Ramadan is the month of repentance and forgiveness, obedience and good deeds, Remembrance and love, devotion and piety, nearness and intimacy. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “A great loser is he who witnesses Ramadan but fails to have himself forgiven.”[1]
Hence, in Ramadan and all times, one should strive to go out of the darkness of ignorance and illusion to the enlightenment of knowledge and certitude, from the swamp of whims and caprices to the bliss of nearness and intimacy with the Lord, Most Gracious, and from resisting degradation to continuity of spiritual enhancement.
The following article is a modest attempt to understand the Verses tackling the issue of the Fast in the Holy Quran. But before dealing with the wisdom and secrets of the Fast, it is necessary to have a snapshot of the essence of worship, for the Fast is one of the great ritual kinds of worship.
Islam is the religion that Allah, All-Wise, accepted for His servants and the System that He, Most Merciful, chose for them. Therefore, strict observation of the rules and enjoinments of this System and devoted commitment thereto are the essence of worship, which is the ultimate goal of our existence. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says: “I have only created Jinns and men that they may worship Me.” [CI ; 56]
Some kinds of worship, such as truthfulness, honesty, trustworthiness, chastity, commtment to covenans and promises, seeking lawful things, and self-control are behavioral worships and are, therefore, based on the establishment of good relationships with other fellow humans. Other kinds of worship, such as prayer, the fast, and pilgrimage to Mecca, are ritual and are, hence, based on the establishment of good relationships with Allah, All-High, and the strife to achieve intimacy with Him and to attain divine enlightenement, guidance and tranquility from Him.
In fact, correctness of ritual worships, one of which is the Fast, is based on correctness of behavioral ones. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Whosoever does not shun saying or doing falsehood, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink.”[2]
The following Quranic Verse summarizes both kinds of worship. Allah, All-Mighty, quotes Jesus (PBUH) as saying: “And He (Allah) has enjoined on me prayer and charity as long as I am alive.” [XIX ; 31]
In the above Quranic Verse, Jesus’ words “And He (Allah) has enjoined on me prayer” refer to the establishment of good relationships between himself and his Lord, Allah, Most Gracious; and his word “charity” denotes the establishment of good relationships between himself and other fellow humans.
But if a Muslim carries out a Divine Command only because it conforms to his interests or because of the secrets and wisdom lurking behind it, this means that he believes in the Command rather than in the Commander. Belief should be in the Commander, and the purpose of carrying out any Divine Command should be worshiping Allah and seeking His Good Pleasure, not achieving safety and happiness in the present world. A true believer carries out Allah’s Command just because it is from his Creator, Who has Power over everything and Who is All-Wise and Perfect, whether the wisdom behind such a Command be obvious or not. Hence, the important thing in this regard is that the motive of obeying Allah’s Command must be only to worship and obey Him, not to gain benefits or avoid detriment. When Allah sees that one of his devout servants obeys Him, He, Most Gracious, shows him, after having fulfilled His Command, its miraculous nature, and the great wisdom and wonderful secrets lurking behind it. In this way a servant achieves his servitude to his Lord and understands the reason for His Command and the secrets and wisdom lurking behind it. Those who make fulfilling Allah’s Command conditional on understanding the wisdom behind it and seeing its fruit do not worship Allah, but, rather, worship their own selves. Therefore, every Divine Command should be obeyed and vindicated only because it is from Allah, All-Mighty, and nothing else. In this way our Fast is elevated from a smart pragmatic behaviour into a sincere act of devotion.
When Allah, All-Wise, addresses all mankind, He addresses them with the basics of religion. Allah says: “O you people! worship your Lord, Who created you and those who came before you, that you may become righteous,” [II ; 21]
But when He addresses believers who believe in His Existence, Perfection, and Oneness, He addresses them with the branches of religion: bidding and forbidding, laws and legislations, showing what is lawful and unlawful…ec. Allah, Glory to Him, says: “O you who believe! The Fast is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you that you may attain self-protection,” [II ; 183] By virtue of the above Verse Allah, Most Gracious, addresses His believing slaves: “O you who believe in Me, who believe in My Knowledge, who believe in My Wisdom, wo believe in My Mercy, and who believe in My Love! O you who love Me! I have prescribed the Fast for you.” And when an Order comes to you from the One in Whom you believe and in whose Mercy and Wisdom you trust, you are sure that such Order is definitely for your own good. But you should by no means measure this according to your limited human mind but, rather, according to your Creator’s Infinite Divine Knowledge, Wisdom, and Mercy, for Allah knows and you do not know.
A merciful father might sometimes say to his son: “O my son! I am your father, aren’t I? Don’t you trust in my good experience in life, my great mercy on you, and my concern about your safety and happiness? Leave this thing up to me and do not measure it by your young immature mind, your limited experience, or your short sight but by your father’s mind, experience, and love.”
The above explanation may clarify the connection between Allah’s Words “O you who believe! The Fast is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you that you may attain self-protection,” [II ; 183] and the topic we are talking about.
In fact, the Fast is an act of abstention from food, drink, and sexual relations, which are lawful in themselves, from dawn to sunset, with an intention of worship and obedience to Allah, Most Merciful. Therefore, it is generously rewarded by the Lord, Most Gracious. To this effect, the Divine Hadith goes: “All of man’s work is for him, except the Fast; it is for me and it is I Who reward for it. He abstains from his food, drink, and (sexual) desire for Me.”
As for Allah’s Words “as it was prescribed to those before you”, they indicate that the Fast does not differ from one time to another, for it was a cultic observance in all revealed religions before Islam. In other words it has always been Allah’s Divine System for mankind.
As for Allah’s Words “that you may attain self-protection”, they mean that you may abstain from committing sins and misdeeds and comply with obedience not only in Ramadan but also in all other months of the year.
The purpose is not that we should suppress our desires and caprices only in Ramadan, but then, after Ramadan, we yield to them. The real meaning of the Fast is to maintain such suppression at all times.
The purpose is not that we should control our tongues and keep away from slander and calumny only in Ramadan, but then, after Ramadan, we give free reign to our tongues in slander, backbiting and calumny. The real meaning of the Fast is to watch our tongues and hearts at all times.
The purpose is not that we should abstain from looking at, or doing, unlawful or indecent things only in Ramadan, but then, after Ramadan, we return to our previous sins and misdeeds, like a woman who demolished her spinning after she had knitted it. The real meaning of the Fast is to lower our gaze and abstain from committing sins and misdeeds at all times.
The purpose is not that we should seek lawful things only in Ramadan, for fear that our Fast should not be accepted, but then, after Ramadan, we neglect and fail to adhere to Allah’s Laws concerning what is lawful and unlawful. The real meaning of the Fast is to stick to the Lord’s Laws and Commandments at all times.
The purpose is not that we should keep away from the places or meetings that displease Allah, All-Mighty, only for the sake of the holy month of Ramadan, but then, after Ramadan, we go back to such places or meetings.
The purpose is not that we should watch our steps with Allah in carrying out our duties and responsibilities only in the holy month of Ramadan, but then, after Ramadan, we neglect and fail to comply with Allah’s Commandments and laws, like a camel tied up and then released; it does not know why it was tied up and why it was released.
The important thing that should be perfectly understood is that Allah, the Almighty, has not chosen Ramadan to be only a month of obedience and devotion but also a school in which man learns and practices acts of obedience and tastes sweetness of nearness and intimacy with his Lord, Most Gracious. Such obedience and intimacy go on throughout the whole year. In this way Ramadan turns out a yearly station where man is provided with spiritual enhacement and is made to enjoy feelings of nearness and intimacy with his Lord, Most Merciful. The reason for which Allah has ordered us to abstain from food, drink, and sexual relations from dawn to sunset is that when, in compliance with Allah’s Commandment, man abstains from lawful things, he will not commit unlawful things. This is because abstention from unlawful things is more appropriate than abstention from lawful ones.
When Allah chooses a month in which man’s relationship with Allah is set right and reformed, it is meant to last throughout the whole year, for Allah is with him at all times.
When Allah chooses a place, like His Holy House, and calls believers to taste the sweetness of nearness to Him therein, He wants this nearness to be at all places, for Allah is with them at all places.
When Allah chooses someone and uncovers the truth for him, He chooses him in order to uncover the truth for people through him. Also, when Allah chooses someone in order to reveal to him His Divine Revelation and Religion, He does so in order that this Religion be communicated to all people. This is because Allah cammands believers to that which He commanded His Prophets and Messengers. To this effect, Allah, Most Gracious, says: “Therefore stand firm (in the straight path) as you are commended, you and those who, with you, turn (unto Allah); and transgress not (from the path); for He sees well all that you do” [XI ; 112]
When Allah chooses someone to make him happy forever, He does this in order that all people be happy by his Call.
To sum up, when Allah chooses a certain time, like Ramadan, a certain place, like His Holy House, and a certain man, like Muhammad (PBUH), He does so in order that all months, places and people be like them.
Then, Allah, Glory to Him, goes on to say: “for a fixed number of days” In other words, the days of the holy month of Ramadan are only a few days that Allah, Most Merciful, has chosen to consecrated for obedience, nearness and intimacy, which are meant to last throughout the whole year.
After that, Allah, Most Gracious, says: “but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later” [II ; 185] In other words, Allah, Most Merciful, does not charge man with anything that is beyond his powers or abilities; and Allah is the only One Who knows man’s powers and abilities, for He is the One Who created man with His Infinite Divine Knowledge, Wisdom, and Mercy. So, whenever there is hardship or inability there is ease and exemption. Breaking the Fast during the holy month of Ramadan, however, should be decided by an expert devout Muslim physician and in accordance with the Holy Quran and Prophetic Sunna. Travel to a distance of more than eighty kilometers exempts travelers from fasting. But in case of physical ability it is preferable to observe the Fast even in travel or illness. To this effect, Allah, Most Merciful, says, “And that you fast is better for you if only you know.” [II ; 184]
Then, Allah, All-High, says: “Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance you shall be grateful.” [II ; 185] In the context of the above Verse, it is noticeable that Islamic Shari’a is full of mercy, interest, justice, and wisdom. Any issue that goes from mercy to cruelty, from the better to the worse, from justice to injustice, and from wisdom to its opposite, is by no means part of the Islamic Shari’a even if it is included therein by thousands of interpretations.
After that, Allah, Most Gracious, says: “to complete the prescribed period,” i.e. the days of Ramadan, “and to glorify Him in that He has guided you”, i.e. being rightly guided to Allah, complying with His System, seeking and enjoying nearness and intimacy with Him, are all ripe fruits of the Fast. Man’s original nature incites him to thank the Benefactor for his Benefactions and Favors, most important of which is the Favor of Guidance. O Lord! What can he who loses You ever find; and what can he who finds You ever lose?!
Having tasted the sweetness of nearness and intimacy with the Lord, Most Merciful, in the month of Ramadan, the faster naturally turns to his Lord with gratitude for the great Favors and Blessings of knowledge and intimacy. That is why Allah, Most Gracious, says, after the Verses speaking about the Fast: “When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them). I answer the invocations of a supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me so that they may be led aright.” [II ; 186]
In the above Verse Allah, Glory to Him, confirms that after having been guided to Allah, man’s pure nature drives him, to turn to Him with gratitude and devotion. In other words, Knowledge of Allah, Most Gracious, gaining His Love and being on intimate terms with Him motivate one to turn to Him, Alone, with gratitude, prayer and supplication. Such is the reality of Monotheism and the essence of Islam as well as all revealed religions.
In a religious relic it is narrated that: “Three kinds of supplications are inevitably answered (by Allah): that of a faster until he breaks the Fast, that of a righteous ruler, and that of a wronged person, which Allah raises over clouds, and for which gates of heavens are open. Allah says: “By My Might! I shall help you even if after a while.”[3]
If we contemplate the Quranic verses and the questions therein, we find that the answer to each of the questions starts with the word “Say”, like, for example: “They ask you how much they are to spend. Say: ‘what is beyond your needs.’” and “They ask you concerning the Mountains. Say: ‘My Lord will uproot them and scatter them as dust.’” However, this does not apply for the Verse: “When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them)” where the word “Say” is not mentioned between the question and answer. Therefore, scholars said: the absence of the word “Say” from this Verse is an indication from Allah to His believing servants that there is no need for any mediation between man and his Lord, Most Gracious, when he desires to ask and supplicate Him.
One day, the Prophet (PBUH) was asked: “O Messenger of Allah! Is our Lord near so that we Call him quietly? Or is he far so that we Call Him loudly?” Therefore the following verse was revealed: “When Ibadi (My servants) ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them)” [II ; 186]
The word “Ibad ”, as used in the above Verse, is different from “Abeed ” for all human beings are “Abeed” to Allah in the sense that they are in need of Him for their existence, survival, and everything; and they are subjugated to Him. But the word “Ibad” denotes those who have known Him, complied with His Religion, and sought His Good Pleasure out of their own will and choice. Hence, the word “Abd ” whose plural is “Abeed ” means “a servant by subjugation”, but the word “Abd ” whose plural is “Ibad” means “a servant of gratitude”. Allah says: “nor is your Lord ever Unjust (in the least) to His Abeed (servants by subjugation).” [XCI ; 46]
Therefore, when Allah says: “When Ibadi (My servants who show gratitude) ask you concerning Me”, He means His “servants of gratitude” who have known Him, complied with His Religion, and acknowledged His Favors and Blessings upon them.
Now, the question is: Why does Allah say: “I am indeed close (to them)”? In fact He says so in order that a believer feels that Allah is with him at all times and places, and in all situations. All he has to do is invoke Him faithfully and sincerely; and Allah will surely respond to his invocation. But due to weakness of faith some people call upon others than Allah for help or the fulfillment of desirable things. That is why Allah says: “If you invoke them, they will not listen to your invocation; and if they were to listen, they cannot answer you.” [XXXV ; 14]
Another question is: Why does not Allah, sometimes, respond to those who invoke Him? The Prophet (PBUH) answered this question when he said: “Man verily travels a lot, rumpled and dusty, stretching out his hands to the heaven and invoking: ‘O Lord! O Lord!’ But his food is unlawful, his dress is unlawful, and he was fed by unlawful stuff; so how will he be answered?”[4]
Allah, Most Gracious, says: “When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them), I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls on Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be rightly guided.” [II ; 186] In other words, when you believe in Allah and comply with His Commands, He will respond to your supplication. The words “that they may be rightly guided” means “hopefully they will be guided to an accepted invocation or happiness and prosperity in the present world and the Hereafter”. When an invocation is rejected or not answered, this is due either to the supplicant’s corruption and deviation from Allah’s Religion or to the fact that it is not merciful or wise to be answered. However, whether answered or not, a believer’s invocation symbolizes an act of devotion and worship on his part. To this effect, the Prophet (PBUH) says: “Invocation is worship” And Allah, All-Mighty, says: “And your Lord says: ‘Call on Me; I will answer you. But those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell in humiliation!” [XC ; 60]
Scholars said: the Fast lessens the burdens on man’s heart and blood vessels, for it minimizes the fat and acidity in the blood and, hence, protects from arteriosclerosis. And physicians hold that man’s life expectancy is in positive proportion to that of his arteries. The Fast also eases the kidneys and the excretory apparatus, as the outcomes of metabolism are minimized, and, consequently, it protects from arthritis. Also, it causes the sugar of the liver to move, which makes the fat stored under the skin and protein of muscles move, too. Hence, the Fast of Ramadan is considered by physicians as an annual course of protection against lots of diseases. Moreover, it is considered as a remedial course for some diseases; and it protects from diseases of senility, which is caused by over-use of organs of the body.
From the above-mentioned it may be said that, besides its being an act of worship and devotion, the Fast provides the human body with protection, remedy, and good health.
Moreover, in Prophetic Tradition it is narrated: “The Prophet (PBUH) used to break his Fast by eating some dates and then performing prayer. If dates were not available, he would drink some water instead.”[5] It was also narrated by Salman Ibn ‘Amer that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “When one of you breaks his Fast, let him do that by (eating some) dates, for they are blessed. If he does not find dates, then water is a purification.”
The above two Prophetic Hadiths provide evidence of the Prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), for scientists hold that 75% of the dates, which a faster eats, consist of easily digested mono-sugar that is assimilated by the body in less than ten minuets, giving the faster the feeling that he is not so hungry and causes him to eat moderately after having performed the Maghrib (Sunset) prayer.
Fatty and protein foods, however, need more than three hours to be digested and assimilated by the body. So when man eats more fatty food, he will not feel satisfied but rather full; and there is a great difference between feeling satisfied and feeling full but not satisfied. Therefore, the Prophet (PBUH) used to break his fast by some dates and then perform the sunset prayer. After that, he would sit down to eat. And whosoever fails to follow the Prophet’s Tradition in breaking the Fast looses a lot of the good benefits of the Fast.
Dates consist of mono-sugars, which are the fastest ones in terms of digestion and assimilation in the human body. This is because the sugar of dates moves from the mouth to the blood in less than ten minuets. Dates also contain cellulose fibers which have marvelous effects on digestion and in protecting intestines from fatal diseases. They also contain proteins, which repair tissues, and a small amount of fats. They contain five kinds of principal vitamins and eight kinds of minerals. Five grams of dates contain from one half to one fifth of the body’s need from minerals. They contain 12 amino acids, as well as constrictive and colouring materials.
Moreover, dates protect from constipation, which causes more than fifteen diseases, and have positive effects in protecting from anemia, and hypertension. They help in healing fractures and are laxative and soothing. They are also non-contaminated.
It is also advisable, even one is not fasting, to begin breakfast with some fruit, if available, as it contains mono-sugars, before eating heavy food which contains fatty matters that are difficult to digest. This can be deduced from Allah’s Words “…and with fruit, any that they may select, and the flesh of fowls, any that they may desire.” [CVI ; 20-21]
SOURCE : NABULSI
GEOGLOBE
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Real Meaning of The Fast
Monday, April 27, 2009
Pertanyaan seputar Manajemen Risiko?????
- Mengapa harus ada Risk Management Unit?
Risk Management Unit (RMU) merupakan fasilitator untuk pelaksanaan manajemen risiko. Manjemen risiko merupakan tanggungjawab setiap lini manajemen. RMU menyediakan model (kriteria), memfasilitasi penilaian risiko, mengelola Risk Register dan membuat profil risiko tiap unit departemen. - Bagaimana cara kerja Risk Management?
Secara garis besar ada 7 (tujuh) langkah utama, yaitu: Sosialisasi Manajemen Risiko, fasilitasi Dewan Direksi dalam menentukan Tujuan Strategis dan tujuan tiap unit, Memfasilitasi identifikasi dan penilaian risiko yang dilakukan oleh Dewan Direksi dan tiap unit department,Memfasilitasi identifikasi dan evaluasi kontrol (control) yang teleh ada dan gapnya dengan kontrol yang masih perlu dilakukan (tindak lanjut). Memfasilitasi penentuan kontrol atau rencana tindak lanjut oleh Direksi dan unit. Pemantauan hasil tindak lanjut yang dilakukan oleh Direksi dan unit. Pelaporan Manajemen Risiko. - Siapa yang melakukan penilaian risiko?
Penilaian risiko merupakan tanggung jawab seluruh karyawan namun dalam hal ini dikoordinasikan dan dilakukan setiap Kepala Departemen (Head of Department). - Bagaimana cara penilaian risiko? Penilaian risiko dilakukan dengan cara mengisi tabel Risk Register.
- Apa yang dimaksud dengan Risk Registers? Risk Register adalah tools/alat yang digunakan oleh manajemen ( department,direksi) untuk mencatat risiko yang teridentifikasi, menilai risiko, mengidentifikasi kontrol yang sudah ada dan yang masih perlu dilakukan. Risk Register ini dibuat oleh manajemen dengan difasilitasi oleh RMU. Risk register ini digunakan RMU sebagai dasar dalam pembuatan Profil Risiko (Risk Profile) tiap unit.
- Siapa yang melakukan perbaikan atas risiko yang menengah (moderate) dan risiko yang tinggi (high)? Risk Reponse Plan diisi dalam kolom Risk Response Plan pada file Risk Register oleh Manager/Dept. Head. Risk Response Plan wajib dilengkapi dengan Target Date/milestone yang merupakan tanggal acuan bagi pihak-pihak terkait dalam menjalankan Risk Response Plan yang telah ditetapkan.
- Apa yang dimaksud Risk Response Plan ? Risk Response Plan merupakan rencana tindakan yang akan dilakukan agar risiko dapat dikendalikan. Risk Response dikenal juga dengan istilah Mitigasi, yang pada dasarnya terdiri dari 4 jenis tindakan, yaitu:
• Mengurangi Risiko: yaitu memilih untuk mengurangi risiko baik Likelihood maupun Impact-nya. Misalnya dengan mengurangi jumlah investasi atau pengembangan lahan untuk rencana bisnis yang baru.
• Membagi Risiko, yaitu dengan memindahkan risiko yang ada atau membagi risiko sebagian dari risiko yang ada, misalnya penggunaan asuransi kebakaran kantor/pabrik, mekanisme lindung nilai (hedging) atau meng-outsource aktivitas-aktivitas tertentu seperti penggunaan transporter atau penggunaan konsultan.
• Menghindar dari Risiko, yaitu memilih untuk menghindari risiko yang ada dengan melakukan tindakan-tindakan yang membuat Perusahaan dapat keluar dari aktivitas atau rencana bisnis yang mengandung risiko tersebut.
• Menerima Risiko, yaitu menerima risiko yang teridentifikasi dan Perusahaan tidak melakukan strategi mitigasi atas risiko. Hal ini dilakukan apabila dampak (impact) dari risiko terkait masih dalam batas risk tolerance yang ditetapkan dan biaya yang diperlukan untuk melaksanakan aktivitas pengendalian (kontrol) atas risiko tersebut lebih besar dari nilai risiko itu sendiri.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Nikmatnya Suami dan Istri yang bersyukur dan sabar
Pasang surut yang mewarnai kehidupan sebuah rumah tangga tak hanya dalam hal hubungan pribadi antara suami dan istri, namun juga menyangkut anak dan rizki. Kesabaran dan sikap syukur menjadi modal yang mesti dimiliki dalam hal ini.
Setiap insan yang hidup di muka bumi ini pasti pernah mengalami suka dan duka. Tak ada insan yang diberi duka sepanjang hidupnya, karena ada kalanya kemanisan hidup menghampirinya. Demikian pula sebaliknya, tak ada insan yang terus merasa suka karena mesti suatu ketika duka menyapanya. Bila demikian tidaklah salah pepatah yang mengatakan, "Kehidupan ini ibarat roda yang berputar", terkadang di atas, terkadang di bawah. Terkadang bangun dan sukses, terkadang jatuh dan bangkrut, kadang kalah, kadang menang, kadang susah, kadang bahagia, kadang suka dan kadang duka… Begitulah kehidupan di dunia ini, kesengsaraannya dapat berganti bahagia, namun kebahagiannya tidaklah kekal.
اعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَزِيْنَةٌ وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِي اْلأَمْوَالِ وَاْلأَوْلاَدِ كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيْجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُوْنُ حُطَامًا وَفِي اْلآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ شَدِيْدٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِنَ اللهِ وَرِضْوَانٌ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ مَتَاعُ الْغُرُوْرِ
“Ketahuilah, sesungguhnya kehidupan dunia itu hanyalah permainan dan sesuatu yang melalaikan, perhiasan dan bermegah-megah di antara kalian serta berbangga-bangga dalam banyaknya harta dan anak, seperti hujan yang tanam-tanamannya mengagumkan para petani, kemudian tanaman itu menjadi kering dan kalian lihat warnanya kuning kemudian menjadi hancur. Dan di akhirat nanti ada azab yang keras/pedih dan ada pula ampunan dari Allah serta keridhaan-Nya. Kehidupan dunia itu tidak lain kecuali hanya kesenangan yang menipu.” (Al-Hadid: 30)
Suka duka pun suatu kemestian yang dialami sepasang suami istri dalam mengarungi bahtera rumah tangga, karena kesempitan atau kelapangan, kesulitan atau kemudahan datang silih berganti. Ketika diperoleh apa yang didamba, mereka bersuka. Tatkala luput apa yang diinginkan atau hilang apa yang dicintai, mereka berduka.
Sebagai seorang yang beriman kepada Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala dan mengimani takdir-Nya, sudah semestinya suka dan duka itu dihadapi dengan syukur dan sabar. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala menggandengkan dua sifat ini di dalam firman-Nya:
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِكُلِّ صَبَّاٍر شَكُوْرٍ
“Sesungguhnya pada yang demikian itu terdapat tanda-tanda bagi setiap orang yang banyak bersabar lagi bersyukur.” (Ibrahim:5)
Qatadah rahimahullahu menafsirkan ayat di atas dengan mengatakan, “Dia adalah hamba yang bila diberi bersyukur dan bila diuji bersabar.” (An-Nukat wal ‘Uyun, 3/122)
Rasul yang mulia Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam telah mengabarkan bahwa mukmin yang sabar atas musibah/duka yang menimpanya dan bersyukur atas nikmat/suka yang diterimanya akan mendapatkan kebaikan. Kabar gembira ini tersampaikan kepada kita lewat sahabat beliau yang mulia Shuhaib Ar-Rumi radhiyallahu 'anhu. Shuhaib berkata: “Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam pernah bersabda:
عَجَبًا لأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ، إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ لَهُ، وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لأَحَدٍ إِلاَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ، إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ
“Sungguh mengagumkan perkara seorang mukmin. Sungguh seluruh perkaranya adalah kebaikan baginya. Yang demikian itu tidaklah dimiliki oleh seorangpun kecuali seorang mukmin. Jika mendapatkan kelapangan ia bersyukur, maka yang demikian itu baik baginya. Dan jika ia ditimpa kemudaratan/kesusahan1 ia bersabar, maka yang demikian itu baik baginya.” (HR. Muslim no. 7425)
Ketika menjelaskan hadits di atas, Asy-Syaikh Muhammad bin Shalih Al-’Utsaimin rahimahullahu menyatakan bahwa setiap manusia tidak lepas dari ketetapan Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala dan takdir-Nya. Bisa jadi ia dalam kelapangan dan bisa jadi dalam kesempitan. Dalam hal ini manusia terbagi dua: mukmin dan selain mukmin. Seorang mukmin senantiasa dalam kebaikan pada setiap keadaan yang Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala takdirkan baginya. Bila ditimpa kesusahan ia bersabar dan menanti datangnya kelapangan dari Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala serta mengharapkan pahala, maka ia pun meraih pahala orang-orang yang bersabar. Bila mendapatkan kelapangan berupa nikmat agama seperti ilmu dan amal shalih, ataupun nikmat dunia berupa harta, anak dan istri, ia bersyukur kepada Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala dengan taat kepada-Nya, karena yang namanya bersyukur tidak sebatas mengucapkan “Aku bersyukur kepada Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.” Adapun selain mukmin, mendapat kesempitan ataupun kelapangan sama saja baginya, karena ia selalu berada dalam kejelekan. Bila ditimpa kesempitan/kesusahan ia berkeluh kesah, mencaci maki, dan mencela Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. Bila mendapat kelapangan ia tidak bersyukur kepada Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, Dzat yang telah memberikan nikmat. (Syarhu Riyadhish Shalihin, 1/108)
Seorang mukmin dan mukminah dalam menjalani kehidupan rumah tangganya harus berada di antara kesyukuran dan kesabaran. Karena ia tak luput dari takdir yang baik ataupun yang buruk. Mungkin ia belum dikaruniai anak, maka ia harus bersabar karena anak adalah pemberian Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. Dia memberikannya kepada siapa yang Dia kehendaki, dan terkadang Dia menguji hamba-Nya dengan tidak segera atau tidak sama sekali memberinya keturunan.
لِلَّهِ مُلْكُ السَّماَوَاتِ وَاْلأَرْضِ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ يَهَبُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ إِنَاثًا وَيَهَبُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ الذُّكُوْرَ. أَوْ يُزَوِّجُهُمْ ذُكْرَانًا وَإِنَاثًا وَيَجْعَلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ عَقِيْمًا إِنَّهُ عَلِيْمٌ قَدِيْرٌ
“Kepunyaan Allah-lah kerajaan langit dan bumi. Dia menciptakan apa saja yang Dia kehendaki. Dia menganugerahkan anak perempuan kepada siapa yang Dia kehendaki dan memberikan anak laki-laki kepada siapa yang Dia kehendaki. Atau Dia menganugerahkan kedua jenis laki-laki dan perempuan (kepada siapa yang dikehendaki-Nya). Dia pun menjadikan mandul siapa saja yang Dia kehendaki. Sesungguhnya Dia Maha Mengetahui lagi Maha Kuasa.” (Asy-Syura: 49-50)
Anak diperoleh bukan karena kemahiran seseorang, bukan karena kejantanan, kekuatan, atau kepandaiannya. Berapa banyak orang yang kuat dan memiliki keutamaan lagi kemuliaan namun Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala tidak memberinya keturunan. Lihatlah istri-istri Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam, mereka tidak beroleh keturunan dari pernikahan mereka dengan Nabiyullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam, kecuali Khadijah radhiyallahu 'anha dan budak beliau Mariyah radhiyallahu 'anha. Lihat pula Nabi Ibrahim dan Nabi Zakariyya ‘alaihimassalam, keduanya dikaruniai anak tatkala usia telah senja, tulang-tulang telah melemah, rambut telah dipenuhi uban dan istri pun telah tua lagi mandul2. Lihat pula Maryam ibunda ‘Isa ‘alaihissalam dikaruniai anak tanpa pernah menikah dan tanpa pernah disentuh oleh lelaki3. Dengan demikian beroleh anak atau tidak, perkaranya kembali kepada Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. Dia yang memberi dan Dia yang menahan.
Bila seseorang diberi nikmat berupa anak, hendaklah ia bersyukur kepada Dzat yang telah memberikan anugerah. Namun bila tidak, maka tidak ada yang bisa dilakukan oleh seorang mukmin kecuali tunduk, sabar, ridha dengan ketetapan-Nya dan berbaik sangka kepada Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, karena Dia tak pernah berbuat dzalim kepada hamba-hamba-Nya. Dia Maha Tahu apa yang terbaik bagi hamba-hamba-Nya, sementara hamba-hamba-Nya tidak tahu apa yang baik bagi mereka.
وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُوْنَ
“Allah Maha Mengetahui sementara kalian tidak mengetahui.” (Al-Baqarah: 216)
Dalam masalah rizki juga demikian. Ketika seorang mukmin dalam kehidupan rumah tangganya tidak memperoleh rizki yang lapang, dalam kemiskinan tiada berharta, ia pun harus bersabar. Karena kelapangan dan sempitnya rizki, kaya atau miskinnya seseorang telah dicatat dan ditetapkan dalam catatan takdir dengan keadilan Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. Dia memberi rizki kepada siapa yang dikehendaki-Nya dan Dia menyempitkannya kepada siapa yang Dia kehendaki, sementara Dia tidak berbuat dzalim kepada hamba-hamba-Nya.
Ingatlah, kenikmatan, kemegahan, dan kekayaan dunia bukan jaminan keselamatan di akhirat nanti. Kalaulah kekayaan itu suatu keutamaan dan keadaan yang paling afdhal niscaya Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala akan menjadikan kekasih-Nya, manusia pilihan-Nya, junjungan anak Adam, yakni Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam, sebagai orang yang terkaya di dunia, bergelimang harta dan kemewahan.
Tapi ternyata tidak demikian kenyataannya. Beliau Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam hidup dengan penuh kesahajaan dan kesederhanaan. Terkadang tidak ada makanan yang dapat disantap di rumah beliau sehingga beliau berpuasa. Dikisahkan hal ini oleh istri beliau yang shalihah Ummul Mukminin ‘Aisyah radhiyallahu 'anha:
دَخَلَ عَلَيَّ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ، فَقَالَ: هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ شَيْءٌ؟ فَقُلْنَا: لاَ. قَالَ: فَإِنِّي إِذَنْ صَائِمٌ
Suatu hari Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam masuk ke rumahku, lalu bertanya, “Apakah ada makanan pada kalian (yang bisa kumakan)?” “Tidak ada,” jawab kami. “Kalau begitu aku puasa,” kata beliau. (HR. Muslim no. 2708)
Sampai-sampai untuk membeli makanan, beliau Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam pernah berhutang dengan menyerahkan baju besi beliau sebagai jaminan. Masih dari kisah Ummul Mukminin ‘Aisyah radhiyallahu 'anha:
اشْتَرَى رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ يَهُوْدِيٍّ طَعَامًا بِنَسِيْئَةٍ، فَأَعْطَاهُ دِرْعًا لَهُ رَهْنًا
“Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam pernah membeli makanan dengan pembayaran di belakang (akan dibayar pada waktu yang telah ditentukan), beliau memberi baju besinya kepada si Yahudi sebagai jaminan.” (HR. Muslim no. 4090)
Betapa sabarnya istri-istri Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam dengan kekurangan dunia yang mereka terima selama hidup dengan suami mereka Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam, dan beliau pun wafat tanpa meninggalkan warisan untuk mereka. Kata ‘Amr ibnul Harits, saudara Ummul Mukminin Juwairiyyah bintul Harits radhiyallahu 'anha:
ماَ تَرَكَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عِنْدَ مَوْتِهِ دِيْنَارًا وَلاَ دِرْهَمًا وَلاَ عَبْدًا وَلاَ أَمَةً وَلاَ شَيْئًا إِلاَّ بَغْلَتَهُ الْبَيْضَاءَ الَّتِي كَانَ يَرْكَبُهَا وَسِلاَحَهُ وَأَرْضًا جَعَلَهَا لاِبْنِ السَّبِيْلِ صَدَقَةً
“Rasulullah Shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam tatkala wafatnya tidak meninggalkan dinar, dirham, budak laki-laki, budak perempuan, dan tidak meninggalkan harta sedikitpun kecuali seekor bighalnya yang berwarna putih yang dulunya biasa beliau tunggangi dan pedangnya serta sebidang tanah yang beliau jadikan sebagai sedekah untuk musafir.” (HR. Al-Bukhari)
Demikian sebagai anjuran untuk bersabar dengan kesulitan hidup...
Ketika rizki datang pada si mukmin dan kelapangan hidup menyertainya maka rasa syukur kepada Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala harus diwujudkan. Tidak hanya mengucapkan syukur dengan lisan disertai keyakinan hati, namun harus pula diiringi dengan amalan, yaitu membelanjakan harta tersebut di jalan yang diridhai oleh Sang Pemberi Nikmat dengan infak dan sedekah.
Memiliki rasa syukur ini sungguh suatu keutamaan dan anugerah karena sedikit dari hamba-hamba Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala yang mau bersyukur, sebagaimana dinyatakan dalam Tanzil-Nya:
وَقَلِيْلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُوْرُ
“Dan sedikit dari hamba-hamba-Ku yang mau bersyukur.” (Saba`: 13)
Siapa yang bersyukur, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala akan menambah nikmat-Nya. Adapun orang yang enggan untuk bersyukur, ia akan diazab:
لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيْدَنَّكُمْ وَلَئِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيْدٌ
“Apabila kalian bersyukur, Aku sungguh-sungguh akan menambah kenikmatan bagi kalian dan sebaliknya bila kalian kufur nikmat maka sungguh azabku sangat pedih.” (Ibrahim: 7)
Hadapilah liku-liku kehidupan berumah tangga dengan sabar dan syukur, niscaya kebaikan akan diperoleh. Memang “Sungguh mengagumkan perkara seorang mukmin.”
Wallahu ta’ala a’lam bish-shawab.
1 Kemudaratan di sini sifatnya umum, baik yang menimpa tubuhnya ataupun menimpa keluarga, anak, atau hartanya. (Bahjatun Nazhirin, 1/82)
2 Nabi Zakariyya ‘alaihissalam ketika berdoa minta keturunan kepada Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala menyatakan:
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا وَلَمْ أَكُنْ بِدُعَائِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا
“Wahai Rabbku, sesungguhnya tulangku telah lemah dan kepalaku telah ditumbuhi uban, dan aku belum pernah kecewa dalam berdoa kepada-Mu, wahai Rabbku.” (Maryam: 4)
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala mengabulkan doa Nabi Zakariyya ‘alaihissalam dengan memberi kabar gembira kepadanya akan beroleh seorang putra. Nabi Zakariyya ‘alaihissalam pun takjub dengan berita tersebut hingga beliau berkata dengan heran:
قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّى يَكُوْنُ لِي غُلاَمٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا
“Wahai Rabbku, bagaimana aku akan beroleh anak, padahal istriku adalah seorang yang mandul dan aku sendiri sudah mencapai umur yang sangat tua.” (Maryam: 8)
3 Ketika malaikat Jibril ‘alaihissalam menemui Maryam dalam bentuk seorang manusia guna memberi kabar gembira kepada Maryam bahwa ia akan beroleh seorang putra, Maryam pun berkata dengan heran:
قَالَتْ أَنَّى يَكُوْنُ لِي غُلاَمٌ وَلَمْ يَمْسَسْنِي بَشَرٌ وَلَمْ أَكُ بَغِيًّا
“Maryam berkata, ‘Bagaimana aku akan beroleh anak, sementara tidak ada seorang lelaki pun yang pernah menyentuhku dan aku sendiri bukan seorang pezina?’.” (Maryam: 20)
Mengapa Harga CPO turun......
sebenarnya apa yang terjadi dengan fenomena penurunan harga CPO di pasar dunia tersebut? Apakah penurunan harga tersebut telah dapat dikatakan permanen atau pulihnya krisis pangan? Apakah ekonomi kelapa sawit Indonesia telah mengalami kejenuhan? Beberapa analisis di bawah ini mungkin dapat membantu menjelaskan fenomena yang terjadi.
Memasuki bulan Juli 2008, harga minyak kelapa sawit mentah (CPO=crude palm oil) di pasar dunia mengalami penurunan, sampai di bawah US$ 1,200 per ton. Pada bulan Mei 2008, harga CPO di pasar internasional bahkan pernah melampaui US$ 1,300 per ton, dan menjadi insentif tersendiri bagi ekspor CPO Indonesia (Data diambil dari Commodity Market Review, Bank Dunia, edisi Juli 2008). Gabungan Pengusaha Kelapa Sawit Indonesia (GAPKI) bahkan pernah memperkirakan produksi CPO Indonesia tahun 2008 ini mencapai 18,6 juta ton, atau melampaui produksi CPOO Malaysia 17,3 juta ton. Dengan mengacu pada proyeksi Oil World (2008), GAPKI pernah berani meramalkan bahwa kontribusi CPO Indonesia mencapai 44,3 persen dari total produksi CPO dunia, lebih tinggi dari 41,2 pangsa CPO Malaysia.
Pertama, di Indonesia dan Malaysia sebagai pemain utama CPO dunia terjadi panen raya, terutama untuk kebun-kebun muda yang baru dibuka lima-enam tahun lalu. Akibatnya, suplai dunia CPO meningkat, sehingga harga sedikit tertekan ke bawah. Faktor musim panas juga berpengaruh, sehingga tingkat permintaan minyak bumi sedikit menurun. Akibatnya, harga minyak bumi dunia juga tertekan sampai di bawah US$ 135 per barrel, suatu penurunan signifikan dari tingkat harga minyak bumi awal bulan Juli yang pernah menembus US$ 144 per barrel. Disamping itu, seperti umumnya terjadi pada musim panas, beberapa komoditas yang menjadi bahan baku minyak nabati dunia, seperti kedelai dan minyak kanola juga mengalami panen. Maksudnya, sumber minyak makan dunia tidak seluruhnya bergantung pada CPO Indonesia dan Malaysia.
Berbeda dengan fenomena harga CPO pada akhir Maret lalu, penurunan harga saat ini agak sulit disimpulkan sebagai akibat spekulasi para pemodal besar di pasar komoditi global. Pada kesempata lain (Arifin, 2008), penulis pernah mengemukakan tentang fenomena spekulasi investor global yang “menguji ketangguhan” pasar komoditi karena pasar keuangan global yang sedang lesu. Demikian pula, walaupun tekanan permintaan CPO untuk dikonversi menjadi biofuels masih tinggi, kaum industriawan di pasar global masih dapat mengandalkan minyak kedelai dan minyak kanola. Akibatnya, harga minyak kedelai masih menunjukkan laju peningkatan karena permintaan yang masih tetap tinggi. Harga jagung di pasar global justru masih mengalami peningkatan yang sangat signifikan karena kebutuhan jagung untuk dijadikan bioetanol masih cukup besar. Sebagian besar kebutuhan bioetanol dunia dipenuhi dari tebu dan jagung. Berhubung di Brazil sebagai produsen besar gula dunia sedang musim dingin, maka kenaikan harga jagung dunia masih menunjukkan peningkatan.
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Kedua, faktor Uni Eropa sebagai salah satu pasar terbesar CPO Indonesia, yang mulai bertingkah, yang diperkirakan mempengaruhi harga CPO dunia. Walaupun CPO Indonesia juga dipasarkan ke India, Singapura dan lain-lain, namun pasar Rotterdam di Belanda atau Uni Eropa secara umum masih cukup berpengaruh. Awal Juli ini, beberapa delegasi anggota parlemen Uni Eropa datang ke Jakarta, yang konon mempersiapkan regulasi yang berhubungan dengan pangann, biofuel, lingkungan hidup dan lain-lain. Seperti biasa, mereka melakukan pressure (mungkin plus ancaman boikot) bagi negara pemasok CPO dan produk pertanian lain ke Eropa, agar memenuhi syarat-syarat tertentu, yang ditentukan oleh masing-masing negara anggota Uni Eropa. Dengan semakin banyaknya jumlah negara anggota yang bergabung dengan Uni Eropa, tentu saja tuntutan, kemauan, dan kekhasan yang diperjuangkan agak beragam pula.
Argumen lama bahwa produksi CPO Indonesia diperoleh melalui konversi hutan tropis masih menjadi “senjata ampuh” yang digunakan para pejabat Uni Eropa. Dengan pertambahan areal kelapa sawit di Indonesia yang sangat cepat, masyarakat global wajar mempertanyakan proses konversi kebun sawit yang kini mencapai lebih dari 6 juta hektar tersebut. Apa pun argumen yang dibawa negara pembeli CPO Indonesia, para pengampu kepentingan (stakeholders) minyak kelapa sawit harus mampu menjelaskannya secara elegan dan bertanggung jawab. Skema RSPO (Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil) yang menjadi acuan tentang keberlanjutan usaha dan industri CPO, keramahan terhadap lingkungan hidup dan keadilan sosial-ekonomi nampaknya masih perlu disempurnakan. Tidak berlebihan untuk dikatakan bahwa industri CPO di Indonesia telah menjadi taruhan kredibilitas strategi pengembangan biofuel di Indonesia, serta pelaksanaan pembangunan berkelanjtuan yang ramah lingkungan hidup.
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Ketiga, penurunan harga CPO saat ini agak sulit untuk dikatakan sebagai fenomena permanen atau pulihnya krisis pangan global. Pemerintah nampaknya masih sulit untuk menurunkan angka pungutan ekspor (PE) CPO dan produk turunannya, sekalipun mendapat tekanan yang tidak kecil. Para analis seakan tidak percaya bahwa harga CPO dunia akan anjlok sampai US$ 780 per ton seperti harga rata-rata tahun 2007, apalagi sampai US$ 478 per ton seperti harga rata-rata tahun 2006. Disamping itu, krisis pangan atau eskalasi harga pangan dunia masih belum akan mereda sampai lima tahun ke depan. Harga tiga komoditas pangan utama di tingkat global, seperti beras, gandum dan jagung, yang mengalami lonjakan di luar akal sehat. Harga gandum dunia per 10 Juli 2008 untuk kualitas sedang (hard red winter HRW) sekitar US$ 400 per ton (naik 96% dalam setahun), harga beras kualitas sedang (Thai 5% broken) juga di atas US$ 900 per ton (naik 203%), dan harga jagung kualitas sedang (number 2 yellow) di atas US$ 240 per ton (naik 94%).
Demikian pula, sulit untuk berharap bahwa harga minyak goreng di dalam negeri akan turun sampai di bahwa Rp 8000 per kilogram, misalnya. Sebera pun kecilnya kontribusi harga minyak goreng pada laju inflasi, komoditas ini telah masuk ke dalam ranah politik, karena berhubungan langsung dengan persoalan sehari-hari, terutama pada kelompok penghasilan rendah. Pemerintahan masih akan melakukan kebijakan populis seperti program stabilisasi harga (PSH) minyak goreng dan operasi pasar di beberapa tempat yang menjadi “pusat perhatian”. Mungkin saja, kebijakan “ala kadarnya” seperti kewajiban alokasi CPO untuk pasar dalam negeri (DMO=domestic market obligation) masih akan dilanjutkan, walaupun tingkat efektivitasnya masih sangat rendah. Masyarakat awam pun pahan bahwa skema kebijakan DMO itu sulit di-enforced di lapangan karena perbedaan kewenangan administratif antara Departemen Pertanian, Departemen Perdagangan dan bahkan Pemerintah Daerah.
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Keempat, ekonomi kelapa sawit Indonesia masih akan terus berkembang, alias belum mengalami kejenuhan. Tingginya harga CPO dunia, fenomena investasi yang menawarkan hasil cepat (quick-yielding), semakin banyaknya pemekaran kabupaten atau daerah otonom adalah sedikit faktor yang menjadi determinan perkembangan kelapa sawit di Indonesia saat ini. Pelaku industri kelapa sawit skala besar tentu merupakan kelompok yang paling banyak menikmati booming kelapa sawit Indonesia selama 10 tahun terakahir. Tidak dimungkiri, bahwa petani sawit skala usaha kecil pun (di bawah 5 hektar) ikut menikmati tingginya harga jual tanda buah segar (TBS), yang mencapai Rp 1200 per kilogram. Harga sebesar itu adalah dua kali lipat dari harga TBS dua tahun lalu. Petani sawit di Sumatra dan Kalimantan kadang tidak terlalu peduli terhadap kenaikan harga beras dan pangan lainnya, karena mereka mampu membelinya. Sebaliknya, bagi petani padi di Jawa dan Bali yang hanya menguasai lahan setengah hektar atau kurang, mereka menjadi kelompok yang sama sekali tidak diuntungkan atas kenaikan harga CPO atau bahkan atas penurunan harga CPO akhir-akhir ini. Mereka masih harus berjuang untuk mempertahankan hidupnya sendiri.
Singkatnya, fenomena penurunan CPO sekarang diperkirakan belum akan berdampak secara signifikan pada ekonomi kelapa sawit Indonesia. Beberapa pelaku industri CPO memang mengalami penurunan pendapatan, yang mungkin saja berimbas pada harga jual TBS di tingkat petani sawit. Di sinilah diperlukan kearifan Pemerintah untuk secara serius untuk meningkatkan efisiensi ekonomi dan meciptakan keadilan yang lebih baik bagi segenap stakeholders kelapa sawit. Apabila pungutan ekspor (PE) CPO belum akan diturunkan, penerimaan negara yang diperoleh dari PE CPO selama setahun ini dapat segera “dikembalikan kepada masyarakat”, misalnya untuk: peningkatan kesejahteraan petani sawit, pengembangan industri hilir berbasis kelapa sawit, pembenahan kemitraan pelaku kecil dan besar, perbaikan kualitas penelitian dan pengembangan (R&D) bidang agroindustri dan bahkan untuk subsidi harga minyak goreng bagi kaum miskin. Di sinilah nuansa efisiensi dan keadilan dapat tercipta.
Prof Dr Bustanul Arifin, Ketua PERHEPI (Perhimpunan Ekonomi Pertanian Indonesia)
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MANAJEMEN RISIKO PERKEBUNAN
Aktivitas perusahaan senantiasa dihadapkan pada risiko-risiko yang berkaitan erat dengan fungsinya untuk menciptakan nilai bagi para stakeholder. Pesatnya perkembangan lingkungan internal dan eksternal perusahaan menyebabkan semakin kompleksnya risiko bisnis. Agar mampu beradaptasi dengan lingkungan bisnis, penerapan manajemen risiko secara formal, terstruktur dan terintegrasi merupakan keharusan bagi perusahaan. Jika dilaksanakan dengan baik, manajemen risiko menjadi kekuatan vital bagi corporate governance, sehingga merupakan hal mendesak yang harus diterapkan perusahaan.
Setiap kegiatan dalam perusahaan atau biasa dikenal sebagai Internal Business Process mengandung risiko, baik yang sifatnya operasional maupun yang bersifat strategis dengan dampak yang sangat luas. Sehingga dalam menentukan mitigasi yang akan diambil, kita harus mampu menentukan apakah yang kita hadapi merupakan risiko operasional ataukah risiko bisnis yang mampu menghentikan proses operasi perusahaan.
Risiko, adalah kejadian yang dapat berdampak terhadap Sasaran Kinerja Perusahaan, setiap kegiatan yang memiliki tujuan akan memiliki risiko. Untuk meminimalkan risiko tersebut maka manajemen melakukan pengendalian (control) sehingga diharapkan akan lebih meningkatkan kepastian pencapaian tujuan/sasaran tersebut.
Manajemen Risiko, adalah suatu proses yang dilakukan oleh manajemen untuk mengidentifikasi, menilai, memonitor dan memitigasi risiko untuk lebih meningkatkan kepastian pencapaian Sasaran Kinerja.
Identifikasi Risiko.
Pekerjaan identifikasi adalah pekerjaan awal manajemen risiko yang paling mudah dilaksanakan, tetapi bila petugas/pelaksana identifikasi tidak punya kompetensi/kemampuan yang memadai, akan menghasilkan identifikasi risiko yang salah dan berakibat pada mitigasi yang salah pula. Pekerjaan awal ini akan menghasilkan output dafta risiko.
Bagaimana melakukan identifikasi risiko? Pekerjaan ini dimulai dengan melakukan analisis pihak berkepentingan (stakeholder), yang meliputi pemegang saham, kreditur, pemasok, karyawan, pemain lain dalam industri yang sama, pemerintah, manajemen itu sendiri, masyarakat dan pihak lain yang terpengaruh oleh adanya perusahaan.
Langkah berikutnya adalah analsis internal, yang dapat dilakukan dengan menggunakan 7S dari McKenzie, meliputi shared value, strategy, structure, staff, skill, system dan style.
Metode yang biasa digunakan dalam identifikasi risiko adalah analisis data historis, pengamatan&survei, benchmarking, dan pendapat ahli. Namun metode ini bisa juga didukung dengan tehnik lain yang dipandang perlu, misalnya analisis kontrak saat kita hendak melakukan transaksi dengan pihak ketiga. Analisis kontrak bertujuan untuk melihat risiko yang muncul karena kontrak tertentu. Risiko ini lebih berkait dengan risiko hukum. Spesifikasi kontrak yang tidak menyeluruh bisa menimbulkan celah-celah yang bisa dimanfaatkan oleh pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab. Salah satu yang bisa dilakukan adalah dengan meminta bagian hukum atau bagian kepatuhan ataupun lawyer perusahaan untuk memeriksa poin-poin dalam kontrak untuk menganalisis konsekuensi hukum jika kontrak dituliskan dengan redaksi tertentu.
Bagaimana mengukur Risiko?
Setelah risiko teridentifikasi, proses berikutnya adalah mengukur risiko. Jika risiko telah diukur, kita bisa melihat besar kecilnya risiko, sekaligus dampak bagi perusahaan dan melakukan prioritisasi risiko (risiko mana yang paling relevan). Pengukuran/perhitungan risiko dapat dilakukan dengan beberapa cara yang bisa dipilih, tergantung pada kemudahan dan kecocokan. Proses pengukuran risiko ini akan menghasilkan output berupa peta risiko.
Pengukuran risiko selalu mengacu pada ukuran kualitas dan kuantitas risiko, yaitu frekuensi, tingkat kemungkinan, likelihood atau seberapa sering terjadi dan dampak, impact, severity atau besarnya kerugian. Disamping kedua acuan tersebut, ada juga yang memasukkan unsur kecenderungan/trend dalam mengukur risiko.
Pengukuran risiko akan sangat tergantung pada jenis risiko atau karakteristik risiko tersebut, misal risiko pasar dengan risiko kredit akan menghasilkan teknik kuantifikasi yang berbeda dan dengan demikian pengukurannya juga berbeda. Risiko pasar diukur dengan VAR (value at risk) dan stress-testing, sedangkan risiko kredit diukur dengan credit rating dan creditmetrics. Begitupun risiko operasional akan diukur dengan teknik berbeda lagi misalnya menggunakan matrik frekuensi & signifikansi kerugian dan VAR operasional.
Bagaimana cara penanganan risiko?
Proses berikutnya setelah risiko berhasil diidentifikasi dan diukur adalah mengelola risiko. Jika perusahaan gagal mengelola risiko, maka dampak yang diterima akan cukup serius, misalnya kerugian yang cukup besar, demo mogok dari karyawan, demotivasi karyawan. Output dari proses penanganan risiko adalah rekomendasi pengelolaan risiko.
Pengelolaan risiko secara klasik bisa dilakukan dengan 4 cara yaitu penghindaran risiko (risk avoidance), pengurangan risiko yang bisa dilakukan dengan metode pencegahan, diversifikasi atau lindung nilai alamiah (natural hedging), pemindahan risiko (risk transfer) dan penahanan risiko (risk retention). Kegiatan lain yang erat kaitannya dengan manajemen risiko adalah pengendalian risiko (risk control) dan pendanaan risiko (risk financing).
Mungkinkah perusahaan perkebunan mengelola risiko?
United Grain Growers (UGG), Perusahaan yang bergerak dibidang pertanian di Kanada, bisa mengasuransikan eksposur yang sebelumnya belum pernah diasuransikan, yaitu risiko cuaca. Risiko cuaca dintegrasikan dengan risiko lain dan kemudian diasuransikan. Praktek manajemen risiko UGG yang cukup inovatif mendatangkan penghargaan praktek manajemen terbaik dari beberapa lembaga yang berkompeten di bidang manajemen risiko.
Mengingat bisnis perkebunan juga dipengaruhi alam dan makin beragamnya risiko yang dihadapi perusahaan perkebunan termasuk PTPN dalam menjalankan bisnisnya, maka pengelolaan risiko adalah suatu keharusan (is a must).
Pengelolaan ini bisa dimulai dengan 3 langkah dasar sederhana sebagaimana dibahas diawal tulisan ini. Semisal kita berandai-andai, PTPN hendak menerapkan manajemen ditahun 2008 ini, PTPN sudah memiliki beberapa modal yang bisa dijadikan pijakan dalam bergerak.
Modal yang telah dimiliki dan juga yang harus ada di PTPN untuk melaksanakan manajemen risiko adalah:
-Kinerja terkahir (2008), hal ini telah disajikan dalam laporan manajemen dan telah disahkan kinerjanya oleh pemegang saham dalam RUPS yang baru saja lewat.
-Organisasi manajemen risiko, baik yang masih berada dibawah bidang/biro yang sudah ada maupun membentuk bidang manajemen risiko.
-Adanya “guru” dalam manajemen risiko, beberapa PTPN yang departemen keuangannya dikomandani oleh jendral dari perbankan, secara otomatis memiliki ”guru” dalam menerapkan konsep dasar manajemen risiko.
-Keyakinan terhadap manajemen risiko mulai muncul pada beberapa jajaran manajemen PTPN.
-Data dan informasi terinegrasi (dalam IT warehouse), beberapa PTPN telah investasi dengan nilai yang sangat besar untuk membangun fasilitas ini. Pemanfaatan fasilitas ini bisa dimulai dengan menjadikan data historis tentang curah hujan, produksi, produktivitas, harga, hutang, modal sebagai data base pengelolaan risiko operasional.
-Pandangan: “risiko milik semua”, pelan tapi pasti pandangan ini mulai mengkristal dalam setiap pengambilan keputusan bisnis PTPN.
-Model yang menghubungkan risiko dalam tataran tehnis dengan kinerja perusahaan, perlu dituangkan dalam bentuk tulisan agar dipahami semua jajaran perusahaan
-Dibuatnya corporate risk tolerance secara top down oleh BOD dengan persetujuan BOC.
-Dibuatnya peta risiko (risk map) yang dijadikan tolok ukur kinerja berbasis risiko oleh pihak intern PTPN maupun dengan bantuan konsultan.
Hal penting harus selalu diingat bahwa risiko bersifat dinamis (change management concept), sehingga siklus manajemen risiko harus selalu diikuti dan dijalankan dengan konsisten. Dengan telah dimilikinya modal dalam menerapkan manajemen risiko, dan tahu langkah/tahapan/proses yang perlu dilakukan dalam menerapkan manajemen risiko, maka kejadian menyalahkan sang Khalik atas ketidakmampuan dalam mengantisipasi dan menangani risiko operasional seperti ilustrasi cerita diawal tulisan ini tidak terjadi lagi.
Banyak pakar produksi dan tehnologi di negeri ini yang siap berkiprah dalam mencari solusi inovatif, tak mau kalah dengan para tenaga ahli Jepang yang mampu mengubah badai menjadi energi listrik, atau tanah/padang pasir di jazirah Arab yang gersang dan tandus dengan risiko kegagalan yang sangat tinggi akhirnya bisa menghijau dan menghasilkan produk pertanian berupa buah-buahan secara berlimpah, walaupun tidak seberlimpah buah-buahan dinegeri kita tercinta ini. Walahu alam bis shawab.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Various Forms of Greeting
It’s good to visit a friend and be greeted with a firm handshake and words of welcome. If that is the way people greet one another in your country. However, there is often a meaning for a greeting and in any country there is usually more than one from of greeting.
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If you were to go to Zambia, for example, you would find that each tribe has different greetings. Imagine that you are visiting the Barotse tribe. A Tribesman would take your hand and kiss the palm and you be expected to do the same to his hand. After both of you did this three times, this being the first time you had met. If you had been friends for a long time, the clapping of hands would continue for a longer time and you would be expected to clan your hands at the same time.
If you visited to the Kaonde tribe in the same country, you would be greeted with a handshake. But not the usual handshake. In this tribe, two people when greeting each other, clap hands three times and then shake hands quickly. The Sala tribe also has a different sort of handshake. Here you must first shake hands, then grip thumbs, then sake with the full hand again. For this greeting you must perform these three movements quickly, imagine if you had to greet a lot of people, in this way at the same time.
In South America, The Greeting is the handshake, but everyone seems to be always shaking hands. The handshake has become a part of everyday life. Even if you meet a friend for a short time in the street, you meet and part with a handshake. People with smiling faces and friendly gestures, as well as the handshake, make you very welcome everywhere in South America.
In almost all parts of the world the embrace is widely used, even among the people from Andaman Islands and from Terra del Fuego (In Chile), and among the aborigines of Australia, in Pakistan you will find the handshake, but men welcome each other by hugging.
If you travel east to the oriental countries, you will be greeted with graceful how. The people want to make you feel very welcome. After the usual how, the people want to make you will enter the home, leaving your shoes at the door. And sit on a mat on the floor. That you will be given a cup of tea. Certainly this welcome, and the friendly smiling faces, will be remembered.
Giving Kisses on the cheek has been a greeting for a long time. In some a greeting for a long time. In Some countries only women greet each other in this way. In Syria, the men also greet each other in this way but sometimes they will grasp one another by the shoulders and without kissing, place the head first over one shoulder and then over the other.
Not every countries uses kissing as a public greeting. In China and Japan it is not polite to kiss in public. Among the Maoris of New Zealand, kissing in public is replaced by the custom of pressing noses.
In Some countries a physical greeting is no longer used it is replaced with words only. The Austrian greeting Kuss d’hand means “I kiss your hand” but actually your hand is not kissed. The Spanish also use the greeting is only spoken, in the past. The Spanish really kissed the hands of a friend as a greeting.
There is a belief that you can know the character of a person by his way of greeting. Indeed, greetings are words and acts that are customary but they also show your friendship or love. With a greeting, you can make the people who meet you feel very happy.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
BADUY TRIBE
The Baduy are a traditional community living in the western part of the Indonesian province of Banten. Their population of between 5,000 and 8,000 is centered in the Kendeng mountains at an elevation of 300-500 meters above sea level. Their homeland in Banten Java is contained in just 50 km² of hilly forest area 120 km from Jakarta, Indonesia's megalopolis of high-rises and fast cars. The Baduy are divided into two sub-groups; the Baduy Dalam (Inner Baduy), and the Baduy Luar (Outer Baduy). No foreigners were allowed to meet the Inner Baduy, though the Outer Baduy do foster some limited contacts with the outside world.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
THE LAST DAYS OF BEETHOVEN
In the last years of his live the great composer Robert Schumann was advised by his doctor to go to walks. He did go for walks every day the same walk. He walked to the statue of Ludwig von Beethoven.
In a spiritual sense, every composer since Beethoven has made such a pilgrimage, certainly every composer who has written a symphony since then must acknowledge his debt to Beethoven.
Of All the hundreds of symphonies that have been written. None can compete in popularity and emotional interest with nine great symphonies written by Beethoven. The reason that Beethoven had set to music everybody’s heartache and everybody’s smile; that is why people can respond better to a Beethoven symphony than they can to any other.
When Beethoven’s first Symphony was performed. In 1800, he was not yet 30 years old. He was then an ambitious piano virtuoso who attracted admirers from the best circles of society.
But soon alarming signs of deafness began to show themselves. At first he tried to hide the weakness. He began to avoid social gatherings. When he could no longer hide it. He retired to a little suburb near Vienna (the capital of Austria). Beethoven was always extreme in his reactions, both in joy and despair. Yet at his this time he composed the tender, lovely Second Symphony.
It is cruel to say, but probably true, that Beethoven’s deafness proved to be a blessing for music. Giving up his career as his brain, shut off from the outer word. He constantly intensified and deepened his musical thought. But then his behavior became more contradictory. He would let no one touch his room so that every-thing lay around in terrible disorder: papers scattered on chairs, ink spilled into the piano, remains of food on plates under the papers. He was so absent-minded that he would at times forget to eat.
He continuously complained that he was not properly recognized, that he had not enough money to live on. In fact, he was very famous very respected, and his financial rewards were much greater sum of money was found in a drawer in his desk.
Beethoven refused to change his clothes when it was suggested that he did so, He also had a violent temper and was quite capable of throwing a dish of food into the face of his attendant.
Deafness made him increasingly suspicious. He accused his friends, his publishers and a theatre manager of cheating him. The next day he would be sorry and apologize. Meanwhile, he promised one of his great works, the Missa Solemnis, to six publishers and sold it to a seventh.
He could also be considerate, tender and kind. When one of his friends, Baroness Erdmann, lost a child. Beethoven went to call on her, sat down at the piano and for a long time played music of consolation.
His last sickness was made worse by his own carelessness and ignoring his doctors’ as advice. In one month for instance, he swallowed 75 bottles of medicine. To the very last he wanted to compose and planned to work up some sketches he had for a tenth symphony.
His last sickness was made thunderstorm on March 26, 1827, at the age 56. In spite of his rough manners he showed during his last years as a deaf man. Beethoven’s friends remained completely faithful to him to his last day.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Love of Mother Teresa-1
Mother teresa became a nun in 1928, For twenty years she taught geography and later was principal of a Catholic junior high school in Calcuta, India. One day, while she was traveling on a crowded train, she heard a strange voice from her own inner feelings , a “ call from some where else”- as she admitted later – that inveted her to do something for the poor and the sick.
She wasted no time, and on September 10, 1946, she sent a request to Rome for permission to Live outside her convent and work in the poorest area of Calcutta. The Pope approved of iner idea. In 1950 she set up an institution called the Missionaries of Charity with a single intention: to help the poor, the sick and the dying of the crowded city of Calcutta.
Since then, The missionaries have becoming busier and busier. Mother Teresa and Her sisters look after schools, clinics and hospitals. They care for unwanted babies who are handed to them by midwives or negcleted by pick up people dying in the streets and take them to a former Hindu Temple where They can at least, according to her own words, die within sight of a loving face. Many, in fact, have survived and been nursed back to health.
This is her own story, which she once told a journalist;
“ The first woman I saw I picked up myself from street. She had been half-eaten by rats and ants. I took her to the hospital but they could not do anything for her. They only took her in because I refused to go until they accepted her. From there I went to the municipality authorities and asked them to give me a place where I could bring these people, because the same day I had found othe people dying in the streets. The health officer of municipality took me the old temple…… it was an empty building. He asked me if I would accept it.It was very happy to have that place for many reasons, but especially because it was centre of worship for the Hindus. Within twenty-four hours we had our patients there and we started the work of the home we had our patients there and we started the work of home for the sick and for those who are dying just from poverty. Since then we have picked up more than 24,000 people from the streets of Calcutta.
About the children she has picked up, she told the reporter;
“ Some we get from hospitals, They have been left there by their poor parents. Some children we bring from the jails, some are brought to us by the police. No Matter how they are brought to us, we have never refused a child.”
For her funds Mother Teresa depends much upon money given by donors. She doesn’t hesitate to beg for aid herself from whatever source she can get it. She persuaded many high-caste Indian ladies to help her in her work.
“An Australian came here some time ago,” she said, :and he said that he wanted to give a big donation. But after giving the donation, the stranger said, That is something out-side of me, but now I wan to give something out of myself.” And after that time he came regularly to the Home for the Dying, to shave the people and talk to them.”
Since Mother Teresa began devoting her own life completely to others, there has been, she admitted, rapid progress in the field of medicine of which she and her helpers have been able to take advantage. Lepers, for instance, can now be cured, But she is aware of one technological progress can ever fill.
“being unwanted,” she said. “is the worst disease that any human being can ever experience, unless there are willing hands to serve and a loving heart to love, I don’t think this terrible disease can ever be cured.”
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Bali : The Dilemma of a PARADISE
It began early in the morning. Saner, a small village near beach black volcanic sand, was quiet. A cock was crowing. Nyepi, The Balinese New Year by Saka Calendar, was beginning.
Bali, a small spot on the map of Indonesia, is a green and fertile tropical island with plenty of natural beauty ready to be used for the tourist business.
The Island has experienced a series of invasions. In 1500 B.c. people from South India arrived and brought with them. An efficient agricultural system and a way of organizing villages. More than 2530 years later, around 1020 A.D. The eastern Javanese began to influence the Balinese and among other things they introduced the mixture of Hinduism and animism which can still be felt in modern Bali.
The Dutch arrived in 1597 and were at first friendly with Balinese, but this friendship became war which lasted until 1949, when the island became part of independent Indonesia.
The influence from these different cultures was changed by the Balinese to suit their way of live. In 1971 the Indonesian Government expressed the intention of not letting development for tourist spoil the natural beauty of Bali, with so many foreign tourists arriving in Bali; will it be possible for the island to stay the same?
The cock was still crowing, in the distance the sound of a drum and gong could be heard, now two white prayer flags, six meters long could be seen.
The music stopped. There was the sound of singing and that hundreds of bare feet moving along the road. Small boys, in bright white shirts and purple and gold headbands, were leading the procession. Behind them were girls with serious faces carrying of ferings. Then came the adults, including many toothless old women, with hollow check and wrinkled skin. The musicians played again and the procession moved more quickly towards the beach.
There was a shrine made of bamboo poles on the beach. It had been built the night before. The offering of fruit and flowers and white rice were placed on a platform. Beside the platform were the prayer flags.
An old woman approached the shrine slowly, and placed small vases of burning jossticks among the offerings then she moved backwards and, like most other attendants, sat cross-legged on the sand.
Now the pedanda (high priest) began to chant prayers every now and the ringing a small hand bell. He sprinkled holy water over the offerings and when he had finished. People began to stand up and undress, and then walk into the sea. The morning of New Year’s Eve in Bali is the time for ritual washing and purification of the body and soul in the sea.
Small groups of people began drying and dressing themselves. The musicians started playing again and the procession returned through the village. Nearby was the tall Bali Beach Hotel. Most of the Hotel’s guests were still sleeping. However, there was still plenty of opportunity to use a camera. Procession kept on arriving during the day. People from the procession were willing to be photographed by the tourist.
Tourist can also attend temple ceremonies. The biggest temple in Bali is Puri Besakih. Mother Temple of Bali. In Fact, most of Bali is Hindu, but the biggest temple is Buddhist. Religion in this island is rather different from “orthodox” Hinduism or Buddhism. To enter the temple the tourist has to wear a sash and pay a small amount of money to borrow it.
A bare –footed middle–aged woman brought offerings into the temple. She placed the offerings of roasted duck and rice cakes near five small shrines, then when the pedanda came and chanted prayers and sprinkled holy water over the woman’s offering. He went around the shrines. After that the music was heard for a short time, the woman brought the offerings because her husband was very sick and she wanted him to get well.
A guide explained to the tourist that the temple stood at the foot of the Gunung Agung Volcano. Although it is a Buddhist temple, many of the shrines and figures in it are Hindu.
As well as attending temple ceremonies, tourists can also watch cock-flights. Formerly a cock-fight used to have a religious meaning. It was usually held before a religious festival. The blood that spilled during the fight was supposed to be an offering to evil spirits so that they wouldn’t harm people and the festival would be successful. Nowadays cock-fighting does have this religious meaning any more but is merely a sport and there is usually a lot of betting.
On the morning of New Year’s Eve men in the villages could be seen carrying fighting cock in baskets. At the place of the fight, the cocks were turned to look at each other while still being held by their owners. If the cocks seemed angry enough, then the owners would agree to a fight.
One pair of owner was ready, so steel blades were tied to the cock’s spurs. Bets were made while the judges made sure that knives had been properly attached. The men making bets were busiest when the cocks were placed looking at each other, still held by their masters.
The noise stopped for a moment when the cocks began to fight. They collided half a meter above the ground. The noise of their flapping wings could be heard. The crowd shouted as the two birds struggled. The coloured cock was cut on the thigh, and blood flowed from the wound. Then the white cock attacked again. Its blade cut into the neck and throat of the coloured opponent. The loser lay on the ground in pain. The judges instructed the owners to put their birds into their baskets. If the defeated cock was severely wounded and dying, the owner would kill it instantly.
Some tourists asked a guide about the cock-fight. He said that the flights were just for the enjoyment of the owners and tourists, but they did not have any special meaning nowadays.
There are still a lot of ceremonies in Bali, but in his opinion a lot of people in Bali who take ceremonies don’t really understand the religious meaning of them.
The guide said that once wood-carvings and paintings were made for temples and public buildings. The artists did it because they were clever at it and regarded it as a religious, sacred duty. They were never paid, however, in 1930 the first foreign tourists came to the island and everything changed.
The guide added that formerly dancing was full religious meaning, but nowadays it is mostly for the tourist business. In olden days Balinese dancing was part of religious ritual and the dancers were never paid because it was not a profession but merely a religious, ceremonial duty.
Well, what about the future of that “Paradise Island”? Should Bali be kept unchanged like a big museum or an “ethnological reserve” so that a few rich tourists can come and look at it? In this modern day time is changing rapidly and no region in Indonesia can be altogether isolated from the current of world development. It is what is called” The Dilemma of Bali”.
One foreigner had this opinion: Nowadays there are in Bali television and newspapers which include news from the developed world. There are modern hotels and many other things that are usually found in Western homes. The people of Bali want many of these things --- they want a better standard of living. Should the people be given what they want? Even though it will change Bali?
The foreigner thought that the Balinese should be given better education, better heath, more food, cars and anything else they want. The money gained from the tourists who come to Bali should be used for the benefit of the people.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Childhood of SHAKESPEARE
For Many Centuries there had been people with the name Shakespeare in Warwickshire. England. Some Villages contained several families of that name, so nobody thought it an important event when John Shakespeare from a village near Stratford married Mary Arden, a girl from Wilmcote.
No one is certain where the marriage took place because the register in which John and Mary signed their names has been lost. This couple had four daughters and three sons. Only the eldest boy, William, is remembered.
John Shakespeare preferred town life to that of the country. He took his bride to a house he already owned in Stratford-on –Avon) Stratford on the Avon River). He worked as a glove maker but he also sold raw hides, leather, wool and wheat. He even worked as a butcher and some say that hi son William was able to help him.
As his business developed. Jhon Shakespeare was given important position on the town council. His first position was as the official ale tester in 1556. Ten year later he achieved the top position of deputy sheriff.
When William was growing up, his father was an important citizen in a busy market town. Of Course William was proud of his father, who was comparatively wealthy and well known in Stratford-on-Avon. No doubt he enjoyed meeting all sorts of people at his fin house near the town centre.
Because his father was a member of the town council William was able to study at Stratford Grammar School. A very special Scholl that taught Latin and Greek and was attended only by the children of prominent people. His father did not have to pay for his education. This school was one of the best at that time.
Lesson began at six a.m. in summer and at seven in winter, and did not finish until late in the afternoon. Discipline was strict and the teacher didn’t hesitate to use the cane to punish his pupils. There were not many books so the pupils had to memorize a lot. Years later William wrote about a schoolboy walking very slowly because he did not want to go to school.
William’s knowledge of Latin, which he learned at school, was very useful when he wrote his plays. He probably went to church which his father every week because of the Bible and the prayer book. He had a good memory for the sermons given by the priest, but often he could not hear the priest well in winter as he frequently ha a bad cold.
Apart from church and Scholl. The people and the scene of the lovely Strafford countryside were also an important influence in Williams’s life. He learned to fish in the Avon River. Practiced archery, walked through the rich farm land, was interested I hunting and wandered among the tall trees of the forest Arden. All these things, as well as different types of flowers and the customs of the country people in his plays.
We don’t know anything about his friends when he was young, but he made some enemies among the adults in the Stratford. There are stories about what William did when he went poaching and there is evidence that he was caught when he was stealing a deer from a certain land owner. As punishment, William was whipped and locked up. William had his revenge when he described one of the strange characters in his play. “Henry IV” as the same as his enemy the land ford.
When William was bout thirteen, his father’s business was no longer successful. His father had many debts and had to give up his position on town council.
William must have worried about what kind of work he could do.
In fact, two of the Queen’s best friends lived at the castles of Warwick and Kenilworth.
The road from London to these castles went through Stratford. Often the queen stayed at Warwick and Kenilworth. Messengers, knights and court actors travelledthrough his town. Certainly, William must have seen the Queen travel through Stratford during his schooldays there.
Sometimes local towns-people and villagers were allowed into a castle to watch the entertainment held for the Queen. Perhaps William went with his father and saw his first play at Kenilworth castle. Best of All, he would have seen and met the actors themselves.
In those days actors had to obtain a license from an important person before they could perform in public. These players came to Stratford and performed the latest plays from London; Young boys always took the women’s parts in these plays.
When did William decide to become a play writer?
Such a questions cannot be answered. Some say that he was as assistant to a school-master for a few years, some believe that he became a soldier and fought in the wars in Holland. Other says that he traveled perhaps as far as Venice in Italy. In one of the ships that used to sail up the Avon River to Stratford. We know that when he was seventeen years of age he was in Stratford and married a lady seven years older than himself. The marriage was quickly arranged and people say that William did not really want to marry at that time. His wife was Anne Hath away and from this marriage they had several children. In the later were more important to him than his wife.
We know that by the time William was twenty, he was in London, playing small parts in plays. Rewriting old play and learning the skill that he needed as an actor of his life he spent in the world of the theater. However, he never forgot Stratford. When he retired as an actor, he returned to this town and spent his last days there.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
DREAMS : WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
DREAMS are like magical shows that are for you alone to see. Sometimes your dreams are fearful.: perhaps you are flying in the air like a bird, and you feel wonderful. No matter if the dream is terrible or beautiful, it is almost always fantastic. Things happen that could never happen in your real life.
People have always wondered about dreams. Where do they come from? What do they mean? In ancient times, people believed that dreams came from the gods. People thought that Gods sent them dreams in order to tell them what they should do, or should not do.
Over that year, scientist and doctors have studied dreams, and they can tell us that dreams do not come from supernatural powers at all. Each of us creates his own dreams.
When you fall asleep. The part of your mind that works during the day (Which is called the conscious mind) gets a rest. At certain times during your sleep, another part of your mind – your subconscious mind – becomes active. It starts to create moving pictures that you “see” as you sleep. Moving pictures called dreams.
Sometimes the dream-picture is brought about by something that is happening to your body as you sleep. Suppose your leg slips out from under the blanket on a cold night, this might start you dreaming a “Cold” dream. Possibly you would dream that you are dipping your leg in cold water.
Scientist also say that most of our dream-pictures are brought about by things we have seen or done during the day. The mysterious thing is that often the dream-picture is not exactly the same as the experience that brought it about. Suppose you went swimming in a pool one day. That night, you might dream that you are at the pool again. Or the dream might change the poll into a river or a bathtub.
Many times the dream changes and disguises things so much that we do not realize it has any connection with real people or experience. But all our dreams do have something to do with our real life.
Why do we dream? Every one dream ; babies, children and adult of all ages. Because everyone dreams, there must be a good reason for it, just as there is a reason why we eat, sleep or breathe. It was easy to find the reason for eating. Sleeping and breathing, but it has not been easy to find the reason for dreaming. People have been looking for an answer for hundred of years. Even today no one is completely sure, but we have some good ideas.
One of the first good ideas came from psychologist who lived in Austria more than seventy years ago. Dr Sigmund Freud. Psychologist is interested in what makes people act the way they do. Often they help people who are very worried that they cannot live normal, happy lives. Dr. Freud felt that dreams might tell a lot about a person and that he could help his patients get better if he knew and could understand their dreams.
Freud thought all dreams were caused by wishes. As one simple example, he told of how on one occasion his little daughter was sick and was not allowed to have anything to eat all day. That night, someone heard the girl talking in her sleep, mentioning some of her favorite foods, and what would a hungry child wish for more?
As they grow up, most people try to hide some of their wishes, Dr. Freud said. That is because they are ashamed of the wishes, or even afraid of them, even though there is sometimes nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. But the person cannot forget these hidden wishes so they come out at night when he is sleeping. In the form of silly dreams.
Most psychologuists do not think that all dream are caused by secret, hidden wishes.
Some dreams, they say, may be caused by problem or worries that we do not want to think about. When we fall asleep, our subconscious mind tries to help us solve the problem in a dream. Scientist have discovered that if a person is kept from dreaming for several nights in a row. He will become very nervous, and may get upset very easily. They think that are worrying him.
In the last few years, dream experts have made discoveries that lead them to think that dreaming may also allow up to clear useless pieces of information out of our minds. We need to do thos, the scientist say so that can we can make room in our minds for new information and for new sensations we are receiving every day.
This new idea would explain why we often dream about things that happened long ago, Many adults can tell you that they have had dreams about people and places they knew when they were children. These memories were stored up in their subconscious minds for many years, and the dream brought them out of storage, perhaps to make room for newer memories.
Do you dream in colour? Everybody who sees colour, dreams in colour. But it usually does not seem significant enough for you to speak about it. You might speak of a colour when you dream of certain object: you are wearing a red dress, for instance, or you dream you are seeing your sister in her white nad blue school uniform and so on.
Do Blind people dream ? People who are blind from birth do not have dream-pictures as sighted people have. But They do dream. Their dreams are made up of sound, touch, smell and taste sensations they know in their waking life. Blind people who at some time been able to see will sometimes “see” images in their dreams.
Do Animals dream? It looks as if they do. Of course , no one has been able to find out exactly what they are dreaming about. But scientific test have given convincing indications that they probably dream too,
Monday, February 23, 2009
A TRUE LIFE STORY: I HAVE TO STAY ALIVE
ON 23th December, 1971 a seventeen year-old girl named Juliane Koepcke and her mother were passenger in a Lockheed Electra aero plane, which was making the flight between Lima (the capital of Peru) and the small town to Pucallpa. They were on the way to join her father. Professor Koepcke, who was head of the zoological department at Lima University. He was carrying out research work in the jungle.
Juliane has spent a good deal of time in the jungle.. Her father had taught her about the dangers of this unfriendly world, and the things one must do to stay alive in it.
The flight should have taken an hour. But, after they had been in the air for thirty minutes, the aero plane ran into trouble. This was accompanied by heavy rain and flashes of lightning’s last memory was of the wing catching fire. After that, she became unconscious and never felt the crash.
When she became conscious again, she felt that she was lying under a seat, out in the open air. She had bruises on her head. A broken bone in her neck and a bad cut on of her feet. Of her mother, the other ninety passengers and the plane’s crew, there was no sign.
She felt too weak to get to her feet, and soon she went to sleep again.
When she woke up in the morning, she realized that her mother had probably been killed. As she wrote afterwards in her diary: “Now my father has probably lost his wife, but he must no lose to stay alive.”
She was somewhere in the jungle, but she had no idea where, all that she could do was to obey the oldest law in such a situation: find a river and follow it.
In this region, there are streams which flow into rivers, rivers which join up with bigger rivers: everything, at last, ends up in the Amazon.
Her only clothing was the mini-dress which she had worn on the aero plane. For food, she had some cake and a bag of sweets. But, on closer inspection, the cake turned out to be inedible.
For ten days she walked. She had found a stream and this led her to a river. Sometimes she traveled along the bank. The only signs of the life she could see were the vultures. Which were feeding off the bodies of her fellow passengers?
The jungle is a giant drum of poison in which everything seems to be a murder a weapon.
There is the sun, which burns your skin, fruit and berries. Which look delicious? But can make you ill or even kill you when you eat them, poisonous snakes, mosquitoes, giant green flies which ran frighten you away, alligators, piranha fish. Which have sharp teeth and will eat a man alive, deadly giant spiders which suck human blood, and other, equally deadly, insect.
Luckily, Juliane never felt hungry, and she was able to make the sweets last for along time. When she felt thirsty. There was the river, though swimming in it meant throwing herself into disaster, The open wound in her foot was an invitation to piranhas.
In pain, never seeming to reach the greater world where people lived. Juliane walked on slowly and heavily. She lost all awareness of the passage of hours and days. At night she slept fearfully in the open, conscious all the while of strange sounds of a jungle which never sleeps.
After ten days she was in a state very close to despair. She was just about to lie down for the night when she saw a wooden but, nearby there was a boat. But there were no people.
She spent the night in the hut and, after she had rested , she wondered what to do next, Would anyone ever come there again? Should she wait, or should she try to struggle on?
Later than day. Three young men arrived. They were jungle people who used to travel from one place to another, making their living by cutting down trees, and floating them down the river to Pucallpa.
At first, they couldn't’t believe her story. It was impossible They said. Nobody could have suffered so much, and still be alive. But they were kind. They washed her cuts and injuries gave her a meal, and at last took her down the river in their boat to a village. From there, alight aircraft flown by a woman pilot named Jerry Cobb took her to hospital at Pucallpa.
Even If you ignore the dangers of the jungle and the amazing strength of spirit which made the girl determined to move on, and her ability to walk through very dense jungle with only a bag of sweets to eat --- even if one ignores all these things, the chances of survival for juliane were still very small.
For example, she could never have reached the village without assistance. She had to depend on those three young men. But, if she had not decided to stop at the particular place on the river bank, she would almost certainly have passed their hut without seeing it. Furthermore, the young men only came there about once every three weeks, if she had arrived one day later, for instance, she would have missed them.
Juliane koepcke had to live for her father’s sake. Determination such as this only occurs once or twice in any generation…..
