Lampu Merah...

You Know You've Been in Indonesia Too Long if... ... When crossing a busy street you believe that a limp wrist motion with your right arm creates a force field that repels oncoming traffic ...

Begitulah cara orang Indonesia menyeberang jalan. Ungkapan di atas menunjukkan keheranan orang asing melihat cara kita. Tinggal mengangkat tangan, mobil-mobil yang lewat langsung setop. Di jalan yang macet, sepi, jalan besar, kecil, jalan protokoler, jalan desa, jalan kota, lampu lagi merah, lampu lagi hijau, lampu lagi kuning, lampu mati, daaaan segala macam jalan. Lambaian tangan adalah jurus sakti untuk menghentikan mobil yang lewat.

Jadi ketika diberi traffic light untuk penyeberang jalan yang dipencet sendiri tombolnya itu, jangan harap semua penyeberang jalan memencet tombol. Jurus tangan sakti lebih ampuh, man! Wong bisa menghentikan mobil kok.

Di dekat kantor saya, agak ke sana dikit (tepatnya di depan Wisma Kodel di Kuningan), ada zebra cross dengan traffic light ini. Memang khusus untuk penyeberang jalan, bukan perempatan. Saya tidak tahu kenapa ada traffic light itu, padahal di sepanjang jalan Kuningan penyeberang jalan harus lewat jembatan. Mungkin karena di seberangnya ada gedung sepenting Imperium?

Anyway, dulunya saya bersikap pragmatis dalam hal pencet-memencet tombol ini. Pencet tombol jugaa, tapi kalau mobil yang lewat sedikit dan lampu belum merah, saya nyeberang juga. Atau kalau ada serombongan orang menyeberang padahal lampu masih hijau, saya juga ikut-ikutan. Saya menganggap diri sendiri sebagai penyeberang jalan yang ahli; tahu kapan harus nekat menyeberang dan kapan harus mengalah.

Untung ada yang mengingatkan. Bukan soal waktu menyeberang yang tepat atau tidak, tapi soal hak. Waktu lampu masih hijau, itu hak pengendara mobil untuk jalan terus tanpa diganggu gugat. Coz walaupun tidak kentara, pengendara mobil harus mengurangi kecepatan atau mengerem kalo ada penyeberang, tergantung jarak atau kecepatan si mobil. Baru kalo lampu udah merah, orang berhak menyeberang jalan. Gimana mau jadi bangsa yang disiplin, kalo rambu lalu lintas aja gak ada guna di Indonesia.

Jadilah saya mengurangi sikap sok-ahli-nyeberang-jalan itu. Walaupun kadang tergoda melihat jalan lagi sepi atau ada serombongan orang menyeberang ketika lampu masih hijau. Saya bahkan punya pembenaran “kasihan pengendara mobil, tertahan gara-gara rombongan-bukan-pemencet-tombol waktu lampu hijau, dan harus berhenti juga untuk rombongan-pemencet-tombol seperti saya waktu lampu merah.” Tapi akhirnya setelah beberapa hari, saya bisa juga keukeuh untuk tetap menunggu lampu merah. Apapun yang terjadi! Menerapkan disiplin ternyata sesingkat itu.

Tapi sejauh ini saya masih minoritas. Kalau ketemu orang yang mencet tombol dan nunggu lampu merah, saya langsung takjub dan menyimpulkan sembarangan; ini orang pasti highly educated, sering bawa mobil, dan pernah tinggal di luar negeri (hahaha, teman saya pasti bilang ada nada narsis di sini). Rata-rata orang gak mencet tombol tapi langsung mengamat-amati lalu lintas, mencari celah buat menyeberang.

Pengendara mobil gak kalah parah. Kadang ada yang tetep jalan walaupun lampu lagi merah. Saya bahkan pernah diteriakin pengendara motor gara-gara hampir menabrak saya, dia ngotot mau lewat padahal lampu lagi merah. Apa karena waktu itu cuma saya yang menyeberang jalan atau jalan itu emang milik nenek moyangnya, saya tidak tahu. Tapi saya yakin itu akibat tak langsung dari ketidakdisiplinan penyeberang jalan juga; si lampu-pencet jadi tiada guna.

Ada juga yang sudah mencet tombol tapi langsung menyeberang waktu jalanan lagi sepi atau ada rombongan penyeberang padahal masih hijau. Yaah kayak saya dulu. Waktu saya cerita ke teman-teman kantor, langsung jadi bahan olok-olokan. Teman saya bilang, kalo memang terjadi apa-apa sama pemencet tombol yang tidak menunggu lampu merah itu, bisa jadi begini:

Polisi : “Ini siapa yang salah ini? Kok jadi begini?”
Penyeberang: “Lha, dia yang salah kok, Pak. Saya kan sudah mencet tombol.”
Pengendara : !@#$%^&*

Laskar Pelangi: the (yet) Unsuccessful Mission of Andrea Hirata

Warning: don’t read this if you haven’t read and don’t want to know the ending of Laskar Pelangi.

Have you read the facts about Laskar Pelangi?

It became a turning point in my mind that made me stop believing that Andrea wrote LP just for fun and maybe a little hope of teasing the government about the bad education system. He did create it in a mission to criticize the government, to fight for a better education system through novel.

Although the LP facts may come from unreliable sources, it stops a debate between me and my boyfriend (and maybe all LP readers after watching Kick Andy); whether Lintang is real or not.* He concludes that because he was annoyed by the fact that Lintang is suddenly marginalized for the sake of Ikal’s existence. He thinks someone as smart as Lintang isn’t likely to end up being a mere truck driver. With that brain, he could find the way to go to school or study anywhere besides being a breadwinner for the family, or he would be able to establish his own business as he grows up, or he could be at least a supervisor at PN. Timah. Aren’t Bill Gates and Steve Jobs dropouts too?

At first I disagree with the idea. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are college dropouts. Thus, they already got secondary education to survive in the society. I mean, will a junior high school dropout such as Lintang be able to make or read a company’s financial report? Does someone who doesn’t go to high school know basic statistics or math? Again, with that brain, he can learn that fast if given appropriate books. But this post is not created to argue about LP’s illogical issues or Lintang’s real existence, because the LP facts may be unreliable, it’s about the aforementioned Andrea’s mission behind the Lintang irony.

I believe one reason for Andrea didn’t make Lintang a successful and wealthy person in the end – the same reason if he really created Lintang – is to show how bad our education system is. If he had made Lintang successful, or he hadn’t created Lintang, readers would conclude that it is okay for children who came from poor family to study at improper school or even quit it, because if they had brain and will, they would become successful or go to Sorbonne anyway. I believe that is not what Andrea wants to say (supported by facts no 2 about May 2nd, but again, if it’s true :p). He wants to say that something is really wrong with our education system, that someone had to be at least a high school graduate to survive in the society (wajib belajar 9 tahun, bo! negara-negara lain wajib belajar sampe SMU, tapi di Indonesia wajib belajar sampai SMP aja belum tercapai)

That’s why Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana put Chapter 31 Articles (1) of UUD 1945 at the end of the movie; “Setiap warga negara berhak mendapat pendidikan.” When I saw the chapter, I thought someone at least got the point. But still, Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana are so far the only people who help continuing Andrea’s mission to criticize the government. I’m sure a lot of people who watch the movie understands the purpose of putting the chapter, but no journalists, for instance, asked the president, who also watch the movie, whether he was tersindir or not and what he would do to provide better education for LP-like children, nor there was demonstration rally to demand better education system. It seems that Indonesians are immune to issues of improper school buildings and the lack of teachers.

Another criticism in LP is poverty and social security. It’s true that those children don’t get proper education. But the story about Lintang, the smartest of all, who has to quit school while he doesn’t even have to pay for it, shows that education system is not the only problem. The social service is to be blame; letting kids, such as Lintang, having to work to support the family. Children should not be the breadwinner because they need time to go to school. That’s why I think Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana are missing one chapter of UUD 45 in the movie. They should have put Chapter 34 Articles (1) also; “Fakir miskin dan anak-anak terlantar dipelihara oleh negara”.

Still I think it’s no use. One magnificent novel and movie have not open the government’s (and maybe our) eyes. I think criticizing the government thru art is not a choice in this country.

* It is a common believe that Laskar Pelangi is Andrea Hirata’s real life story, which he admitted in Kick Andy. But no one knows how many fictitious things are added.