This year, for the first time, the municipal government of Semarang issued a regulation for education, especially related to the new students acceptance. Besides via the “regular” program, state schools were encouraged to open a “special” program. This program gave a way to students who didn’t get good scores in the examination to be accepted at their dream school, as long as the parents agreed to pay some amount of money. Of course this “policy” got lots of criticisms from society.
I remember in 1980 when I was accepted at one state junior high school, in the announcement board, I saw around 200 test-takers were accepted. They were divided into four classes. However, on the first day of studying in that school, there were eight classes! This meant there were around 200 other students also accepted, not via “regular” program—passing the entrance test (not via high scores of the national examination). Some elementary school friends of mine who did not pass the test also went to the same junior high school together with me. You can guess what their parents did: bribed the school. Therefore, I heard after that the headmaster bought a new car. The rumour said the money the school got from the bribery was divided among the teachers evenly, and the headmaster got the most.
I did not pay attention when I entered the senior high school. I believe bribery cases also happened, only they were done more ‘tidily’ so that they were not easily seen.
In 2003 Angie entered the same junior high school as mine. In the announcement board there were 280 new students accepted, for seven classes. On the first day of school, I asked Angie to find out how many classes were open, and how many students there were in one class. She reported there were (still) seven classes. However, in one class, there were around forty-five until forty-seven students. It means, there were around five until seven “smugglers”. Similar as what happened in my ‘era’ to be accepted at that junior high school, of course the money obtained from the bribery was exclusively for the school only—whether to be given to the headmaster as well as the teachers, or to build some laboratories or to provide some facilities.
It has been a public secret that during the new student acceptance and registration, headmasters and teachers get some extra money.
What happened after the municipal government of Semarang issued a regulation for the “special” program, so that the parents can do “legal” bribery? The money must be divided into two parts evenly, for the schools as well as for the government. What will the government do with the money? The mayor of Semarang must be very careful to carry out something using the money because the society has given full attention to this case. Several months ago, he was accused of getting involved in one corruption case.
The middle-low social class people have been very concerned with this because education has become more and more expensive recently. They have to compete with the rich people. The bitter joke of “orang miskin dilarang sakit” (poor people are forbidden to be sick) will be accompanied by another joke, “orang miskin dilarang sekolah” (poor people are forbidden to go to school) while in fact education is one most important basic to develop our country, to catch up with other advanced countries. How will Indonesia develop itself if the young generations cannot get enough education due to the expensive cost?
PT56 21.50 270708
Showing posts with label Semarang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Semarang. Show all posts
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Chinatown in Semarang
Sunday evening 3 February 2008 Angie and I went to “Pasar Imlek Semawis”, a special occasion to welcome the Chinese New Year. Usually “Waroeng Semawis”, as the center of culinary in Semarang is open three days a week, Friday-Saturday-Sunday. However, to welcome the Chinese New Year, Kopi Semawis (Komunitas Pecinan Semarang untuk Pariwisata—Semarang Chinatown Tourism Community ) holds a special occasion called “Pasar Imlek Semawis” located somewhere on Gang Pinggir, Gang Baru, and Beteng, not far from the usual location on Gang Waroeng.
Besides the location, another difference is people will find more sellers, both food and other things, such as clothing, souvenirs, etc.
Below is the picture of the gate to enter the location.
Here is the picture of a group of people entering the area.
There is also a doll’s house performance. Although the story was taken from Chinese land, and the puppets wore classical Chinese outfit, the puppeteer used Bahasa so that the visitors understood easily. However, because last Sunday evening there was Duo Maia performing on the main stage, not many people crowded the area where the doll’s house performance was held. Below is the picture.
Suara Merdeka, the biggest local newspaper in Central Java also had a stand and had a giant puzzle attracting people who loved filling in puzzles to join the game. You can see the pictures below.
Below is the picture of someone having to climb a ladder to fill in one box.
Angie and I came very late so that we didn’t follow the talk show talking about Chinese culture in the middle of Javanese environment. We could not get close to the stage either when Duo Maia performed. The main goal for us to visit “Pasar Imlek Semawis” was not to watch Duo Maia though, but to take a look the occasion.
Here is one place to 'see what your future is like'.
Below is a place for pranic healing.
Below are some pictures of “joget kethek” or monkey performance held one day before, Saturday afternoon. When I was a kid, this kind of performance was very popular and always attracted kids’ attention. The vaudeville group (the person didn’t perform anything though, only monkeys) traveled from one dwelling place to another to earn money. There were not many entertainments yet then. I don’t think that in this century, “joget kethek” still exists and competes with “modern” games to entertain kids.
PT56 11.22 050208
Besides the location, another difference is people will find more sellers, both food and other things, such as clothing, souvenirs, etc.
Below is the picture of the gate to enter the location.
Here is the picture of a group of people entering the area.
There is also a doll’s house performance. Although the story was taken from Chinese land, and the puppets wore classical Chinese outfit, the puppeteer used Bahasa so that the visitors understood easily. However, because last Sunday evening there was Duo Maia performing on the main stage, not many people crowded the area where the doll’s house performance was held. Below is the picture.
Suara Merdeka, the biggest local newspaper in Central Java also had a stand and had a giant puzzle attracting people who loved filling in puzzles to join the game. You can see the pictures below.
Below is the picture of someone having to climb a ladder to fill in one box.
Angie and I came very late so that we didn’t follow the talk show talking about Chinese culture in the middle of Javanese environment. We could not get close to the stage either when Duo Maia performed. The main goal for us to visit “Pasar Imlek Semawis” was not to watch Duo Maia though, but to take a look the occasion.
Here is one place to 'see what your future is like'.
Below is a place for pranic healing.
Below are some pictures of “joget kethek” or monkey performance held one day before, Saturday afternoon. When I was a kid, this kind of performance was very popular and always attracted kids’ attention. The vaudeville group (the person didn’t perform anything though, only monkeys) traveled from one dwelling place to another to earn money. There were not many entertainments yet then. I don’t think that in this century, “joget kethek” still exists and competes with “modern” games to entertain kids.
PT56 11.22 050208
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Be a Chinaman!
“Jadilah orang Cina!” (Be a Chinaman!) is a title of one short soty in PETUALANGAN CELANA DALAM. As in my previous post, the story has setting place Semarang, especially Pendrikan and Magersari, where in the boundary of those two areas the writer of the book, Nugroho Suksmanto, was born. Let me quote the special stanza printed as an opening of the story.
Aku ingat betul pesan bapakku. Kalau ingin jadi pengusaha aku harus jadi orang “Cina”. Maksudnya tidak hanya bergaul dan memahami perilakunya, tetapi juga mendalami budayanya agar bisa sukses seperti mereka.
(I remember my father’s advice very well. If I want to be a businessperson, I have to be “a Chinaman”. He meant not only to socialize with Chinese and understand their behavior, but I also have to comprehend their culture and apply it in my daily life so that I can become successful as they are.)
In this story, Nugroho narrated a teenage boy’s experience before Ramadhan month came. Several weeks before Ramadhan, the dwellers of Magersari area were busy to do many activities to collect money to welcome Lebaran day, the biggest Holiday for Muslim. It had been a tradition to celebrate Lebaran, people wore new clothes, went sightseeing around the town, ate and drink to their heart’s content. To do all of those things, people needed much money.
What kind of activities did people in Magersari do to collect money? Such as making toys of ‘warak ngendog’1 and piggy bank, making cookies, sewing clothes, and then they sold them in DUG-DER.2 Meanwhile for some naughty children, they tried their luck to collect money by gambling! Some games mentioned by Nugroho are ‘dadu kopyok’, ‘udar-bangkol’, ‘cap-sa’.
Talking about ‘dadu kopyok’ I remember I saw it done too in my dwelling place in 1970s, Bulu Setalan, on the south of Magersari. It was done by a group of people, adults, close to my house. (FYI, Bulu Setalan is a very crowded area where many small houses are built very close to each other, leaving no space for yard. In that era, my parents were one of two people in our alley who had televisions. No wonder in the evening, my house was always crowded by neighbors who wanted to watch television. This made me able to sneak out of the house to watch people gambling.) Curiously, I came close to it and watched those people playing. I thought it was just a kind of game. When I saw someone win, he could get much more money than the money he put on one number, I was amazed. Was it that easy to get much money with only a little capital? This made me think of taking some money from my piggy bank to join the game. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any other children around my age joining it. This made me doubtful. However, I was really tempted by the easy way to get much money. As a little child, I didn’t have any access to get much money in a short time besides asking for it to my parents. My relatives lived in one town in North Sulawesi, Gorontalo. This hampered me to enjoy one thing that other children did on Lebaran holiday: getting some pocket money from their grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins, etc.
Thinking of the much money I would get led me to one thing: I had to take some money from my piggy bank! After I won, I could put my money back to my piggy bank, right? Among many neighbors watching television in the living room of my house, I sneaked into a special place where I hid my piggy bank, in one cupboard located in the kitchen. I did it in the dark so that I would not attract anybody’s attention. When making a small hole at the bottom my piggy bank carefully, but nervously (I felt like I had done a very big sin stealing my own saving in my own piggy bank), I was shocked by someone’s voice, “What are you doing in the dark Na? Why didn’t you turn on the lamp?”
I almost fainted. Huh, it was my brother!!! Feeling shy because he caught me in the act, but also feeling sure of what I was doing, I told him my plan. (In fact, he had watched me secretly for some time while I watched those adult people gambling.) Unfortunately he didn’t agree with me. He said, “That is called JUDI (Gambling). It is not just a common game! And you know that JUDI is HARAM in our religion. Don’t do this! No one is rich only because of gambling, our religion teacher said that, right? Our parents will be angry too to know this.”
Uh … I was very disappointed. However, as someone raised in a very strictly religious family, of course I was afraid of making sin, especially making my parents angry!
So? I never joined it even though I was very tempted. I still watched people playing it around my house until my dad found out and he forbade me to go out in the night to see those people.
P.S.: What is the relationship between the title of the short story with gambling? Read the story by yourself, will ya? :)
PT56 21.20 150807
___________________________________
Warak ngendog is a special creature that is believed to represent three different ethnic groups in Semarang: Javanese, Chinese and Arabian. Its head is like a dragon (Chinese), its body is the combination of camel -> Arabian, especially its long neck) and goat (Javanese).
Dug-der is a special event held some days before Ramadhan month. This is like a fair done in the evening. In the event, people sell many things, from children toys, clothes, various kinds of food—especially dates are sold because Muslim people believe that to break their fast during Ramadhan month, their fasting will be blessed more if they eat dates
Below is the picture of warak.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Semarang Pesona Asia
Semarang, my hometown located in Central Java province, will have a huge event next 10-15 August 2007, that is called “Semarang Pesona Asia” (Semarang the beauty of Asia). In fact, as one dweller that was born and grew up here, I myself am not quite sure with this event, too bombastic, since I realize that Semarang does not really have many interesting “assets” to sell. It is different from Jogjakarta, the city where I pursued my study both for my bachelor and master’s degree. Jogjakarta, or Jogja for short, is well-known as one exotic city that has many cultural buildings. Besides, it is also popularly known as THE STUDENT CITY, where every year many students from all over Indonesia go there to pursue their dream in education.
However, when one mailing list friend asked me, “If I visit your hometown, where will you take me?” I started to think what places I can show to her? Or to my other online friends that show their interest to visit my hometown.
It reminded me of what I did during Idul Fitri (Eid el Fithr) last October 2006. My siblings, Angie and I visited Buddhagaya vihara (temple), Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah (Grand Mosque of Central Java), and Marina Beach. Besides those three places, there is one very popular place in Semarang that is called Gedung Batu (Stone Building) Sam Po Kong. Probably Semarang is not as exotic as Jogja that has Kraton (a palace, since Jogja used to be a kingdom many centuries ago before Indonesia “was born” on August 17, 1945), Malioboro (the longest street in Indonesia where there are abundant street vendors selling many kinds of cute things, and white sand beaches. However, Semarang does have some interesting places worth visiting.
Here are several reasons why Semarang has its own characteristics that will not be found in some other areas:
1. Semarang is located in an area where the surface of the land is divided into two: high land and low land. The high land is usually called “CANDI”. It is very beautiful to see the down area from CANDI, especially in the night. The high and low land is not far separated that makes Semarang really different from other cities in Indonesia.
2. Semarang has some buildings that show the peaceful religious plurality, such as
a. Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah (Grand Mosque of Central Java)
MAJT is not the only grand mosque in Semarang actually, but this is the newest grand mosque. To make it different from some other grand mosques, it has a high tower, around 99 meters, referring to Asmaul Husna , the 99 other names of Allah. During holidays, many people visit MAJT to go to the tower, to take a look of Semarang from a high place.
b. Gedung Batu Sam Po Kong (Stone Building Sam Po Kong)
This temple used to be a mosque built by Cheng Ho admiral from Tiongkok (China) that dropped by in Simongan (one area in Semarang) in his journey to go around the world in the fourteenth century. After being renovated now and again, GB SPK is the biggest temple in Indonesia, even some people say in South East Asia. GB SPK does not only have temple, but in the area, tourists will also find the replica of the ship Cheng Ho used to go around the world, and big trees where their roots are hanging around in their branches. Besides that, GB SPK is also unique since the visitors who want to do some ritual ceremony come from various religions, Confucianism, Catholic, Christian, until Islam. They believe by doing some ritual ceremony there, their business will thrive well because they are convinced that the place is sacred.
c. Gereja Blenduk (Blenduk Church)
This church was built during the colonization of Holland. That’s why the dome is similar to domes found in buildings in Europe. Since it belongs to assets of old buildings in Semarang, this church must be conserved well by the government and society. There are some other churches built during Dutch colonization but they are not as famous as Gereja Blenduk.
Below are the pictures of the church in the old time and the present time.
d. Vihara Buddhagaya (Buddhist temple Buddhagaya)
This temple is located in one street that relates Semarang and Ungaran, one region to the South of Semarang, quite far from the downtown. Besides used for Buddhists who do their ritual ceremony, many tourists visit it during holiday season.
3. Some historical places
a. Lawang Sewu
“Lawang” means door while “sewu” means a thousand. People can easily interpret that this building has many doors that probably reach a thousand number. This was also built during the Dutch colonization. People can find many narrow and dark rooms on the underground that in the past were used for prisons. So narrow and small are they that with only four people standing very close to each other, they cannot move or breath easily. Many people opine that this building is spooky because many prisoners were killed in the past.
b. Tugumuda
“Tugu” means monument while “muda” means young. This monument was built to commemorate young heroes who were killed in the war against Dutch troops in 1945. Tugumuda was built very close to Lawang Sewu.
c. Museums
There are some museums in Semarang where people can visit to take a look at some historical events (in a form of diorama) or things from the past time.
d. Schools
Some school buildings were built during Dutch colonization, such as SMA N 1 and SMA N 3. They still conserve the parts of the buildings built more than a year ago, besides the new buildings to cover more students coming to study there.
4. Tourist resorts
Besides some places I mention above, tourists can also visit some other places, such as Puri Maerokoco where people can find the miniature of Central Java province. The idea was inspired by Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta where tourists can find the miniature of Indonesia with its (used to be) 27 provinces.
Marina beach, although it doesn’t have white sand, also provides stunning view during the sunset or the sunrise.
Going to the South of Semarang, around 40 kms, people can visit Bandungan and Gedong Songo that have cool weather because they are located in the foot of Ungaran mountain. Gedong Songo means nine buildings/temples. Unfortunately because the nine temples (Hindu temples) were not conserved well, especially during the Dutch colonization, now people only can find five temples that are scattered in some areas. This place is good for people who want to do some hiking while enjoying the cool weather, they can hike from one temple to the following temple while enjoying the stunning view of greenery of valleys and mountain. If they don’t like hiking, they can rent horses and go around while riding horses. It is a good exercise too.
5. Shopping places
Although the shopping places Semarang has are not as big as shopping places in Jakarta or Surabaya, shopaholic can also enjoy shopping here. Simpang Lima is the center of modern shopping places with Ciputra Mall, and some other shops around there.
Going to the south area, people can find Java Mall. Besides those two malls, there are many other smaller shopping places around the city, such as Sri Ratu Department Store or ADA Supermarket.
Johar market is the biggest traditional market. It was built during the Dutch colonization. It is located around 5kms from Simpang Lima to the north. Not far from Johar market, people can find Kauman mosque, one mosque built many centuries ago, during the Dutch colonization too.
Below is the picture of Johar market in 1930
The condition of the inside part of Johar market nowadays
To buy food that has special characteristic of Semarang, people can go to Pandanaran street. Semarang is popular with three specialties, namely wingko babat, lumpia, and bandeng presto.
6. Accommodation
Semarang provides many kinds of hotels, from the small ones until the five star hotels with affordable prices. For business people, they can choose to stay in Ciputra hotel or Grand Santika hotel that are located not far from the downtown, Simpang Lima. For tourists who want quiet stay, they can choose to stay in Patrajasa hotel or Grand Candi hotel located around 5kms from Simpang Lima to the south.
If you are interested in knowing more about the huge event, Semarang Pesona Asia, you can click the official site at www.semarangpesonaasia.com
PT56 08.35 140707
However, when one mailing list friend asked me, “If I visit your hometown, where will you take me?” I started to think what places I can show to her? Or to my other online friends that show their interest to visit my hometown.
It reminded me of what I did during Idul Fitri (Eid el Fithr) last October 2006. My siblings, Angie and I visited Buddhagaya vihara (temple), Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah (Grand Mosque of Central Java), and Marina Beach. Besides those three places, there is one very popular place in Semarang that is called Gedung Batu (Stone Building) Sam Po Kong. Probably Semarang is not as exotic as Jogja that has Kraton (a palace, since Jogja used to be a kingdom many centuries ago before Indonesia “was born” on August 17, 1945), Malioboro (the longest street in Indonesia where there are abundant street vendors selling many kinds of cute things, and white sand beaches. However, Semarang does have some interesting places worth visiting.
Here are several reasons why Semarang has its own characteristics that will not be found in some other areas:
1. Semarang is located in an area where the surface of the land is divided into two: high land and low land. The high land is usually called “CANDI”. It is very beautiful to see the down area from CANDI, especially in the night. The high and low land is not far separated that makes Semarang really different from other cities in Indonesia.
2. Semarang has some buildings that show the peaceful religious plurality, such as
a. Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah (Grand Mosque of Central Java)
MAJT is not the only grand mosque in Semarang actually, but this is the newest grand mosque. To make it different from some other grand mosques, it has a high tower, around 99 meters, referring to Asmaul Husna , the 99 other names of Allah. During holidays, many people visit MAJT to go to the tower, to take a look of Semarang from a high place.
b. Gedung Batu Sam Po Kong (Stone Building Sam Po Kong)
This temple used to be a mosque built by Cheng Ho admiral from Tiongkok (China) that dropped by in Simongan (one area in Semarang) in his journey to go around the world in the fourteenth century. After being renovated now and again, GB SPK is the biggest temple in Indonesia, even some people say in South East Asia. GB SPK does not only have temple, but in the area, tourists will also find the replica of the ship Cheng Ho used to go around the world, and big trees where their roots are hanging around in their branches. Besides that, GB SPK is also unique since the visitors who want to do some ritual ceremony come from various religions, Confucianism, Catholic, Christian, until Islam. They believe by doing some ritual ceremony there, their business will thrive well because they are convinced that the place is sacred.
c. Gereja Blenduk (Blenduk Church)
This church was built during the colonization of Holland. That’s why the dome is similar to domes found in buildings in Europe. Since it belongs to assets of old buildings in Semarang, this church must be conserved well by the government and society. There are some other churches built during Dutch colonization but they are not as famous as Gereja Blenduk.
Below are the pictures of the church in the old time and the present time.
d. Vihara Buddhagaya (Buddhist temple Buddhagaya)
This temple is located in one street that relates Semarang and Ungaran, one region to the South of Semarang, quite far from the downtown. Besides used for Buddhists who do their ritual ceremony, many tourists visit it during holiday season.
3. Some historical places
a. Lawang Sewu
“Lawang” means door while “sewu” means a thousand. People can easily interpret that this building has many doors that probably reach a thousand number. This was also built during the Dutch colonization. People can find many narrow and dark rooms on the underground that in the past were used for prisons. So narrow and small are they that with only four people standing very close to each other, they cannot move or breath easily. Many people opine that this building is spooky because many prisoners were killed in the past.
b. Tugumuda
“Tugu” means monument while “muda” means young. This monument was built to commemorate young heroes who were killed in the war against Dutch troops in 1945. Tugumuda was built very close to Lawang Sewu.
c. Museums
There are some museums in Semarang where people can visit to take a look at some historical events (in a form of diorama) or things from the past time.
d. Schools
Some school buildings were built during Dutch colonization, such as SMA N 1 and SMA N 3. They still conserve the parts of the buildings built more than a year ago, besides the new buildings to cover more students coming to study there.
4. Tourist resorts
Besides some places I mention above, tourists can also visit some other places, such as Puri Maerokoco where people can find the miniature of Central Java province. The idea was inspired by Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta where tourists can find the miniature of Indonesia with its (used to be) 27 provinces.
Marina beach, although it doesn’t have white sand, also provides stunning view during the sunset or the sunrise.
Going to the South of Semarang, around 40 kms, people can visit Bandungan and Gedong Songo that have cool weather because they are located in the foot of Ungaran mountain. Gedong Songo means nine buildings/temples. Unfortunately because the nine temples (Hindu temples) were not conserved well, especially during the Dutch colonization, now people only can find five temples that are scattered in some areas. This place is good for people who want to do some hiking while enjoying the cool weather, they can hike from one temple to the following temple while enjoying the stunning view of greenery of valleys and mountain. If they don’t like hiking, they can rent horses and go around while riding horses. It is a good exercise too.
5. Shopping places
Although the shopping places Semarang has are not as big as shopping places in Jakarta or Surabaya, shopaholic can also enjoy shopping here. Simpang Lima is the center of modern shopping places with Ciputra Mall, and some other shops around there.
Going to the south area, people can find Java Mall. Besides those two malls, there are many other smaller shopping places around the city, such as Sri Ratu Department Store or ADA Supermarket.
Johar market is the biggest traditional market. It was built during the Dutch colonization. It is located around 5kms from Simpang Lima to the north. Not far from Johar market, people can find Kauman mosque, one mosque built many centuries ago, during the Dutch colonization too.
Below is the picture of Johar market in 1930
The condition of the inside part of Johar market nowadays
To buy food that has special characteristic of Semarang, people can go to Pandanaran street. Semarang is popular with three specialties, namely wingko babat, lumpia, and bandeng presto.
6. Accommodation
Semarang provides many kinds of hotels, from the small ones until the five star hotels with affordable prices. For business people, they can choose to stay in Ciputra hotel or Grand Santika hotel that are located not far from the downtown, Simpang Lima. For tourists who want quiet stay, they can choose to stay in Patrajasa hotel or Grand Candi hotel located around 5kms from Simpang Lima to the south.
If you are interested in knowing more about the huge event, Semarang Pesona Asia, you can click the official site at www.semarangpesonaasia.com
PT56 08.35 140707
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