AJ's Words

neo-buzz, the age of distraction

2011-12-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

Our thoughts might slipped our own mortal body. the new age of modernity
and the genesis of internet has been providing us the exact space for it.
Our body remain still but our thoughts are adrift to a river of information and yet we advance to nowhere. Do we or do we not realize this?

I finally find this thought after owning internet personally to myself. After long hours of doing internet, and "pretending" to do something important, I realize I had gone nowhere and I just waste my precious time looking over the screen. I know I was wrong, I should have done something more important with internet, at least make some money out of it. I then realize that certainly can, such as using internet to trade, get news for
my summaries and reviews for my study in university.
But again, almost 80% of my time on internet are spent on social network, reading consumary tech-news and fashion news in which I have no way to afford buying any of those stuff, but still find it interesting. It's a complete waste of time. period.

I have realized this but then how about the other billions of internet users around the globe? Do they allocate their time for good around the net, or just float around and finding inspiration to "consume" more of trendy products??
It is why I firmly believe, this new era of technology is the era of distraction. We are distracted by unimportant things. There are millions of people starving even in Indonesia, while we sit and calculating when can we afford new car or gadgets- in which I am sure your previous belongings still work pretty well.

hush hush, it's time to focus on what matter and important to yourself and the world. cheers

New year of wonder

2011-09-20T00:46:00.000-07:00

The new semester had just begun. Hopefully this will be my last year in University. Excited? very.

I rarely complain and I would not do so here. But there are some concerns in viewing my future ahead. Where will I work? Whom I can date with? (certainly this question started to popped up recently as I've been on my own for almost three years). Will be graduated in time?

Shoot, why questions like that keep on disturbing my thoughts. I suppose this is not a "bad" worry, but such worry can actually guide me to a more positive side of my life.

This holiday was superb. I started to play music again, travel and also do many hang-out with friends. Somehow these activities were lost to me in past two years. I was too absorbed with study and my voluntary work. And when the holiday start I wanted some part of me to be indulge. Music, riding motorbikes. It's all about having fun. I suddenly do not want to be too serious anymore.

But in another side I am practically worry. Hopefully I will find solitude and revelations in things I do these days. The last two semesters had been great, this one should be greater. As many other last year students' mind, my mind had start to wander further, and at the same time do not want to loose the youth and the spirit of being a bachelor student.

Enterpreneurship, a key to find yourself and go beyond

2011-05-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

Do you familiar with brands of products that you consume everyday? Starts from shampoo until the food you eat when you dine out with families; those brands such as KFC, McDonalds, and even typical “padang restaurant” started with an actual same spirit and vision, enterpreneurship. Among typical university graduates in Indonesia, this vision of enterpreneurship had been lost amidst the struggle to achieve better living. We percieved a good career, constant pensions, and better living by looking forward to be working as employee in some company, or becoming public officials. We consider starting a business, which is a form of enteurpreneurship, is a tough job and very risky. Is it true or have we misled ourselves? Therefore this article would like to deliver you the advantages that you will get from engaging in enterpreuneurship and what values that it will give you in terms of professional and personal dimension.

Passion

Have you realized that by working for someone else you’re becoming an asset? An asset is always expendables, you’re paid to get the job done, and once you’re on top of your career and you’re getting old you will be expended simply because you practically have less capability in doing the same job as before. There are less rewards that you can give yourself in return of things you have done for others, those who employed you. This might be a bitter fact but such pattern remains the same in most of companies or certain line of careers.

How if you can go beyond that pattern? To see the experience of many success people, of course there are ways, enterpreneurship is the way. In eunterpreneurship, you can work more from day in and day out but still can find yourself in between. Many people complained about things that they do at work somehow different to what they favor or even far away from what they have dreamed of. The money that they make is very good and more than enough to fed the family, but the quality of the time they have are not satisfying.

By thinking out-of-the-box and have a courage to start your own business you can have all what you’ve dreamed of. The key of it all is passion. “everthing you do, you do it with passion” is a true expression for this matter. People have specific passion in their life starting from cooking, movies, or even gardening, and without them realizing it, they know all the things about it. Imagine if you put that passion into profitable business, this mean the work we do are done according to our passion. People complain of the job they is not the thing they’ve wanted; the draining long hours, limited time to spend with families, and all seem too exploitative. Enterpreneurship is the wayout as you can manage your own time, do less work with more efficient time, and at the same time do our passion and turn it into profit.

Creativity

Enterpreneurship is a very challenging area to discover and to explore. There is neccesity to innovate and creating something original. Who would ever thought to packaged a drinking water and sell it publicly in indonesia, well “Aqua” did it on the 60’s and now become the biggest mineral water company in the country. Certain ideas can produce original product which can bring success to its founder. This show how creativity can bring you great success in becoming an enterpreneur. In orthodox path of career, workplace does not give much space for personal taste and creativity. Things are different in starting your own business, you are obliged to think differently and create product that are unique and distinct in order to acquire success in selling the products or services. A product can be similar but the package has to be creative which can make consumer remember and interestedly buy the product.

“Burger Batok “is a good example of creative and good quality product. A burger is widely known around the world and it has a similar shape in which people can straightly indentify the meal, but the owner choose to implement different approach in packaging the burger by putting the burger inside a coconut shell or “batok kelapa”. Within seven days of its launching, around four television channels and various mediacover the news, not forget to mention that the owner did not spend any cent for the publication. The media blow-up happened because the inception of “Burger Batok” was original and intereng that built curiousity, therefore it is very news-worthy. Moreover the owner has a vision to enhance original’s Indonesia product and globalizing it, this prove how creativity also can bring good to the nation with the sense of nationalism within an enterpreneur.

Conclusion

There are many values that can constitute a good enterpreneur, but to writer passion and creativity become the basis of enterpreneurship. One has to begin the business according to the passion in order to reach self-fullfilment and focus thus bring success to the business. In a wide globalized world, competition is very intense with so many kinds of products, therefore creativity is needed to produce genuine idea of a product, this underline the importance of creativity. The most important thing from enterpreneurship is how to find yourself and go beyond your limit, there are many opportunities that you can achieve by starting your own business. So if you got both value, then it’s time to start!!

Politic is disconnected

2011-01-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

A healthy discussion just happened with my colleagues here in South Korea. In another two weeks I will be heading back for my homeland, its a very good feeling knowing that I will be back and continue my study. So before I get back I got to drain and absorb as much information I can from my surroundings.

An Indonesian friend ask me a question, how exactly international relations benefit a country? Why that our country has not reached developed state in terms of economy?

My answer come from liberalistic perspective but to also adjust with a structuralism perspective. The answer is simple, it benefits us economically. But again the present international structure which signify the developed and developing relations might become a problematic arena for a country. Developed countries have interests to increase their economic power which can cause many form of exploitation for developing countries. With lack of adequate management, developing countries can fall to the pit of debts and structural-trap, as what Indonesia experienced from the reign of Soeharto era during the Cold War.

Indonesia has been an independent country for 56 years. We have gone through a lot in terms of political, economic, and democratization process. Are we trapped inside such a pit?

Our conclusion on the discussion is that we might fall because we can't (or do not want to) get out of the pit itself. The cause predominantly domestical instead of pure structural system of international relations.
The high rate of corruption and lack of political maturity from both the politicians and most of the people cause a disconnection between political will and practical will.

This disconnection itself become part of the big question, why such thing happened? Recent Democrats party domination proven another form of "dynasty" will arise in Indonesia political history. We see high political will from the people, as there are many demonstration and public opinion about politics. But at the end, it all follow same pattern of failure.

One of the issue here is money. Our people, especially the lower-middle income voters still depend to vote party which has more incentive and give instant money. All out bribe to vote is not a secret. The previous election might not as healthy as it look because such practice definitely exist in rural areas of the country. The educated voter can choose, but the uneducated voter does not care- they choose party which will give more incentive and does not care much about promises.

Money and stomach. South Korea for instance has achieved political maturity, but achieved not through series of political calamity. It achieved through vast economic development. Farmers in South Korea has more vocal power and (if they want to) able to dictate the government. Because their wealth is the engine of the country. When they have enough wealth they can really decide, and they will demand what the politicians promised to get their vote. a disconnection between politics and practices does not exist here.

Indonesia, meanwhile,does not yet filled the people's stomach, and does not focus development in practical level more thoroughly. We care more about our group and party's sake first, and bribe many people. There's a huge disconnection between what promised in politics, and what exactly happen in practical level.

This discussion might not fully scientific, but points and idea in it can align our perspective to which direction that a country shall take in order to achieve.
for now, our politics are very disconnected.

Re-Think of WikiLeaks

2010-12-07T03:47:00.000-08:00

WikiLeak news are leaking everywhere. Everybody, or at least the media, just can't put their hands off the topic. Oh yes, it is very intriguing information. The news about the US diplomatic cables that somehow spilled out is utterly embarrassing for the US government, and undoubtly will cause an effect for US diplomacy track in the next years to come. Or isn't it?

Well you might ask, where does this news conclude? what the purpose of this news- what does it imply to us normal citizen of the world that just want peace and not some confusing buzz about a "leak" of cables from the government?

The truth is - it does affect us, but to what extent?

The news that buzzing around on the net or papers seems want the world opinion to stir and point fingers on US, and brand them as the "Bad Guy", of saying harsh things about countries. Not to mention some comical call-signs given to leaders. The constant exploitation upon harsh terms that written in the cable made us think that US want to conquer the world and all.
Yes we object, but don't we realize that we actually buying the news, and take it for granted?

The more we read the cables, the more we were brain-washed by the US perspective in vewing the world. Although we hate it, we read it,,,, and read it, until we believe it.
The vast news about it will make us conclude on what US say and describe as part of reality of the world. It becomes our reality.

So come to think of it...
It's a Home-run for US government! Wikileaks and all media actually doing US a BIG favor. For example, the leak can cornered Iran by leaking info that Arab countries want Iran regime going down by spilling 'facts' in the cables. Facts that might not facts at all, but it is conceived by US diplomat as a fact.

I do not want to speculate, I just demand readers to digest all information thoroughly and select. Do not get your view changed without you realize it. The media buzz can do just that.

As a Japanese proverb says "If you believe everything you read, better not read at all".

The Great Escape...Escaping North Korea

2010-11-29T00:36:00.000-08:00

Today I got an interesting story from my friend Teyoung, a south korean who has attended military service and now studying in KNU. For your information, every men in South Korea are obliged to attend 2 years service in the military. He has many insights about North-South politics and situation. He expect that war does not break loose because the two Korea will surely devastated from it. His grandfather is a North Korean that went to South Korea during the Korean War, so he has a sentimental feeling about the North (of course he deeply opposed the Kim Jong Il's dynasty).

So I asked him whether he had ever met a North Korean. He said that he knew a North Korean that has gone rogue and refuge to South. This question ended up into a twist of interesting story about how the person could successfully refuge to South Korea.

Here goes the tale:

During 2002 there was a famine of hunger swept all over North Korea, many people died- including (lets say Park) Park's brother. Park did not attend North's military service because he successfully attend university and become a scholar (military service in North is 10 years, wow!). In university he was recievening quite education so that he knew what the other side looks like , prosperity and all in South Korea. So he decided to leave his mother and all his relatives behind. He thought that they might considered him dead along with his brother, because at the time of the famine- too many people died and you can hardly find your relatives.

In the North if you want to get across to another city you have to own a "pass" from government, so you cannot freely commute from one city to another. Park somehow got license to get across to northwest area of his country which bordering with China. There's a river in Sinnuju area that he thought he could cross. So when the night falls he started to swim across.

Park was startled when there's around 20 people that also do the same, they swim slowly across border in the night calm, hoping to get across the river and acquired their freedom. Of course, soldiers caught the act and yelled out to them, without hesitation soldiers fired weapons at them. There was an old woman that Park helped (Park was 22 year old and quite strong), but failed to survive. Only 3 people successfully cross the border.

-(I was just thinking that if you actually drain the river, I am quite sure you will find many dead bodies, because crossing-border act happens daily, even at this second).

In China, difficulties hasn't left him because hes has to hide from the Chinese soldiers. Chinese officials will send him back to the North or get him to some camp in which he may failed to get himself to South Korea. So he hideously went to nearby village. He went to a church but got rejected by the pastor because he will endanger the church. So finally he was accepted by a Korean-Chinese family, a family that went to China even befor the Korean war. They own a shop and they needed his labor. There he stayed for 1 and half year and gain all information he needed to initiate his plan for going to South Korea.

After his stay, he went to southeastern part of China and decided to refuge to Thailand first. It is hard for him to get off China in a legal way as he had faked his Chinese citizenship, so he did same thing as what he did to cross North Korean border, went away from China trough mountains. When he arrived in Thailand he met with another North Koreans! They have same will to get themselves to South Korea. After consolidations with the South Korean embassy they finally depart for South Korea.

In South Korea they got in to detention center for 1 year. It is not to welcoming there at first because the South Korean government has to make sure they are not spies from the North. So Park went through series of (harsh) interrogation. But after that he was given all necessary information to survive in South Korea. The government gave him small apartment to live.

Now Teyoung told me that he had finished his study in university majoring Chinese language, got decent job, a family, and a baby. To me the story is like a movie, a very thrilling tale and high spirited epic. Getting out of the harsh regime of dictatorship into a space of prosperity of freedom. It is not an everyday tale, I am sure of that.

Mid night scribble

2010-11-27T06:45:00.000-08:00

I find myself unable to sleep. Today was quite a good day, did few assignments, play badminton with friends and watch some movies (I did not finish any actually, just half and half- stop in the middle for movies that does not suit the mood). I just realize that get an idea to slim-up my body coz eversince I got here, I gained like 3 kilos (or even more).

I thought that I would loss some weight, as the food aint so suitable and all. But I just realized that I spend a lot for snacks. snacks that contains high calories like nachos and other stuff. Therefore for the past week I have been training a lot and now I felt quite good. 30 minutes jog each day becoming my daily routine, hopely I can keep up.

The cold weather outside makes me lazy to even move, but the drive of firm intention to slimming up push me to the treadmill and work myself out. I guess it is necessary coz i feel really uneasy if there's extra pounds around waist and cheek.haha, so annoying that I cant even think straight.

So wish me luck!!!

North and South Problem,

2010-11-23T02:21:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I just did my Demilitarized-Zone Trip to Imjinggak South Korea, to actually see the border of South and North Korea. It is one of the most heavily armed border in the world where tension still prevails, even though the Korean War has halted (not ended) 60 years ago. But today's news really shocked me, North Korea shot fire to a South Korea village in a small islet outside Seoul that injured many people and killed 1 South Korean Soldier.

I am thinking that the border that I just visited now might restrict for tourist visit and comes to a full guard-state. I felt lucky not to go there after the incident. But there are greater things that need to be considered other than my visit, this attack shows how there is only little change on the tension between the two countries. Yes, throughout the years since the war halted by a truce there were some significant improvements such as family reunification, some cross-border aids for disasters victims. Yet the central North Korean Government still upheld ambitious intention to annex South Korean and create great controversies to the international world.

I am quite sure that the two countries will not go into war just yet, in result they are just going to keep exchanging hatred remarks across the border, because the fear remains- fear that create long stagnation upon solution- nuclear war. North Korea effectively used their nuclear capabilities to create leverage and "fear" in the world.

South does not have nuclear warheads, and they believe that they don't have to as US is on their side. But still after 60 years of magical prosperity in South Korea, they know that they will loose even more if war break-loose. This fairly explain why the South always takes defensive stance, eversince the war halted, because they don't want to budge the North and disturb their "Korean Miracle".

But most of all, I am still in South Korea until next February, help God don't let anything happen to me lol.

A lone-wolf hike...

2010-10-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

Who said travel alone is not fun? Well if you asked me it is totally exhilarating and fun. My first intention to traveled on my own was because most of my friends cannot accompanied me to do hike because of the upcoming Mid-term exams. Well to me Mid-term exams in Korea is totally not a burden at all, and I personally think I have to enjoy my stay here to the fullest.

So I decided to hike on one of Daegu's highest peak where the stone Buddha of Gatbawi lies peacefully. It took me by surprise that all the facilities in the mountain is all perfect and well maintained. They have 10km hiking tracks and even more but every step and pathways are safe and maintain. Well perhaps it is not too much fun if you looking out for total wilderness, but it is very good for older generation to hike cause it is safe.

It took me two hours to reach the top of the mountain, and I found my Prize; the great view of the mountain's forest and of course, The buddha. The wind was very chilly, and my legs were all cramped up, so although I am not a buddhist, I sit on the praying mattress and enjoyed the view.

One thing to learn is how Korea's city officials really maintained all aspects of public facilities, even to the hardest spot, you can find vending machine on the very top of the mountain. I come from Indonesia, a developing country in which facilities has not very maintained, so to see such developed things in Korea makes me wonder on things that people from my country shoul start to learn and make certain changes.

Out of Chaos comes Power

2010-10-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

Now October comes swiftly, and my stay in Korea is getting more and more exciting as time goes by. Well there are not many activities that I did in the past two weeks, it seems that I'm getting tired of travel and want to laid back and enjoy social activities and light-friendly-conversation with people around me. It is the part of enjoying every second of my stay.

Well during this period of relaxing I start to spend lots of time in front of the computer. Surfing new things in the internet, new ideas, articles, opinions, all in all scrambling in my mind like a hurricane. (maybe after sometime some parts of my brain fell asleep and now it is time to wake up and do some hyper analysis on things).

Well the last piece of thoughts that interest me is the research done by Tim Wung, an expert on Web, internet, and Mass Communcation. He propose the idea of "Monopoly" in the modern era where great companies are the ones that control the life of the people.

As you know the modern 21st century world is an open world with wider opportunities of competition in order to get market and profit. This resemblence the condition of chaos in which every individual has chances to acquire profits. Then afterall, this form of chaotic condition gives potential to show cycle of monopoly.

Without our notice the world we live in is actually conquered by companies that try to seize ability to monopoly. Like a dictator in a regime, big companies in all aspects of technology like Apple, Google, Microsoft, or US' AT&T are trying to monopolize the business. The behaviour that they shown are similiar with a dictator ship, whenever they seize the ability to rule, they would never back down and sometimes crush other competitors in an unchallant manner.

So the phrase of "out of chaos comes power" has a great deal of boost for these companies to seize their profit. As a person, we can at least learn from it. Philosophically, all human beings will likely try to dominate other and be dominated, those who seek and find opportunities in the "chaos" will have better chance to dominate and flourish compare to those who just go by the flow.

Come to learn the lesson, it is time be different.

What's your purpose in life?

2010-09-07T21:25:00.001-07:00

I just got the idea to write after I did long discussion with my Korean friend about our goals and purpose in life. I did quite lots of observation here and I begin to wonder what exactly is the purpose that we have in life. It is quite far from grasp (even I myself still wonder), why would I produce such a thought, isn’t the answer for most of people would be obvious and different for each other person.

In reflective point-of-view life is simple, or even way too simple, - you were born, study, get a job, make family, have grand children, and at the end die. But between these phases lay complex and differentiated pictures, action, and reality. So what’s the point of life if it’s that simple. For some they would choose religion as their goal to achieve better life and promising afterlife, that what I also choose for my personal life. Others might choose their career, or love and other things

Then we ask questioned whether others share the same perspective? Do they believe the same thing as we do? The answer is not and reality gives completely different result. But what I realize that no matter what the purpose or things we believe in, life should be accompanied by certain purposes in order to give human a chance to advance progressively. Purpose is thing that has to be found and decided by each individual or even collective society in order to keep moving forward.

Without purpose, life would be meaningless. There are passions, love, goals, interests, and even dreams that exist to become our purpose in life. Human being shall have to decide their purpose- then everything shall fall into one big piece of fate and destiny. As what I always believe, we determine our destiny and fate, what’s done is done, but what comes next is for us to decide.

So what’s your purpose in doing life?

4th day in Korea and it's amazing

2010-08-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well so many thing I would wanna tell, I'll pour down on you by points. First, I had meet with some pakistanis and indians so that I can still practice Tarawih and friday prayer also got many tips for survival in such condition in which moslems might have problems with, especially with foods.

Also suprisingly, I finally meet Indonesians that also study in KNU, they are bunch of kool people, and at least I could still get to hang out and feel the taste of home around them for the next 5 month. Again, information is priceless- I need that so much coz, ya know,, it would take long time to learn Korean Hang-gul, and all signs- writing- are all in it, plus most people here cannot, literally cannot speak english, (even the bank teller that I encountered when I want to have bank account does not speak english), so most of the time, Tarzan-language is not enough.ahaha

will post each nite here i guess, see ya!!

KOREA, here I am

2010-08-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Finally, after my one week trip to turkey (istanbul, ankara, and Van) with the most amazing group of peole I've ever met, here I am staying in South Korea for the next five months.

Im accepted for scholarship exchange program supported by the Korean Government. Well, I have to say they are quite generous on providing me with almost everything. It has been 4 days Im here and all Im feeling is simply awesome. Becoz I'll be staying here for long, im taking the sight-seeing part slowly,haha,

There are some problem around, but nothing that I cant handle

Setting up goals to solve problems

2010-07-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

Life is sometime miserable with its problems. Problems slow and weigh you down until you cannot even move. The simplest thing is to forget, but that does not solve; only making things worse. So what needs to be done when all the problems that surround you are actually brings you into isolation from the outside world? Pushed you into loneliness and stress?

We humans tend to lie to ourselves and pretend things are normal. We pretended to be someone else, we tell our friends and relatives that we are fine, or maybe we explain that we have some problems but does not stresses that we really needed help, so others might only see them as phase, not critical. But the so-called “phase” can indeed become the source of bigger problems in our life if it is not resolved quickly.

Problems are like debts; we keep pilling them and it will choke us to death. So to deal with problems we have to set goals ahead of us. Goals were meant to project the future of what are things that needs to be done. Slowly and gradually we will start to come up with solutions to our problems if we set goals to solve it and put our minds into it. There are times when we have to think fast in order to solve problems that comes at quick pace; you can do that too, but sometimes selects which problems that are important to deal with first will be a best thing to do.

That does not mean to ignore, but to post-pone it first in order to put our minds into other urgent problems. It is very technical and depends on situations; but what we can see is that it will not do harm if we prioritize our problems and goals. It will surely make our minds think lighter and focus to deal one problem at a time. As we are focus, dealing with problems will be faster by prioritize compared to dealing with such great numbers of problems which dragged and stressed up our minds.

It is a problem, if you have the solution. The solution is out there, all you need is to put focus mind and it will come up by itself.

New House

2010-02-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

It’s really hard to put on new writings because the hectic days that I’m going through now. I just moved on to a new place, it’s a house and it’s pretty decent for bunch of college students to stay in. Well, the place aint to messed up when I first arrived, it just need bits of cleaning and set up to make it cozy for us to study and relax. The thing is that it is far too spacious, people would appreciate spacious home as it felt more relaxing, but for college student like me who doesn’t have enough time to do the cleaning, it might just becoming a bit of a problem as me and my mates have to put extra effort to keep the house clean.

It located closer to campus so that I don’t really have to waste my precious money for transport. But then the walking can get very-very long and wearing me out at the end of the day. That makes the evening sleep become much more relieveing than before. Extra stamina to endure those walks every each day is totally challenging. Nevertheless, I have to start my adaptation program all over again. Get to know the neighbors, look around for some good teaching opportunities and all. It is fun and I would like to keep it that way.

I also have just opened up new blog about International politics and foreign policies in Embassy Space, so you better check it out soon.

Ied Qurban

2009-11-29T22:02:00.000-08:00

This week is a very tremendous week. It is the first time I celebrated Iedul Qurban with my lodge friends. We were asked to helped a turkish foundation to distribute their qurban around turkish school. The amount was surprisingly enormous, as far as I counted, they donate about 70 cows and it still has fully arrived yet. Luckily they have rent a culling house for 3 days, and they need our assistance to pack all those blessed meat. I also asked few packs to be sent to my lodge's neigbour, which I think lots of people there that deserves it.

Well, that's just a little description of what I experienced, it was energy consuming but then, it is fun. I realized that I didn't do it all for myself, I did it for others which might not so lucky like me. One thing I learned from the event, is when you rich, there is undoubtly small or big amount of that wealth that is not yours, its for those who need it most.

When you give, it is not going to make that wealth depleted, instead God shall give wider opportunities for those who wanted to achieve more. The problem is only greed, when the greed is gone, eternal way of living in purity shall be revealed. Earthly joy is nothing to compare heavenly joy that awaits us later after our life ended.

Firstly I distibuted Qurban to my dearest students and met their parents. We chat a little of how their children improves their study, I mentioned that there are great expectations on them because they have such big potential, and I'm willing to open up a way to improve their potential.

So above all, I grateful of what I have experienced for the past days.

The Beauty of Teaching

2009-11-19T18:56:00.000-08:00

I started to teach junior high school students since last month and it feels great. I rent a lodge with some of my friends in university, and come to conclusion to create some social work, such as teach and tutoring for kids around the block that might not so lucky to have the quality of education. Then we share some space in available room in our lodge to make a class for stdy sessions. It's like an extra lesson that we're giving to the kids, because we believe that not all of the can fully absorbed the lesson at school, coz they all attending a public school where a class can be crammed up with 40 students, cant beleive how 13-year-old kids can concentrate with that much of peoply study in a room

So here we are donating our time and knowledge to share with the kids. It's free and voluntary, we summon kids from sons of cab driver, carpenters, and some other lower-middle class around our lodge's neighborhood to come and learn. Me and my lodge-mate shares schedule to teach the kids on the afternoon. At the present time there are around 14 students that we have, we accept 3 to 4 kids at a time for a session, we really wanted the lesson to be private and inclusive so that the kids will find study enjoyable and fun.

That's pretty much the description of what I'm doing during my spare time and I can conclude some of the beauty of teaching that I could find although I'm not a teacher and don't get paid for what I'm doing.

First, I found out that it's not me that took care of the kids, but the kids that took care of me. Eversince the kids came in and learn from me, I'm becoming a better person in life. I always wanted to teach them good things, not always limited to sciences and school subjects, but also in daily life experience. Showing what's good or bad, reminds me all the time that I should do exactly just that. Sometime I told them and advice them to do good things that I'm not actually do, which push me more to do what I told them, as an example as well as a reminder for me. So surely that having a student keeps me to be a good person.

The next thing is teaching is like staying in vacuum. There's nothing else but you, your students, and the thing you are telling about. Sometimes university can be depressing and gives me headache with bunch of thing to think about, but then when I teach, all those things are gone for a moment as if forgotten. I focus on how to make my kids can do well. It's just like a refreshing moment in a middle chaotic time, an oasis in the middle of raging desert.

Teaching voluntarily exercise my sympathy feelings. Sometime the students express their feelings, opinion, or even troubles which I could contemplate and giving advice to. Then the approach of teaching turns into wider spectrum, not only focusing on school subjects, but life-lesson that me and my kids can share. Unlike those paid lessons where the teachers are paid just to listen. The humanistic approach in teaching is what I love the most.

Of course there are lots of thing that I could find in teaching and surely it makes my time worth as a teenager, sharing and giving our knowledge to flurish these kids potential. I'm sure one day that I will be happy to find that the kids I teach and guide have become some one great in the future. It's the lines of grace from Allah SWT is what cannot be bought in any price except pure heart from our willingness and good deeds.

Wondering about The Future World

2009-09-04T01:46:00.000-07:00

Now it's for me to try putting my imagination into work. I always do this stuff everytime a sci-fi movies or games that I've seen and watch come cross my mind, and it happened once in awhile. There lots of sci-fi movies out the on the market that resemblence a real future of human-kind, starting from real edgy technology where you can see flying cars and multi-layer cities, or some delivered the future as chaotic and anarchaic world where there lots of scraps, riots, and wars with worn-out laser beams.

It teases me on thinking which kind of future that suitable for the real-world we are seeing now. I guess averybody have their idealism for their sci-fi future for the world. But mine is the type of digitalized world full of Dozens alien species that interacts with Human. If you ever played the gamess such as Mass Effect, you'll get the feeling that these thing might just happen to our homeworld in the future.

We as human kind seen by aliens out there as primitive, and those alien wouldn't bother to interact with us until the moment when we encounter them with our own technology. Then we found out that they have made their own groups of council consisted many species. Some Aliens despises the human encounter, some favours it. Many Humankind disperse across galaxy to make a living among the aliens, some stay with the earth-covenant and work to make Allied among men. Not long further, we're gonna joined up with the council and acknowledged as a full member and has power on our own.

Such a world would be great, wouldn't be? Yet again such imagination undermines the existence of religion which I don't like. So this is only imagination after all, ever wonder if we're not actually alone in space? Maybe. Ever wonder that we can invent light-speed travel soon? Absolutely. So sit tight and enjoy the ride (coz I can't do science, I probably only hope someone gonna find a way for it), coz you'll never what is gonna come when humankind evolves.

Make calls to ease panic!

2009-09-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Something unique that I saw yesterday on TV. Earthquake stroke the Java Island of Indonesia and caused panic across cities. The effect might not be severe to building in cities like Jakarta and Bandung but people can actually feel the turbulence. That's why people that is working, studying, or doing activities at that moment were burst out of buildings, afraid being caught in collapsing building.

When I felt the quake when I arrived home, I instantly turned on the TV to check what's actually going on. Some News Channel already broadcasting Breaking News for the earthquake. Then I see live report on bussiness district across cities like Jakarta and Bandung. Sure I could see hints of panic from the people when camera screened view on the street.

But I notice something common from people sighted on TV, they are holding their phone,, tightly. I reckoned that they kindda excited and not fully worried of what's going on. I could also see how exicted they are in sharing the moment "online" or phone. Maybe they are worried with their relatives out there, also I'm sure they will logged on to their facebooks, Twitties, PlurKies, and all other stuff alike. I could feel the sense of safety when they communicate only, or make calls to others.

Here's two conclusions I got from it:

- Sharing a panic-moment might be a relieve, excited to tell what others think about it

- City people are fully-connected and dependent to their gadgets

Totally, 21st centuries bring a new approach in facing disaster. Share your panic, it might be a relieve for yourself, hail socialize-addicts!!!!

Learn about Kurdish from Real Turkish

2009-09-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

I gotta to mention that now I'm staying with few turkish in my lodge near campus. They're grown ups already and good moslem from where I see it. Unlike what you saw and heard about Turkey Nation as secular, but these people I stayed in with are commited moslem and no hints of secularism at all. I happen to learn that secular system only applied in state-level and endorse by the ruling military regime that rules Turkey hand-in-hand with the governments. While now at the present time, Turkey's government is led by an Islamic Party (AKP), where Erdogan and Abdullah Gul stands as the leader. So people that I stayed in with were saying that Turkey is repairing itself and willing to work in order to preserve its Islamic Identity, or even trying to topple down the secular-millitary regime.

Here's comes my question that has already been a big curiosity to me, about the Kurds and Turks relationship. What they say is that "all the things are a major conspiracy". Turks and Kurds are brothers, they don't want the killings. The present PPK kurdish party that has goal for independence are actually led by a non-Kurds (his mother is not a Kurdish, simply makes him not fully Kurds).

The leader stands in because it supports independence, and somehow somewhere, there's a help and support from people that even my Turkish friends didn't know. So PKK are existed and maintained its existence to create chaos and problem inside turkey. While the worst thing is some Kurds also provocated with the act,,, this creates anomaly that potrays Turkey or even Kurds to be ruthless with each other. It's a fitna afterall.

So I'm thinking about what we're seeing in media, it's probably only pictures the surface of the problem, not the real matter as a whole. It's better to actually ask the real people for real information. I'm not saying what my friends told me are completely right, but what I believe is that all mankind wants to live peace side by side, those who dont wants it will create problem so that they will be profiting while the other are loosing under their expenses.

Wallahu allam who's right on this one, I just hope that good people will unite and stops all this earthly problem- coz it's all only temporary seizure.

Realist: Survival of the Fittest

2009-08-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

Here's what I got during lecture today. We learn on the subject of International Politics. The lecturer in my opinion has a realist perspective, which is common in the international Relations theory chart. The realist believes that Nations or States stand as the most important actor in international relations, thus international politics. Without the existence of states, there would be no non-state actor, such as INGO's, UN, Regional Organizations, etc. Therefore all focus mainly pointed into looking how states act based on interests and rationality.
There are also a believe among realist that state will act according its own mutual interest. Such interest applied by what we call as Foreign Policies. Foreign policy is a one-way approach from states to apply their interest in international stage. Then bunch of foreign Policy will creating an international system that forging a pole or pattern in interactions among states.
If we look at the schemes, then we may say that there are always frictions between states because of differences among interest. Even based on interest there may also be joint interaction between states. As the way realists beleive, international political scheme are mainly shaped by the form of "survival of the fittest", because interests are always changing and dynamic. To apply interests, (that has been a state owns ambitions without kindle any other states interest) need power to do so.
Good example on how US dominates the international political scheme in the 21st century simply because the own power to apply their interest, in terms of security, economy, and social. There for international politics happens because nations struggle to achieve and exercise power for their own benefit. The problem is interests aren't always visible and hard to predict, predictions only comes by looking pattern of one's foreign policy track record, which may turn wrong as well. That's why international politics are simplified by realist under the believe of survival of the fittest. The fittest may survive it all.

South America unites against US-Colombia Troop Plan

2009-08-30T17:52:00.000-07:00

Columbia is a country that stays in great threat of drug-lords and rebel on their national territory. Such a problem has been a great obstacle for the Uribe-led country to run the country in right course. On the present day the United States has offered good-gesture to help Columbia to tackle problems on its region by sending international troops and also giving assistance in terms of military and political policy. In a good way we may see the gesture of US for Colombia might give colombia a real solution of the problem, because the main thing of Colombia couldn't afford to solve the problem is men power and fund, therefore assistance from third world countries such US might be a solution.
But at the UNASUR (Union of South American Nations)latets meetings, Colombia's neighboor do not see the matter in the same perspective as their US and Colombia counterpart. On monday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chaves and Bolivian President Rafael Correa stand firm aginst the plan. Chaves also remarked that "the Yankees" have started to command Colombian Military. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva but mildly remarked this plan is the matter of Colombia and the US but also sugesting a meeting between US governments and All the south american countries about the plan.
In looking the problem we may take few perspective of nations that involved in the matter politically. The US for instance would take this as a chance to prove its millitary efficiency in takle problem in its neighboor south america. It would be great if The US sees this is as opportunity to repair its image in a good way among south american, esp. Venezuelan goovernments that has been so long voiced out anti-US movements. Good diplomacy of US can at least ease, maybe not fully recovered, the relations of some south american nations.
As in the venezuelan and Bolivian perspective such cooperation would means a failure of all objectives that UNASUR have in mind to achieve full dependence against its giant-neighboor US. Even there would be accusation on another US movement to work it way to achieve a geopolitical power by plant troops in Colombia. Some nations might think that Columbian has been "infected" and backed by US and their troop might be fullt controlled by US, therefore has to be put as a threat. It might sparkle further disputes along venezuela- colombia border, especially after the FARC and cross-border disputes that murks the both country relations.
This problem has to be taen serious by all international intstitutions and organizations sorounding the matter. Because this problem might spread to something awful that none of us wanted. We sure on how Venezuelan harsh capability to act against provocation by US, also how assertive US in handling the problem, it might put Colombia and columbian citizens in peril. I think a good and honest diplomacy could certainly solve the problem, it's just a matter on how to exercise interest of states involved to produce the best outcome.

North Korea smuggle heavy-arms to the Iranians!!

2009-08-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

This is an utmost shocking news but also relevant to the present world's condition. I read news on in aljazeera (Sat, Aug 24) that around august 14 there's a ship being seized because of smuggling weapons and heavy arms such as Rock-it Launcher, detonators, grenades, (you name it!) What shocking is that it sent originally by north koreans but by using Italian firms that has office in shanghai,also cooperates with Australian firm that owned by a french conglomerates. The ship itself is australian but flying a bahamas flag.
This is rather confusing and problematic. Security council has condemned NK and Iran about this and expecting a respons around 15 days because such act proves a violations of treaty around arms exports from NK. Until now I havent recalled any responses been voiced out.
All I can say that if we draw a map, a certain connection between states that stands against the west (read US) has begin to emerge on itself. But then as we may know the condition of multi-layer and diverse world, we can see how such exports are actually held under a complicated host that is so unexpected, like australian firm, French conglomerate, Italian company, and even shanghai might be envolved.
It's too soon to make conclusion on what's going on. In my opinion, everyone might be envolve, it's just that we as normal people has not figured out what's the big picture yet.
Sure that worlds condition are getting so much complicated nowadays, politics and interest are clashing around.

Don't get Caught to be an internet-addict in China

2009-08-27T02:04:00.000-07:00

I just read the news on BBC.com about a phsychological-program to cure people that are addicted to internet. "WHAT>>>??????" And the so-called curing centre is held under amilitary regime where the patients are pushed to do deadly grunts-routine just like soldier. The sick thing is patients that got in are recomended by relatives that think a person are addicted to internet.
You better read it yourself in this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8219768.stm
I can there are different rules and norms in every continet in the world, but to see this I might say it's quite unique. Maybe it's one of the way of Chinese government to block wide and uncontrolled globalization which can put the communist regime under threat. But this is 21st century man!!! We're allowed to be addicted to something as long it does no harm for ourselves and others. In my opinion internet is quite harmless. If we wanna stop such bad addictedness, there must be another way and approach to make it happen. Surely not putting internet addicts into some deadly and inhuman boot-camp.

Afghanistan caught in complex guessing game

2009-08-27T01:54:00.000-07:00

By Lynne O'Donnell (AFP) – 59 minutes ago

KABUL — As Afghans await the results of a bitterly contested election, their country is caught in a complex guessing game about who will be their next president and how solid his mandate will be.

The gap between the main rivals in the race for the top job -- President Hamid Karzai and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah -- appears to be widening in the incumbent's favour.

Just over 17 percent, or nearly one million ballots, have been counted and made public, showing the Western-backed Karzai with 42.3 percent so far, and Abdullah on 33.1 percent.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC), which is in charge of the count, said Thursday it would not be releasing any more figures before Saturday.

Counting would continue Thursday, said IEC spokeswoman Marzia Siddiqi, giving no reasons for the cancellation of Thursday's release. Friday is a holiday in Islamic Afghanistan.

While IEC officials have been eager to stress that nothing should be extrapolated from the figures released so far, they appear to suggest turnout was low -- around 30-35 percent -- raising questions about the legitimacy of the man declared president when final results are known in mid-September.

Afghanistan's second presidential election and a parallel vote for provincial councillors were held on August 20 under the shadow of scores of Taliban attacks.

Just two hours after the first results were released in Kabul on Tuesday, the southern city of Kandahar was rocked by a suicide car bomb that killed more than 40 people and bore all the hallmarks of a Taliban attack.

Views on the legitimacy of the vote are mixed, with some commentators insisting such low turnout raises serious questions about what mandate a president with 50 percent of around five million votes can claim.

Others are as adamant that turnout of around five million -- of 17 million registered -- is proof Afghans are engaged in the democratic process and sent a clear message to the Taliban that their intimidation tactics were futile.

"I think Afghans have shown very clearly to the Taliban that despite the fear that was created before the election -- which was massive, with night letters, threats, attacks -- despite all of that they wanted to vote," said Nader Nadery, of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan.

"Even in very volatile environments, where there was fighting -- Baghlan, Logar, Paktia, Zabul, Helmand -- when the fighting stopped people went to polling stations and asked to be able to vote.

"Compare that response proportionately to the level of threat and fear from the Taliban, and the message to the Taliban is that your tactics haven't worked," he said.

In some areas of the country, however, the campaign of intimidation worked well enough to keep voters away almost entirely. In some militant strongholds, including Logar province south of Kabul, residents said turnout was negligible.

"In my village there are more than 6,000 people. Only seven voted," mechanic Mansour Stanikzai told AFP in the provincial capital Pul-i-Alam.

Analyst Haroun Mir said the Taliban's tactics successfully derailed the election and undermined the democratic process, which the international community has been eager to promote as suitable for the feudal, war-ravaged nation.

"The reason we had the election was to give legitimacy to the government, and we have failed in that goal," Mir said.

"The Taliban has cancelled it out, they forced people to remain in their homes," he said, adding the legitimacy of the final result "is put in question."

He said the slow release of the results should give Karzai and his international backers time to cut a compromise with Abdullah.

"We could end up with a power-sharing situation," he told AFP. "It is segregated -- Abdullah in the north, Karzai in the south.

"This election has shown that Afghanistan remains strictly divided," he said, adding: "We are heading for political crisis."

As the number of complaints -- 790 on polling day alone -- was being used by Abdullah to lambast the whole process as fraudulent in favour of his opponent, ordinary Afghans said they expected some problems in one of the world's most corrupt countries.

"There is no doubt that there would be a lot of fraud but a lot of the people I know and work with said they were supporting Karzai," said 28-year-old Kabul telecommunications engineer Mohammad Akbar.

Time spent waiting for the results was "extremely boring," he said, but added: "There is a lot of concern and worry that when the election result becomes final, whether or not it will be accepted."

Kemerdekaan RI dengan Pendekatan Baru Kaula Muda

2009-08-27T00:05:00.000-07:00

Bila Soekarno masih hidup pada zaman modern dan serba high-tech ini, pasti beliau berdecak kagum. Betapa tidak? Semangat kemerdekaan Republik Indonesia tercinta ini berkobar tidak hanya di dunia nyata, tetapi juga dunia maya. Berkobarnya semangat kemerdekaan dari dunia maya ini banyak dipelopori oleh kaum muda, yang cenderung menguasai pangsa dunia internet akhir-akhir ini. Ambillah IndonesiaUnite sebagai contoh penting bangkitnya gerakan nasionalisme kaum muda di dunia maya.

Gerakan kebangsaan yang muncul di jejaring sosial seperti Facebook, Twitter, dan Plurk ini di mulai oleh kaum muda sendiri yang bertujuan untuk memunculkan ikatan dan solidaritas kuat antara seluruh bangsa Indonesia agar bertahan dari segala bentuk perpecahan, kerusakan, dan aksi anarkis yang merusak integritas bangsa seperti terorisme dan pelanggaran HAM. Anggotanya pun semakin menjamur hingga masuk ke dalam semua kalangan. Bahkan hal yang saya lihat hal ini telah berubah menjadi suatu trend yang bersifat positif.

So things are evolving, hope it’s a good sign of the nationalism’s bright future for Indonesia!!

Merdeka!

Dapat Juara ke-1 Public Speaking ASEAN di Deplu!!!

2009-07-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, maybe today is the happiest day in this very long holiday for me, cuz I just got a call from one of the committee that organized the Public Speaking contest, said that I got the 1st champion!! Senang sekali rasanya!! Lomba itu di adakan oleh Ditjen Kerjasama ASEAN Departemen Luar Negeri Indonesia bulan Juni lalu yang diikuti oleh mahasiswa Se-Jabodetabek untuk mempromosikan ASEAN society yang bakalan mulai terlaksana 2015, dan secara parsial diaplikasikan tahun 2010. Karena pentingnya hal ini, Deplu memberikan pendekatan baru untuk memperkenalkan ASEAN lewat banyak lomba yang bersifat Socio-kultural, salah satunya lomba Public Speaking contest yang saya ikuti ini. Deplu melihat akan pentingnya peranan kaum muda untuk berpartisipasi dalam ASEAN, oleh karena itu pengenalannya harus dimulai sejak dini.
I couldn't beleive that ranked as the first, becoz, persaingannya cukup kompetitif dan saya tidak banyak yakin akan dapat juara, What a great relieve,, semua yang telah saya korbankan untuk panas2 ke jakarta dari Depok (Lebay Banget!haha) tidak terbuang sia-sia. Pembagian hadiahnya akan disatukan dengan perayaan ASEAN yang ke 42 di Deplu, semoga dan semoga saya dapat berkenalan dengan orang-orang penting di sana, waw waw.

Awright then that's all for now, another news later on....
So many stuff happened this day, I'd love to share but I don't have much time..

Ciao

Round and Round

2008-12-05T02:27:00.000-08:00

I'm back to square one, into the desk and study...............

The term exam is ahead of me and I got no time to waste

Instead I'm writing rubbishly in the bloggg

Square 1
Round and round...

Review Ilmu Politik

2008-09-05T20:53:00.001-07:00

Ilmu Politik
Definisi, kajian, dan konsep
(tugas pengantar ilmu politik Universitas Indonesia)

It's Arya's original comment and review, all rights reserved.

Dalam pengaplikasian umum, ilmu politik dapat dikategorikan sebagai ilmu yang memiliki cakupan abstraksi yang luas. Akan sulit untuk dapat memproporsikan definisi tunggalnya, karena luasnya ruang pandang yang dapat digunakan untuk menginterprertasikan ilmu politik secara holistikd dan menyeluruh.
Bukan dalam artian bahwa ilmu politik adalah ilmu yang tidak terdefinisikan. Hanya saja terkadang muncuk banyak persepsi tentang definisi dari apa ilmu politik itu karena banyaknya pihak dan ahli ilmu politik yang mengelurakan versi mereka masing-masing, sehingga susah didapat definisi utuhnya. Yang pasti seluruh pendapat yang mendefinisikan ilmu politik itu bernilai empiris dan dapat dipertanggungjawabkan secara intelektual, dan bisa digunakan untuk memperkaya wawasan tentang sudut pandang apa yang digunakan. Tentu hal ini dapat membantu untuk dapat lebih meraih esensi dari ilmu politik itu sendiri, terutama bagi pemula.
Pemikir ulung seperti Plato dan Aristoteles telah lama melalui proses pencarian untuk dapat mendefinisikan dan menjalurkan arah ilmu politik. Teori-teori mereka sekarang telah banyak menjadi basis pemikiran ilmu politik yang kian hari kian berkembang di masyarakat dan dunia pendidikan saat ini . Pandangan dan pemikiran mereka banyak muncul dari pengamatan terhadap bagaimana jatuh-bangunnya dunia perpolitikan polis Yunani purba, era dimana mereka hidup dan banyak berkontribusi.
F. Isjwara S.H. L.L.M. dalam bukunya “pengatar ilmu politik” 1971, berpendapat bahwa Ilmu politik adalah satu hal dan politik adalah lain hal. Politik dapat diartikan sebagai kemahiran, kemahiran tentang hal-hal yang mungkin, sedangkan ilmu politik adalah ilmu yang menyediakan dalil-dalil dan azas-azas mengenai hubungan-hubungan kenegaraan serta sosial.
Dari pernyataan itu dapat disimpulkan bahwa Ilmu politik berisikan esensi ilmu dan teori-teori para ahli politik yang dikontruksi serta di uji, sehingga dapat menggagaskan suatu ide yang patut dipelajari dan diketahui untuk mendalami ilmu politik tersebut. Kaidah-kaidah tersebut pada akhirnya akan menjadi pedoman pelaksanaan politik praktis. Politik praktis akan berorientasi pada aturan, kebijakan, dan keputusan politik yang akan dilakukan oleh para policy and decission maker.
Dalam bukunya “Dasar-Dasar Ilmu Politik”, Prof. Miriam Budiardjo berpendapat bahwa ilmu politik adalah ilmu yang dinamis dan berubah secara cepat, dikarenakan objek studi dari ilmu ini adalah manusia. Manusia adalah makhluk cerdas yang banyak melakukan terobosan baru dan perubahan yangg terkadang tidak dapat dipetakan dalam suatu ilmu eksak, mengingat manusia, dalam cakupan sosial, budaya, politik, dan banyak aspek lainya, akan selalu berkembang seiring berlalunya waktu.
Oleh karena Ilmu politik adalah ilmu yang dinamis, banyak perumusan general didasari oleh identifikasi pola-pola ulangan (recurrent patterns). Suatu identifikasi yang dilakukan para ahli dengan menengok kepada berjalannya peristiwa-peristiwa politik yang terjadi di masa lalu dan memiliki pola yang cenderung berulang. Sehingga dapat memberikan dasra perkiraan tentang apa yang kemungkinan terjadi pada dunia politik di masa depan. Siklus tersebut dapat ditentukan dengan melihat pola-pola yang terjadi di dalam sejarah.
Pola yang juga kerap kali dilakukan oleh para ahli adalah pendekatan tingkah laku (behavioral approach). Sebuah pendekatan yang megacu pada pengalaman empiris sesuai dengan kerangka teoritis yang terperinci dan ketat. Pendapat dan teori para ahli harus sangat diperhatikan dalam perumusan ini, dengan banyak melihat ranah teori-teori yang telah lama ada, sehingga identifikasi ilmu akan semakin jelas dan lengkap.
Konsep-konsep yang menjadi aspek pengkajian utama Ilmu Politik terbagi kedalam lima konsep pokok, (Dasar-dasar Ilmu Politik, Prof. Miriam Budiarjo):
Negara : Fokus yang diambil adalah kajian pada lembaga-lembaga kenegaraan serta bentuk formil dari negara. Banyak sekali ilmu politik berkutat pada pendalam penjalanan fungsi pihak-pihak yang ada didalam suatu bentuk negara, sehingga jelas fungsi dan kegunaannya. Hubungan antar negara juga menjadi kajian, mengingat akan selalu adanya friksi antar satu negara dengan negara lainnya, baik dalam scope yang positif juga negatif.
Kekuasaan : Power Struggle dan perebutan kekuasaan akan selalu mewarnai dunia politik. Oleh karena itu pengkajian kekuasaan dalam ilmu politik digali lebih dalam. Mengingat kekuasaan politik berkorelasi terhadap tujuan politik sebuah pihak. Selama politik dianggap sebagai kendaraan untuk menduduki kursi kekuasaan, konsep ini sangatlah penting.
Pengambilan Keputusan : alasan, pembentukan, perumusan, dan pengambilan keputusan adalah hal penting dalam pengaplikasian politik. Berhubung keputusan-keputusan kolektif itu diambil untuk kepentingan orang banyak public sector dan public goods
Kebijaksaan Umum : Dalam rangka pencapaian cita-cita masyarakat secara menyeluruh dibutuhkan adanya kebijakan (policy). Penentu kebijakan harus memiliki wewenang untuk pelaksanaan kebijakannya, agar dapat menciptakan jalan pencapaian visi masyarakat. Seperti ungkapan David Easton “Ilmu politik adalah studi mengenai terbentuknya kebijaksanaan umum”, dalam bukunya Political System.
Pembagian (distribution): Permasalahan distribusi menjadi hal yang krusial dalam pendalaman ilmu politik, terutama pada palikasinya nanti. Distribution of Value akan banyak berdampak pada pencapaian politik, yang bilamana terjadi ketidakadilan akan menimbulkan konflik, baik internal dan eksternal di dalam ruang lingkup politik.
Terdapat dua poin dari penjelasan diatas yang dapat ditelaah dan diperdalam substansi cakupannya. Pertama adalah poin cakupan ilmu politik dalam lingkup negara. Keberadaan suatu negara tidak akan pernah terlepas dari eksistensi pergelutan politik. Negara akan senantiasa menjadi ajang perpolitikan para anggota yang ada di dalamnya.
Di dalam negara (nation) selalu terbentuk sebuah pemerintah (government) yang berfungsi sebagai “governor”, atau pihak yang mengatur dan mencanangkan konstitusi yang mengatur masyarakat dan negara secara menyeluruh agar dapat menuju kearah yang diinginkan. Keberadaan pemerintah menurut Reney dalam bukunya, telah muncul dari zaman primitif kuno, dan sekarang telah banyak berkembang keberadaannya di dalam masyarakat modern dan post-modern.
Pemerintah memainkan peran yang penting hampir bagi seluruh aspek nation, termasuk semua individu yang berada di dalam negara tersebut. Terdapat aturan dan undang-undang yang mengikat warga negara sehingga terdapat konsekuensi hukum bagi siapa saja yang melanggarnya. Pemerintah memberikan haluan dan acuan utama kehidupan masyarakatnya demi tercapainya suatu lingkungan civil society yang ideal.
Penggunaan kata pemerintah sering diartikan menjadi dua definisi yang memiliki acuan berbeda. Satu beracuan pada pemahaman bahwa pemerintah adalah sekumpulan orang yang dipilih oleh rakyatnya karena memiliki visi, kemampuan, dan fungsi perannya masing-masing yang bertugas menjalankan roda pemerintahan di waktu dan tempat tertentu.
Lalu definisi lain tentang pemerintah sebagai suatu institusi yang menjalankan fungsinya tanpa melihat siapa yang ada didalamnya. Ini sesuai dengan pembagaian tiga lembaga utaman dalam negara, Eksekutif, legislatif, dan yudikatif sesuai klasifikasi yang di canangkan oleh John Locke. Ketiga lembaga institusional ini berkolaborasi menjalankan negara sebagai pemerintah.
Tetapi dalam definisi Reney, kedua hal ini dikombinasikan dalam satu akar definisi, yaitu “Goverment is the body of people and institutions that make and enforce laws for a society”
Dari definisi diatas dapat terlihat bahwa pemerintah memiliki suatu kewenangan untuk membuat hukum dan aturan yang mengikat masyarakatnya. Pemerintah memiliki kewenangan otoritatif terhadap masyarakatnya demi pencapaian tujuan dan visi masyarakat itu sendiri. Hal ini berkolaborasi dengan poin konsep ilmu politiknya Prof. Miriam Budiarjo tentang ilmu politik dalam pengambilan keputusan serta kebijaksanaan umum. Hal-haltersebut sangat berkaitan satu sama lainnya.
Kewenangan yang dimiliki pemerintah itu melambangakan power atau kekuasaan. Kekuasaan atas segala pengambilan keputusan dan kebijakan tanpa melepas azas pemerintah sebagai pelayan masyarakatnya. Seperti quote terkenal dari Benjamin Franklin tentang pemerintah yang demokratis, “By the people, To the people, For the people”, sehingga pemerintah akan tetap berada dalam track yang seharusnya.
Dalam buku Comparative and Politics digali lebih dalam apa peran politik dalam berjalannya pemerintahan. Studi politik komparatif menelaah fungsi politik dimana terdapat unsur command and influence atas pihak-pihak yang berada dibawah pemerintah. Studi komparatif telah juga banyak dipengaruhi oleh aliran behavioralism, dimana diaplikasikan untuk dapat lebih memahami arti politik dengan melihat kehidupan politik lewat penjelasan empiris, walau sekarang lebih mengacu pada perbandingan perilaku dan sifat politik dari suatu negara. Tetapi suatu hal yang menjadi acuan pelajar ilmu politik bahwa perilaku politik akan selalu tergantung dengan perhatian masyarakatnya, serta orientasinya terhadap tujuan akhir dalam berpolitik.
Dapast di tarik kesimpulan bahwa keterkaitan politik dan berjalannya sebuah negara sangatlah erat, karena adanya korelasi terhadap orientasi kekuasaan. Maka dari itu kekuasaan menjadi poin kedua yang dapat ditarik dan lebih lanjut dipahami maksud dan klasifikasinya.
Kekuasaan telah menjadi poin utama yang dikejar bila suatu pihak terjun di dunia politik. Sejak zaman yunani kuno telah muncul gejala seperti ini, dengan contoh munculnya pemerintahan yang dipimpin oleh kaum aristokrat yang berkuasa penuh atas negaranya, juga munculnya praktek tirani otoriter dan cenderung militeris seperti yang ada di Sparta. Kekuasaan menjadi salah satu tujuan utama. Dalam Comparative and Politics telah disebutkan bahwa kekuasaan didapat dari hasil mempengaruhi pihak lain, sehingga pemerintahan yang berdiri telah memiliki pengaruh atas pihak-pihak lain, terutama masyarakatnya. Kekuasaan seperti in dapat kita kategorikan sebagai Soft-power, dimana pengambilan kekuasaan dilakukan dengan damai dan penggunaan kekuasaan itu diarahkan untuk hal positiv yang tidak destruktif dan membangun. Sedangkan kategori kedua, Hard-power, adalah kekuasaan yang didapat lewat pemaksaan, sehingga pengaruhnya harus timbul dari paksaan. Masyarakat yang berada di bawah pemerintahan hard-power ini akan banyak menerima paksaan untuk melakukan hal yang di canangkan pemerintahan mereka.
Pada intinya , lima poin lingkup konsep Ilmu politik yang diutarakan Prof. Miriam Budiarjo meiliki arah dan maksud bersama dengan banyak teori lain. Secara general lima poin tersebut dapat menjadi akar ilmu politik dan dapat mengantarkan para pelajar ilmu politik untuk dapat lebih mendalami politik secara ilmiah. Ilmu politik adalah ilmu yang komperhensif dan rumit, tetapi kegunaannya sangat banyak dan sangat beneficial untuk menjadi alat untuk lebih dapat melihat Politik secara dalam. Pihak-pihak yang telah mempelajari ilmu politik akan selangkah lebih maju ketimbang pihak yang terjun ke dunia politik tanpa bekal teori-teori ilmiah. Penelitian politik akan menetaskan visi, visi akan pergerakan alur perpolitikan, sehingga dapat memberikan kontribusi lebih bagi diri, bangsa, dan negara.

it's a start!!!

2008-09-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

It’s my personal Blog and accompanied with my friend here. Guess we’re gonna put few of our writting through this blog-site. I’m just curious about what most people are fuzzing about. “put yerr writting through blogs, who knows you’ll be as famous as hell!!!”, one of my colleagues had said.
I’m a new universty student in University of Indonesia, for International relations studies. I just found out that being a university students is all about writting. Therefore I put this as a healthy exercise for me so that I’ll be able to express my thoughts through the flow of words. I ain’t do this for fame, it’s another form of exercise to me.
We’re using both english and Indonesian in this blog. Like I said....... It’s a start, I don’t really knows where this is gonna end. Hahahaha..
Lot’s of things that need to be told, lot’s of that need to be criticized, lot’s of aspect that need to be reviewed. I’m here to do all that.

And I need you to read and tell me how bad I am in doing it, so i will be better.

Cheers!!!!!