Cicak vs Buaya

In my opinion, the President’s taken the right (although less popular) stance in not taking sides with either KPK or Polri.

KPK symbolizes the country’s fight against corruption, but how can you expect a president taking sides against his national police force?

It is the corrupt state of the Polri that should be subject to reform, not destroy the whole institution altogether (which is essentially what a motion of no confidence from the President would do, in taking side against the institution).

And all the talk about ‘Singa si Raja Hutan harus turun tangan’; I wonder, ‘turun tangan’ doing what exactly?

Freeing Chandra-Bibit due to public sentiments? Think about what this really means: the president, out of personal will, decides to overstep the law and abandon constitutional procedures to conform with public pressure.

That is principally wrong and, to a certain extent, can be seen as an abuse of presidential powers.

For the time being, let’s hope that public pressure will be enough to corner the corrupted forces behind this whole case. I do have faith, that we will earn justice if we demand it strong enough.

Those are my opinions, I welcome yours. What do you think?

Oh, Melbourne

When you study abroad, there are moments when all you can think about is when you will be going home – to meet your family, your friends, or sleeping in your bedroom. However, after realizing that I’ll be leaving Melbourne for the next 4 months on a summer break, somehow I’m not that upbeat anymore on the prospects of holiday – which is an entirely new experience for me.

In Melbourne, I have found space for parts of myself that I don’t find in Jakarta, or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

It appears, then, that I have fallen for Melbourne, quite deeply.

People often talk about America and its New York as a melting pot of culture. But what about Melbourne? We are definitely under-rated in this respect. Australians, British, New Zealanders, Chinese, Arabs, Israelis, Indians, Sri Lankans, Indonesians, Malaysians, Vietnamese, Greeks, Italians, French, and Americans, even Samoa Islanders – we have the lot! I wouldn’t even be surprised if I run into an alien from Galaxy Zorg one day in this city. One would only need to hop into any Melbourne’s public transport to realise that this city is a true melting pot of culture.

Another interesting thing about this place is that we’re the capital of almost everything that matters. Arts? International festivals are annual. Music? Coldplay, Beyonce, Jason Mraz, Britney come here every now and then – we’ve even had MJ the late King of Pop himself. Education? We are home to some of Australia’s, and the world’s, best universities. University of Melbourne, Monash, Deakin to name a few.

Heck, what fun is it to have 4 seasons in one year? We can have them in one day.

Sports? Don’t even start. I think we have more sports here than anywhere else in the world, or in the galaxy. Footy, the ultimate Australian sport? Check. Rugby? Check. Cricket? Check. Soccer? Check. Golf? Check. Tennis? We have a major tournament, the Australian Open. Formula 1 racing? Our Albert Park is F1’s curtain-raiser series. Horse racing? Melbourne Cup is dubbed as ‘the race that stops a nation’ (quite literally, every Aussie is on a day off in that particular day, even in the universities!). Moreover, we have that majestic piece of architecture work, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with 100,000 seats, one of the 7 wonders of the sporting world. The only sport that’s missing here is space polo, and I’m pretty sure that at least some drunken bloke with a broken stick must have been playing the earth version of the game.

Talk about architectural wonders, we have the futuristic Southern Cross Station, the ‘Paris End’ of Collins Street, the classic Parliament Building, the beautiful parks, and the dynamic Federation Square. What’s more, we can fully enjoy the city’s beauty through its trademark trams. Food? We have the best food in the planet with Menya’s Gyu Tan Don and the best beverages in the planet with Max Brenner. No wonder aliens choose to drop by here first.

You can just go on and on and on in recounting Melbourne but the truth is it still won’t be enough; one would just simply need to experience this city personally to get a sense of this city’s vibe.

It will be a sad moment when I leave but when my holiday ends I will be looking forward in embracing the experience all over again.





P.S. We so rock better than Sydney. Ha!