resources found in Indonesia such as oil, gold, timber as well as natural resources for food. On the contrary, in many areas of the country there are a high number of children who have inadequate nutrition. According to the World Bank, there are more than ten million children under-five years old suffered from malnutrition. A recent case was found in East Nusa Tenggara that a one-year-old child weighed only one kilogram while a newly born baby would normally weighted three kilograms. These mean that the former child has a serious malnutrition problem which reflects the extent of the problems that the province is facing.
Malnutrition is not only affecting the individual’s health condition, but it is also reducing the community’s abilities to work and continue their education which could make them stay longer in poverty. This ironic condition shows that there is something wrong with healthcare and remote area services such as East Nusa Tenggara.
If we look back at Soeharto’s era, there were a high number of developments in this country in many sectors. These developments were mainly focus on Java and not enough development to other areas. Consequently, there was an economic gap between these areas and the advantages of development could not be enjoyed for most Indonesian people. Currently, the government has improved development activities in many parts of Indonesia and has become more aware of the needs for well trained nutritionist. However, development activities would not be effective if people did not want to participate in the provision of a better healthcare service especially in remote areas. The people could contribute by doing health awareness campaigns to voluntary help people in need or being involved in any other activities that would make Indonesian people to be part of these campaigns. People’s participation is not only important and badly needed to make development activities more effective but also to accelerate development even faster.
Due to the extent of the problems, we must see them as a national issue rather than a mainly provincial issue. By understanding the issue in such a way, this would improve our empathy and encourage people to work together as a nation to solve this problem. The participation of the government and people to create better health infrastructure and services in remote areas such as East Nusa Tenggara would be invaluable contribution for the people in the areas.
January 15, 2010
Current Educational Problems : Disorientation of Education
The purpose of education is to improve the quality of human resources by educating students with knowledge and ability to analyse. The focus of good education is not about achieving good mark but it is about involving the students in a learning process of critical analysis. Currently, every school and students are preparing for the final examination. The final examination has turned into a school competition in that every school wants their students to achieve the highest mark in every subject. Consequently, schools put students under a lot of pressure. Classroom activities do not longer focus on the learning process because the priority is the best final examination result. Teachers give practice tests or demonstrate the quickest way to answer question but they do not give adequate explanation. The learning activities are not focused on the academic skills and students’ critical analysis. While students are now under pressure, they do not enjoy their studies in the classroom. This condition shows that our education does not reflect a good educational process.
To solve this problem, we need supports from the government, teachers and students. The government and teachers should work together to create a better educational system for students. They have to develop a process-oriented-educational system because if the orientation of education is the final result, it would be unfair for the students as this could increase the incidence of cheating during the examination. The government should restructure the system through regulations so that schools could provide better education to prepare students to compete in the globalization era. Teachers should teach in more interesting ways because there are a number of educational aspects that could not be taught without teachers- and students-students interaction. The students should have a space to analyse the information being taught so that they would be able to better understand the subject matter.
Due to disorientation of education, our education currently needs a lot of improvement to facilitate students’ critical thinking and analysis. The focus of education should then be on learning process and not on the end result. Therefore, the government and teachers should collaborate to solve this problem by restructuring the system to provide students with a better education and to prepare them to compete in the future.
