Crisis in Japan, a Moment to Bounce Back

Japan experienced its worst earthquake since hundreds of years. As the most advanced country in the area earthquake anticipation, Japan has built its buildings that have the quality to stand still up to 9 Richter scale earthquakes. Later on, it was proven that the earthquake only made minor damage for the infrastructure; it was the aftershocks that took form as tsunami which created the moment of despair. Not to make it worst, the quake was also followed by the nuclear leak in Fukushima. For a country endeavoring recession for over a decade, the tragedy is deemed to become stumbling blocks toward the process of Economic recovery. Looking back to the history, Japan had similar problem when atomic bomb demolished Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Back then, many would believe that Japanese would have gone deeper into slump. But as we can see, after the tragedy, Japanese development went beyond all odds.

The Nagasaki-Hiroshima bombing which took place in 1945 made them to be united and went together to restore the country. Japanese are famously known as hardworking people, riffled with this character Japanese Economy went sky rocketing. They have legendary word that reflects their hardworking character: ganbatte! The word simply translated as do your best! A simple word as it is but it has deep meaning.

I remember one time when my friend was on the park playing badminton with his friend. They did not know that there was a little Japanese boy watching their game until he came begging to be taught how to play badminton. So, they taught him how to handle the racket and hit the shuttlecock. They started to laugh when the boy repeatedly failed hitting the shuttlecock. But, their laugh soon became into an amazement when the boy tried again and again, pushing himself to the edge. They tried to stop him since they saw the boy getting tired but then he refused to stop. What a spirit!

Toshiro Tanimoto, professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tokyo, told the CNN: “I grew up in this country, but I am still amazed at the people's patience and civility. But I also know how they can remain so civil. They trust that food will come somehow. They trust the government and know their share will come. They have faith!”

The Tokyo electric company (TEPCO) has already started to roll blackouts since yesterday around the city. Faith keeps most of the people to stay calm, although some might have grudge against it. The people trust the government, that what counts more.

The combination of hard work, trust and hope will help this country to survive. As has been said by the Prime Minister Naoto Kan: “This was the worst crisis since World War II. But this country built the world's second-strongest economy in 40 years, starting from ashes. The ashes along the Fukushima coast might contain more radiation now. But I know this country can do it again”

it is not about citizenship
it is beyond racial border
it is a social movement
Across the region
Passing the lines of religion
It is about us as god's creation

Pray for Japan

The Downfall of a Regime: Lessons Learned

Every regime has its crack that leads to downfall. The cracks have multiple forms from the most delicate to the most simple. One of the most delicate crack was found in the downturn of Suharto Regime which took form as currency crisis. The crisis overwhelmed a 32 years old regime with its massive magnitude. But, as noted earlier, the downfall of a regime does not always associated with a delicate crack, Tunisian case serves to be one of the delicacy. A Tunisian man who burned himself to death in December to protest against high unemployment, setting off weeks of rioting that led to the ouster of the country's president and inspired similar revolutions in the neighboring countries. We can say that Indonesia today is still far from the so called social upheaval not to mention that the absence of authoritarian regime. But the giant party coalition that led the government has been acting as a new regime that may sparks sorrow picture for democracy.
Dominant parties may eventually lead to an absolute power, they form an oligopolistic collusion which eliminates all odds. In Oligopoly, a few large parties dominate the system resulting in a high degree of political concentration. Parties in oligopoly are usually very much aware of each others' actions. This can lead to political collusions as they match their action with others. The Dominant parties included in the collusion will then create Stackelberg’s first-mover advantage followed by mediocre parties in the system.
Corruption is deemed as the finest product created by the first-mover advantage system. It pilots to a widening in gap between rich and poor. Corruption has a powerful attribute which impedes economic growth by the dysfunction of a political system or institution in which government officials, political officials or employees seek illegitimate personal gain through actions such as bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement. Ehrlich and Lui (1999) argue that investment in political capital, or so-called ‘rent seeking’, consumes economic resources that could otherwise be used for production or investment in human capital. Meon and Sekkat (2005), meanwhile, demonstrate that lower quality of governance leads to larger negative impact of corruption on investment.
Corruption in any form is treated as chronic sickness causing of many social and economical evils in the society so does it damages the moral and ethical fibers of the civilization. Certainly, it is correct that corruption breeds many evils in the society & once corruption start take place, slowly and gradually whole country passes through its net until it become permanent disease. So far Indonesian economic is concerned the slow progress of the war against corruption is the result of lack of decision making at higher level that is besieged by the shallow political desires. Moreover, political configurations are important to the extent that they are "configuring: that is, to the extent that they establish laws and orders effectively governing political conduct. Eventually, the actors involved will create a save passage in laws which they established.
Even so, the system still has its crack which can break down the evil foundation. Przeworski (1991) argued that the crucial element in the survival of democratic regimes lies in their capacity to generate incentives such that political groups that lose still have more to gain from competing within a democratic framework than they do from overturning it. What counts more for democracy is whether economic needs are being met, and the degree to which reforms result in unemployment, poverty and reduced inequality. The absence of such action will only create cracks leading to downfall.
Some cracks were emerging in the last few months. The first one happens to be the all time gangster epic story when public saw Gayus wandering around while he was supposed to be in a state of detention. This action has opened public’s eyes about the fragility of law and order. The second crack to be said was shown when religious leaders made a class action calling for the government to explain “at least 18 lies”.
The lies called to be explained were on poverty statistics, food security and energy, access to basic needs, the fight against terrorism, human rights protection, education budget, adequate settlement for Lapindo mudflow victims, case handling on Newmont, which was accused of dumping untreated mine waste in to the sea, and Freeport’s unfulfilled contract renegotiation promised in 2006, religious freedom and national unity, freedom of the press, protection of migrant workers, government transparency, the fight against corruption, the handling of polices’ dubious “piggy bank” accounts, clean politics, handling of the judiciary mafia case and the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia in relation to the arrest of three officers of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry in Malaysia.
The third crack emerged just a few days ago when a man called Eli Cohen wrote an open letter revealing an arranged game between Indonesia and Malaysia while playing for the AFF Cup final. The source of accusation is still not valid enough but it has already built social unrest since it deals with football, a game consists of ample amount of fanatics.
To wrap things up, I would say the cracks should be taken care of as a factor to comprise the future policy in order to strengthen government and people relation. Furthermore, the policy makers should have enough credibility to diminish all of the mistakes that have been done before. With credibility, any political and economic turbulence could be easily tackled with the given policy instruments.

Pendidikan dan Impian Kebangsaan

Pada tahun 1865, Klan Satsuma, klan no dua terbesar di Jepang melepas belasan anak muda potensial menuju inggris. Merunut dari sejarah Klan Satsuma, tindakan visioner ini tentu menjadi sebuah hal yang tidak terlalu mengagetkan. Disaat Jepang masih sangat tertutup, Klan Satsuma telah melakukan revolusi pendidikan yang cukup signifikan yang telah menghasilkan generasi emas di Jepang pada saat itu. Pendidikan mereka adalah pendidikan holistik yang meliputi seni berperang hingga seni merangkai kata. Revolusi itu bahkan mencapai klimaksnya ketika commodore Perry memaksa Jepang untuk membuka dirinya untuk dunia. Menyadari ketertinggalan yang begitu jauh, Klan Satsuma kemudian mengambil langkah jitu dengan mengrimkan kader-kader terbaiknya menuju pusat pendidikan terbaik pada saat itu, Inggris.
Ditengah kecamuk perang saudara, 18 Samurai dari klan Satsuma berangkat demi sebuah misi yang diamanahkan kepada mereka, menuju Jepang yang lebih baik. Kurang lebih enam puluh enam hari mereka berlayar hingga akhirnya sampai Ke Inggris. Meskipun berasal dari negara yang tertinggal, tetapi kemampuan mereka menyerap ilmu mengundang decak kagum para pengajar di Inggris. Mereka merupakan pemuda dengan segudang talenta yang terus menerus berkarya dan berjuang demi misi mereka. Nagasawa, yang termuda diantara mereka bahkan berujar “Kini perang akan dimenangi oleh pedang ilmu dan kebijaksanaan”. Sebuah ucapan yang membangkitkan semangat rekan-rekannya untuk terus mengejar misi mereka.
Sekembalinya mereka ke Jepang, Restorasi meiji telah mengambil tempatnya, ruang untuk mereka berkreasi pun telah disiapkan. Para alumni Inggris tersebut, bersama dengan rekan-rekan mereka dari klan lain yang juga juga dikirim ke eropa, kemudian menjadi pembaharu dan menjadi mesin Kemajuan Jepang di Era Meiji. Era meiji memang pada akhirnya menemui ajalnya pada tahun 1912, tetapi rezim ini telah meninggalkan beberapa hal yang cukup signifikan bagi pengembangan dan kemajuan Jepang di era-era selanjutnya.

Rekan sekalian, hikmah dari cerita ini sejatinya cukup jelas. Gerbong bernama perubahan hanya dapat diisi oleh tindakan-tindakan yang visioner. Jika Jepang dapat berubah secara signifikan hanya dengan belasan pemuda, tentu kita dapat melakukan hal yang lebih besar untuk negeri kita dengan puluhan ribu mahasiswa Indonesia yang tersebar di berbagai penjuru dunia. Di jepang, kita memiliki kurang lebih 1700 mahasiswa Indonesia. Sebuah potensi yang luar biasa jika dimanfaatkan dan dikoordinasikan. Apalagi Duta besar kita yang baru dari jauh hari telah berikrar untuk menambah jumlah mahasiswa Indonesia untuk belajar di Jepang.

Mari kita Bersama Bekerja untuk Berkarya!

Free trade and Price Controls in Islamic perspective

I have my utmost believe that Islam gives me the answer of all my problems, but I would not expect to find the answer of my research questions in Qur'an or Hadith

I was very surprised when I found this fact

Free Trade & Price Controls

In Islam, the basic principle with regard to trade is that the market should be left free to respond to the forces of supply and demand and natural competition. This means that price controls, tariffs, and any other barriers should be removed so that trade can be free and fair. In the exchange of commodities in Mecca during the time of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh), prices fluctuated according to market conditions. If price controls compel people to sell their goods at a price that is not acceptable to them or denies them the reasonable profit permitted by Allah, it is haraam (not permitted). Thus, when prices became high in the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) time and people asked him to fix prices for them, he replied:

“Allah is the One Who fixes prices, Who withholds, Who gives lavishly, and Who provides, and I hope that when I meet Him none of you will have a claim against me for any injustice with regard to blood or property.” (Reported by Ahmad, Abu Daoud, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, al-Dari and Abu Y'ala.)

This saying implies that unnecessary interference in the freedom of individuals is injustice and that one should meet Allah free of blame for such action. However, there is an important exception to the general policy of support of free trade. If any artificial forces, such as hoarding and the manipulation of prices by certain merchants interfere in the operation of the free market, then public interest takes precedence over the freedom of individuals. In such circumstances, price controls do become permissible in order to meet the needs of the society and to protect it from exploitation and injustice. The aforementioned saying of the prophet Muhammad does not imply that price control is prohibited regardless of the circumstances, even if it removes harm and prevents obvious injustice.

source: http://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/

Subhanallah, MashaAllah. Interim presentation, here I come

Bukan Sekedar Sepakbola

Tak dapat dipungkiri lagi, Piala AFF 2010 begitu menyihir pala penggila sepak bola di Indonesia. Sihirnya begitu terasa hingga sejenak bisa menghilangkan penat dari pelbagai permasalahan yang sedang hinggap dan membebani pundak. Piala AFF mungkin hanya kejuaraan setingkat ASEAN, tetapi ini bukan sekedar piala, ini adalah sepak bola.

Sepakbola dan Ekonomi
Kesuksesan Timnas memang membawa euforia tersendiri bagi para penggila sepak bola, secara ekonomi hasil positif yang diperoleh Timnas akan berujung pada menggeliatnya perekonomian. Hal ini dipicu oleh meningkatnya produktifitas pekerja yang berangkat dari terpenuhinya utilitas intangible mereka yaitu kebahagiaan seperti yang diungkap oleh Spector (1997) dan Warr (1999). Meskipun pada kenyataanya Euforia yang berlebihan juga dapat berbalik menjadi disforia (gelisah dan sedih) dikala tidak siap menerima kenyataan (Syam, 2010). Ketidakstabilan performa politik di Indonesia pada gilirannya menjadikan kesuksesan Timnas sebagai penentu dominan moral dan perilaku masyarakat dalam menggenjot roda perekonomian selama perhelatan Piala AFF kali ini. Dari sisi laju peredaran uang, pertandingan sepak bola juga membawa dampak ekonomi yang tidak sedikit. Jika kita hitung perputaran uang dari ticket masuk saja, diperoleh keuntungan yang luar biasa besar. Belum lagi Pendapatan yang di raih PT. KAI untuk perjalanan suporter dari luar Jakarta yang jumlahnya belasan ribuan orang, ditambah lagi penghasilan dari transaksi merchandise atau atribut yang beromzet ratusan juta dalam satu harinya. Sepak bola bukan hanya sebuah gerakan ekonomi tetapi lebih dari itu, sepakbola sudah menjadi bagian dari ekonomi.

Sepakbola dan Politik
Sepakbola adalah sebuah permainan, tetapi di dalamnya politik sayang untuk ditinggalkan. Tengok saja betapa seorang Jenderal Franco yang “menghabisi” perjuangan Barcelona sebagai simbol rakyat catalonia dan meng-anak emaskan real Madrid sebagai simbol pemerintahan yang berkuasa. Perjuangan epic timnas Italia dalam merebut Piala dunia pada tahun 1934 juga tidak lepas dari pengaruh dari campur tangan politik Mussolini yang mengancam menghukum mati pemainnya jika gagal merebut piala dunia kala itu. Sepak bola dalam kaca mata politisi merupakan sebuah komoditas yang dapat melanggengkan kekuasaan, produk yang meningkatkan citra. Berbeda dengan variabel ekonomi, variabel politik disini berperan sebagai variabel bebas dan terikat sekaligus. Artinya, politik dapat mempengaruhi sepakbola begitu juga sebaliknya sepakbola dapat mempengaruhi politik.
Berbekal karakteristik yang demikian, maka politik dalam sepakbola akan selamanya tidak bebas nilai, penuh dengan keculasan, azas aji mumpung dan dipenuhi aksi selebritas para politisi. Ada saatnya memang dominasi politik menguntungkan sebuah tim sepakbola akan tetapi dalam jangka panjang hubungan ini tidak akan berlangsung lama. Tidak ada yang salah dalam sistem retorika ber politik kita akan tetapi sejatinya akan lebih arif jika olahraga milik semua umat dimurnikan dari kepentingan politik dan golongan. Sehingga kata kuncinya adalah sekularisasi Sepakbola dengan politik. Dengan demikian kita dapat menghadirkan sebuah konsep murni berpolitik dalam sepak bola yaitu nasionalisme permainan. Disini kita dapat melihat betapa para pemain bola telah mengajarkan kita sebuah prinsip nasionalisme sesungguhnya. Lihat saja semangat seorang Christian Gonzalez yang “hanya” pemain naturalisasi, setiap mencetak gol,reaksi pertama yang ia lakukan adalah berlari ke arah tribun pendukung Indonesia dan mencium lambang Garuda di dadanya. Tidak ada politik aliran dalam lapangan karena mereka berbaur dalam satu skuad yang terlatih untuk sama-sama memenangkan pertandingan. Di sana tidak ada perbedaan suku, agama, latar belakang sosial. Bagi mereka, kaos berlambang garuda adalah penyatu untuk satu kebanggaan sebagai Indonesia.

Sepakbola adalah Harapan
Gocekan Firman Utina, terobosan seorang Oktovianus Maniani, kesungguhan Mohammad Nasuha, kelihaian Irfan Bachdim tidak hanya penting bagi permainan Timnas melainkan juga membawa misi dan harapan dari seluruh Rakyat Indonesia. Kegemilangan Timnas memang membawa pengaruh luar biasa bagi rakyat, berdiaspora menembus pelbagai elemen kebangsaan. Antiklimaks perjuangan Timnas dalam perjuangannya meraih piala AFF tampaknya belum mampu menyurutkan euforia masyarakat. Alfred riedl pernah mengungkapkan rasa takjubnya terhadap antusiasme supporter Indonesia. "Saya sangat takjub dengan suporter. Dukungan begitu besar datang dari para suporter Indonesia kepada Timnas. Mereka selalu datang ke hotel tempat kami menginap dan mereka juga datang saat kami berada di bandara menuju Malaysia. Saat ini pun, walau kami kalah, mereka tetap datang mendukung kami. Sangat luar biasa," ujarnya dalam sebuah kesempatan. Rakyat sudah terlanjur cinta dengan Timnas, kekalahan melawan Malaysia di leg terakhir fina piala AFF bahkan banyak dinilai sebagai kekalahan yang terhormat. Hal ini tentunya menyiratkan harapan, sebuah harapan untuk kebanggaan akan keberhasilan. Perjalanan kita masih panjang Bung! Segera benahi PSSI, tunaikanlah amanat kongres untuk mereformasi PSSI. Sungguh publik masih sangat haus akan prestasi. Hingga kapan dahaga ini dapat terobati? Hanya waktu yang dapat memberi bukti. Piala Dunia, mungkin bukan lagi mimpi!