- Youtube
- Myspace
- Rapidshare
- Metacafe
for taking part in broadcasting, publishing and spreading Geert Wilders’ FITNA and making it accessible worldwide.
My first response was: Hooray!! After days of being in a slump with nothing interesting to write, I have finally found a topic for today.
My second response was: Shit! Those are good sites they are banning.
My last response was: Good thing I don’t live there anymore.
The sad thing is, my last response has frequently been my response to many things upon reading Indonesian news. It shouldn’t be, but the government’s many idiotic policies have resulted in my thinking that way, and many others who share my sentiment.
In my previous post titled ‘Fitna: there’s nothing wrong with it’, I stated that the Indonesian People’s Representatives Council (DPR) should educate our people so that they can calm down and ignore the film as opposed to making remarks to further fuel the anger of the people.
Today I realised that something very peculiar has indeed happened: I was wrong. Being the Goddess of Great and Correctness, I am very seldom-ly ever wrong! But sadly, today I am.
To correct my previous mistake, today I am willing to state that the DPR should not educate the people. They should instead educate themselves and the whole government, then educate people.
Back to the new-found topic of Menkominfo’s request to block certain websites, I don’t know whether the government is overly stupid or brilliant, but they seemed to have forgotten to ban the first website that posted FITNA, which is liveleak.
Blocking those four sites listed above isn’t effective because there are other sites such as liveleak, multiply, blogger, wordpress, and many .com sites that have also helped spread the film.
Do you hear that government? BLOCK ALL THOSE SITES TOO!
Sadly, it seems that the Newer Order (our current government) are fucking up the country, worse than the New Order ever did. My friend Uga of thedyingsirens have written a rather articulate love letter for our government. I agree with his sentiments, and I couldn’t have written a better one myself. The government is now actually promoting stupidity and ignorance amongst its people.
After a half hour or so of being gemes (this is an indonesian word that, I believe, has no English equivalent. In this context, gemes, can appropriately be replaced by ‘upset’ although it can mean several other emotions as well) at the Communication and Information Minister’s decision/request to ban several sites, I came across this. Obviously many people are protesting this idiocy, um, policy. The last paragraph goes something like this:
APJII (Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa Internet Indonesia) sudah memblokir tapi pengguna tetap bisa mengakses jika memiliki back up akses. Pengguna yang cerdik tetap bisa mengakes YouTube. “Mereka bisa search lewat situs lain menuju ke YouYube, tak langsung ke YouTube.”
Which means:
APJII (Indonesian Association of Internet Providers) has blocked (youtube) but internet users will still be able to access it with backup access. Smart users will still be able to access YouTube. “They can search via another site to YouTube, not directly going to the YouTube site.”
I am once again sadly mistaken. The DPR and government should not waste precious time in attempting to educate the people. Obviously our people are smart enough if they are able to figure out how to access forbidden sites through other means. Apparently the government thinks that there is only one way to go to a site; open a browser window and type www.youtube.com. But as tempointeraktif reported (read: suggested), other ways are possible too. So now they have to ban not only the four plus several others I have suggested, but also search engines like Google, and any other sites that has an internet search engine.
I will now state my final and absolute statement of truth:
The DPR and government should educate themselves (for many years preferably at My School of Great and Correctness) and should refrain from thinking that the Indonesian people are stupid and unresourceful.
My country is great and my people are great. However, my government is a group that consists of a bunch of bloody retards and morons.
*update: according to this article in detiknews, now youtube, multiply and myspace is officially inaccessible. Also, the Indonesian Cyber Law that was once a plan – and being heavily protested by many I thought would never have been implemented – is now officially underway. According to BBC, even those who access sites containing pornographic and violent material could be facing up to three years of jail and heavy fines.
I’m sorry, is this Indonesia or Afghanistan?
Furthermore, the Jakarta Post has reported that the Cyber Law would also target bloggers who state opinions (I do this) that are considered libelous or spreading words of hate.
Excerpts from this article:
“Bloggers can
get in trouble by just linking to a website containing defamation. In an indirect way, the law bans freedom of expression,” Enda said.After two years of deliberation, the House of Representatives passed the Electronic Information and Transaction Law last month, which prohibits citizens from distributing slander in any electronic format. Perpetrators can get a maximum of six years in prison or a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$107,526).
The law also prohibits any kind of pornography, gambling, blackmail, lies, threats and racist comments.”
So much for upholding democracy and freedom of expression, huh? This is a blatant violation of our basic right of the freedom of expression. And to think they (the government) keep on warning the people of the latent danger of the ‘red’.
This right here is a brilliant example of what a ‘red’ government would do, don’t you think?
I am still anxiously “waiting” to be banned from Youtube altogether as today I still can access my favourite Meatloaf song through Youtube.
But surely, what can you expect from the government whose President preferred to cry over a movie than over his dying-of-hunger people?
It’s not enough signs of desperation for my President that several mothers have committed suicide with their children because they could no longer bear their financial difficulties.
So much of the sensitivity.
*sigh*
I though liveleak had removed Fitna after their staffs received some serious threats from strangers, hadn’t they?
I heard from my friend that Multiply was also inaccessible from his places, some people also uttered their complaints since they could not continue blogging in Multiply, haha, move to wordpress or blogger then.
Some other friends of mine claimed that they could still access those to-be-banned website though.
I can’t believe this is actually happening. They are dragging the whole country down with them.
What’s so ironic is that there they are, proclaiming and boasting to the world to be the biggest democratic country in the world, better than Malaysia and Singapore and how they support free speech and all.
Oh well. Whatever.
@silverlines: yes, I heard SBY cried while watching ayat-ayat cinta. how sensitive. don’t mean to be pessimisstic but we are doomed for sure.
@ yuki tobing: liveleak did remove fitna, but then people have already downloaded it and uploaded it to youtube, myspace, blogs etc. so there is no point for removing it in the first place.
I have news from friends in Jakarta who are not able to access multiply and myspace. no word on youtube, though.
@andie summerkiss: you better believe it. the people up there (not in the clouds, but on the government sears) aren’t exactly the creme de la creme. and to think that i almost became a PNS (deplu) .. eeeuuuww…
Got an email from my friend in Jakarta, a fwd from his ISP
with an attachment surat menkominfo:
— Customer Service cs@net-zap.com wrote:
> > Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 14:29:57 +0700 (WIT)
> > Subject: [netZAP] Service Information [Temporary
> > Blocking Site]
> > From: “Customer Service” cs@net-zap.com>
> > To: undisclosed-recipients:;
> >
> > Dear Customer,
> >
> > According our Minister Communication and Info Letter
> > No :
> > 84/m.KOMINFO/04/08 April 2nd 2008: about The
> > blockading of the Site and
> > Blog That contained the Fitnah Film, then the site
> > along with this for the
> > time being we were closed until the further
> > notification :
> >
> > 1. Youtube
> >
> > 2. MySpace
> >
> > 3. Metacafe
> >
> > 4. Multiply
> >
> > 5. Rapid-share
> >
> > Was like this information that could be sent by us
> > as information from our
> > backbone internet Excelcomindo, upper the understood
> > we say thank you.
> >
> > Warm Regards,
> >
> > —
> > Thank You,
> > Customer Service and Technical Support Division
> > Phone : 021 7396364
> > Office : 021 7393837
> > Email : cs@net-zap.com
> > website : http://www.net-zap.com
> >
> >
==========================================================================
The beautiful Ms. Rima always states exactly how I feel toward the government these days.
So does it mean I’m going to jail and everything, since it seems that I’d just drawn a defamation of our dear Mr. President?
You know, if you go to let say German Embassy here in Dubai. It will take at least 2 weeks to get a visa done for Indonesian. The countries were grouped in many categories. The ‘worst’ nationality will take longer time to get the visa done.
Tell me why I’m not surprise to find my country Indonesia listed in the bottom of the group list together with North Korea, the country which I consider as ‘failure of a country’
Oh so stupid… ( Gak bisa ditolong gobloknya! )
@ Artesia:
chi, what list? the corruption list? ah. we are in the top 10 now. hooray!!
cool huh? finally in the top 10 of something? :p
Should we cheer or cry?
Okay, three, now four cheers for the angry, sarcastic but hilarious and funny entry. Should be a prize winning column.
The rest is tears. If all this news proves to be correct, it makes clear democracy is not just a trick the nomenclatura of a former dictatorship easily can learn. Some superficial and shallow procedures don’t suffice. Not in Indonesia, nor elsewhere – just watch the demise of a promising start in Putin’s Russia. They are back to the days of the Czar.
Now it looks like the rulers of Indonesia also resort to their habits which seemed ( and all hoped) to have been left behind in the Suharto era.
Or will the Indonesian people’s vanguard outsmart and outvote them?
Maybe.
dear colson,
I cried. I do hope the people will outsmart and outwit the corrupt and close minded government. I really dont care if they ban Fitna the film, but they shouldn’t have banned the sites that hosted it. There are other ways to solve this so-called problem.
It’s like living in the dark ages.
oh wow, what has Indonesia become? And where is Indonesia going?
Banning sites, infringing on our right to write, and yet millions still go hungry? They go crazy bahoo over this but cannot utilize their passions to help citizens who truly need assistance?
Silly. Just silly.
Though I have not see the movie, it is probably not too different from other movies spreading hate against Islam. Sadly, that is the norm now but then if our responses are laden with hatred and violence, we are just solidifying others’ perceptions of us and inciting more films to be made against us.
When will Indonesia have leaders that actually care about the people and not just about their politics?
Ok. Unbelievable, but real. It’s really done. I couldnt access those sites by 8pm tonight.
@Ayu: thanks for the letter. the detik news site only listed four sites, now I see from your friend’s letter and some other sources, Multiply is on the list too.
@Therry: jadi malu dibilang biyutiful lol..
Nope, you will most likely not go to jail for your lovely caricature.. there are worse things posted on other blogs. like mine.. lol
@Nadia: yes, I agree with you 100%. Our government seem to fuss over the unneccessary to cover up their lack of capability to solve the country’s more imminent and important problems. Kinda like the movie ‘wag the dog’
@Andie summerkiss: really? so it’s really happening then. shit, that must be tough on millions of Indonesian internet users.
This is part of it, Rima. We’ve better brace ourselves. Perhaps diplomacy should be done much more seriously.
@anonymous: diplomacy? that is a good idea.
speaking about diplomacy, do you know the quality of indonesian diplomats? poor. very poor. i can’t win, can i? i can’t be proud of any departments of the indonesian ministries. we are friggin doomed.
I truly agree on your blog title
“My country is great. My government, however, is fucking retarded.”
YEAHHHHH!!!
We should left our sensitivity at home peeps… just get out and have some fun, let all the stupid gov. play their dirty tricks with their crooks friend…
I should have found and read this sooner. Regret I didn’t. Wish I did. Really am…More than USD 100 billion in total for reconstructions and donations following tsunami, mysteriously vanished in projects that are now still on paper despite the number of years since. Five hundred schools that were planned to be built are nowhere near half done. Now, the skilled foreign NGO’s have gone knowing Indonesia is hopeless and focus to other regions that are more in need. Current United Nation agencies and staff and all the contractors, receive salaries ten to more than thirty times their usual salaries, were indeed the very government staff that sabotaged many of the humanitarian projects. Evidents and names exist. They brough the same organization culture into play and spread like wild-fire. These are bunch of “Know Who” with no skills on how to work and unable to distinguish ethics from moral. Remember, hard evidences, names, and detailed specifics exist.Money, Power, Sex.The way how the government operates are on individuals and gang level, not in unison as a government or as representatives of the people. They are hard thinkers, everyday coming into office and straight to street-side canteen and think on who they can rob, and how to proceed, also keep up-to-date with the progress on previous and current blackmailing activities. This is why they applied for the position, they paid for it. Following years right after tsunami, many of these government families travel to Australia, Germany, Netherlands, and other countries, bought new houses, more properties, two or more cars (one used car to go to work, and the others for personal use). Photos and hard evidences exist.It is not difficult to locate and find corruptions, not difficult to find hard evidences, so why isn’t anybody doing anything?…….The answer is: Mentality of the people.Back to basic, children. Those who have talents to be doctors, we ought to help them to be doctors. Those who have talents to be teachers, we ought to help them to be teachers. Those who have talents in communication and leadership, we ought to help them to be leaders. Basic management; everything in their right places–people, resources, and methods.We are far from that. In fact, it’s not about when or how many years will it take to get there, but simply we are not heading into that direction at all, far from it.Self-denial is extremely high. Amazing, these people can sleep at night without guilt.There is no solution. The way things are happening, I lose hope and lose interest in anything to do with Indonesia.Racism is very thick and still burning hot, because everyone is stressed. Majority blame the minority being the easy target, and the minority can only use their wits.”Senang lihat orang susah, susah lihat orang senang”.This is a habit where, the person is happy in others’ misfortune and the same person would also also be troubled by others’ good fortune. Jealous, greed…Need I say more?Whoever we put in the chair, would do the same–It’s the mentality of the people.If only… they could:1. Exercise on daily basis2. Learn and appreciate Art3. Eat less chiliand by some miracle, God’s willing, evolution might help their future generations evolve into less dissastrous monsters.Indonesia?… can’t even build a steady four-legged table, wants to build nuclear power plant.Boys give money, girls give their body, teachers/lecturers give pass.Each and every single college and university in Indonesia.We have hard evidences and names.People, help our future generations… take photos and gather evidences, use the media, be responsible and wise on choosing the right words, to help the government realize they can no longer do things for individual or group profits. They have ethical and moral obligations to “give” to the people they swore to make prosper.Silly me… definitely silly me… who am I anyway, a nobody.