The Problem of Being Low-level Manager

Today an invitation comes to my desk. It is from National Sharia Board (in which I am one of its Executive Committee, also its founding member) who will have its Tenth Annual Meeting on the following days.
National Sharia Board is an autonomous body under Indonesian Council of Ulama that is entrusted with issuing fatwa on Islamic financial product and transaction, and posting Sharia Supervisory Board in Islamic bank.

Efficiency vs socialization

A Muslim intelellectual once said that "It is easy for Muslim society to have many associations. A group of people who have resentments to their management might quit the organization and create their own assosciation. When this newly established association develops and  spreads over to the people, then a  group within the association who starts to have gruelties against its management will do the same thing as the founder did to their first organization. And this process will continue without anyone knowing until when."

Sumbit to Heaven

During last two weeks I have become a good listener to everyone who tell me their problem. The highest number of the complaints related to their present position in the job. I never know why people like to complain their concerns to me, not to Human Resource Department. May be because I am considered as "ustaz", and the ustaz can communicate to God  so their burden can be reduced via my communication ha..ha..

Had they known that I myself could only be promoted after being patient for 7 years in the position and having working hard for the duration without receiving good remark (sometimes just because the director doesn't like my criticism for their sharia non-compliace action), they might refused to talk to me. The only sentence I could say at the end of talk is always "submit it to heaven, because even we -who work in the best-managed financial center in this country- are promoted to higher rank by the way of like-dislike, and sometimes by sequnce of entering batch. Never think such good theories on human resources will work smoothly. Forget about stars you received during your bright years, it oftenly become decorating acessories in your filing sistem. 

Wallahu a'lam 

 

Welcome to this World, lovely Uways

2nd July 2012, 03.30 a.m.

Euro Football championship has just finished, brought Spain as the champion after beating Italy with high score 4-0. A TV station which broadcasted it lively from Ukraina has been switched off. Silent is already back to the room. Everyone now tried to have a rest, at least a nap. It is not Euro championship final that keeps them awake. It is something else....

Cycling in Bekasi; Between Fun and Pain

It has been already one year that I started using bicycle to office. People call it "B2W", which stands for bike to work, a new phenomenon among the city dweller who uses bicycle from his home to work place. They do it mostly based on the awareness of reducing air pollution from vehicle exhaust, a part of campaign to keep environment green and healthy.

I honestly cannot stand with them thoroughly.The distance between my house in Bekasi Timur to Jalan Thamrin in Central Jakarta, is 33 km away. Nobody will ride a bicycle for such a distance just for a commuting route. Even if he is able to do it, he will not be able to do anything else in the office due to exhaustment. The intention of keeping environment green, or to keep the life healthy, will be no use at all, because he will sacrifice the working hours for a rest after a long ride. That is why I decide to combine between riding bicycle and getting bus or riding bicycle and using train. And I prefer the second one.

From Yogya with Hurt

It is long week end  vacation, 26-28 February 2010, due to commemoration of Maulid Nabi SAW. Alhamdulillah. But I was unexpectedly assigned to go to Yogya, replacing big boss, who already promised to students' association, called Forum Mahasiswa Shariah se Indonesia, that he will deliver a speech about Islamic banking, in their annual camp. This assignment, off course,  leaves my family and colleagues wondering; why I should go, when everyone spend their vacation at home, or when everyone will gather for Maulid celebration in our "pondok" almamater. I shrugged off. That is a work consequence. That is choice of life. I wish I had other choice...

KH. Noer Alie: Ulama and development economist

He is KH. Noer Alie, the founder and chairman of Attaqwa (Islamic) Foundation, very famous Islamic scholar in the region (Bekasi), former top member of Masyumi- popular Muslim political party in 1955-1960 and former chairman of Bekasi Regency Government Board (Ind: Dewan Pemerintahan Bekasi) in 1956, who move Bekasi regency capital from Jatinegara to now-Bekasi city.

Street Vendor and Fiqh Muamalah

A participant in pengajian (religious learning circle) asked a simple, but important, question. What is the relationship between religion and street? God is worshipped in mosque, while people work for their life in the street, market etc. I did not answer the question immediately and ask for one-week postponement. The following week I changed the topic from fiqh ibadah (knowledge related with rites to God) with fiqh muamalah (religous knowledge related with relationship rules among the poople), in which all right and duty of people arise due to their mutual interconnection or transaction. When it came to discussion about right of common people on street (haqqul irtiqaq, haqqul murur, etc), the participant, who asked me the question, said that he never heard any religious teaching such what I told him. (What a pity!)

Black and White Policy

"We practice politics with principle. If we do not agree (against something) we will say it with its all consequence"

Masyumi, a Muslim political party in 1945-1960 era, is considered as "rigid" political party due to its black-white policy toward different issues in parliament. The above quote is the reply to such mockery, by its chairman, M. Natsir -as quoted by Yusril Ihza Mahendra in "100 Tahun Muhammad Natsir: Berdamai Dengan Sejarah."

Be firm and consistent, you will reach a success

I never think that what I have done within last ten years will bear fruit in a broader scale. The only thing came to my mind, in that time, is that I have to do a religious duty called da'wa (preaching). This da'wa includes introducing Islam -in an organized way- to students and working in a nation-wide network student organization. Every semester I would control whether they send recruitees to basic level training. Otherwise I would ask them to hold their own training and invite other branches to train their young cadre together. In fasting month Ramadhan, I usually invite some of them, who already completed their term as committee, whether branch, regional or even national level- to my house and breaking the fasting together. (later on this tradition also involves active committees)

Cikarang, what a change

I was born in this town 44 years ago, on 18 December 1964 exactly. My childhood was decorated by the happiness of being a town boy who goes to school in the morning, learn Quran and Islamic teachings in the afternoon and playing football in the evening. Just in front of my village, across the street, there is an ample ricefield, in which I used to play kites in planting season and joining peasants in their harvest time.
My elementary school building is located between acres of this ricefield. When break time comes, we just need to jump over a water tunnel, that separates our school building and the ricefield, and play among straws of paddy, as far as we want. Sometimes we were not aware how long we play, and when we returned to classroom the teacher is already back, standing and ready to punish us for being late.

Can an Islamic Foundation spread nationwide?

A junior when we are in boarding school, came to me and ask a challenging question, can an Islamic Foundation spread nation-wide, having many branches and representative like mass-organization? My answer is definitely yes. But when asked whether there is an example for this case, honestly I cannot provide a good answer. Probably we are the first example if we can realize the dream.

Whither PII?

A short message came into my mobile phone stating: "Rendered in peace to Illahi Rabbi, Prof. Anton Timur Djaelani, today, Sunday 15th February 2009. He will be buried in his tranquil village Tasikmalaya".
Anyone who is and was member of Indonesian Muslims Students' Organization (IMSA or PII in bahasa, stands for Pelajar Islam Indonesia) would be certainly feel condolence by the news. Why not?

MM received Award, for what?

On 7th February 2009 Mochtar Muhammad (called "MM" among Bekasi-ers), Mayor of Bekasi (city) received an award from Ministry of Man Power and Transmigration for his role in encouraging people to work, with his famous slogan "Pokoknya Harus Kerja" (PHK, must work anyway) which diverts the original meaning of the abbreviation PHK-Pemutusan Hubungan Kerja (termination of employment).

Some people might wonder why such an award is given to a mayor of a city in which unemployment rate is still high by national standard. But for other, it is not strange since MM is "flamboyant" mayor, who always tries to make his bosses happy, without taking care much about his own people. Last year, instead of standing as leader in Independent Day commemoration in the city (as normally should be), he chose to stand by the side of Megawati Soekarnoputri for the same programe, in her private luxury mansion in jalan Diponegoro, Jakarta!