Anyway

Seorang teman, Wilson Therik, menulis di blognya sebuah puisi yang ia terjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Melayu Kupang dengan judul “Biar Karmana ju” (Bagaimanapun).

Saya jadi ingat sebuah peristiwa ‘kebetulan’ yang menimpa saya beberapa saat sebelumnya. Beberapa saat sebelum saya melihat tulisan Wilson itu, saya membeli sebuah buku berjudul “Jesus did it Anyway-The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians” di Kinokuniya Senayan. Saat saya membacanya saya teringat sebuah lagu yang diberikan oleh teman dan mantan guru saya Dr. John Campbell-Neslon sebagai hadiah perkawinan saya. Ternyata puisi yang diterjemahkan Wilson itu, buku itu dan lyric lagu itu berasal dari satu sumber: Kent M. Keith.

Kent M. Keith menulis “Paradoxical Commandments” ketika ia seorang mahasiswa Harvard berusia 19 tahun. Tulisannya itu merupakan bagian dari booklet yang ia tulis untuk para pemimpin siswa SMA dengan judul “The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council”. Booklet itu pertama kali diterbitkan oleh Harvard Student Agencies pada tahun 1968. Antara tahun 1968 and 1972 terjual sekitar 30,000 copy.

Kent menjalani hidupnya setelah itu dan selama 25 tahun ia tidak tahu apa yang terjadi dengan The Paradoxical Commandments. Pada tahun 1997 barulah Kent tahu bahwa The Paradoxical Commandments telah diambil dari booklet kepemimpinan yang ia tulis dan digunakan oleh jutaan orang di mana-mana termasuk dituliskan di tembok, dimasukkan dalam pidato dan artikel, atau sekedar dibagikan kepada teman.

Tanpa sepengetahuan Kent, tenyata The Paradoxical Commandments telah digunakan dalam berbagai cara oleh orang Kristen di berbagai belahan dunia. Dikhotbahkan dari mimbar-mimbar, diterbitkan dalam newsletter gereja, atau diposting di website gereja. Digunakan oleh Abel Muzowera, seorang bishop Methodist yang merupakan perdana mentri Zimbabwe-Rhodesia. Juga diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Jepang dan digunakan dalam homili-homili oleh seorang pastor Katholik Jepang di Tokyo. Muncul dalam majalah jemaat St. John di Wakefield, Inggris. Dimasukkan dalam sebuah manual tentang moralitas and etika untuk siswa yang diterbitkan oleh Konfrensi Bishop Katholik Canada, dan juga dimasukkan dalam sebuah kurikulum Study Alkitab untuk remaja dewasa yang diterbitkan oleh United Church of Christ. The Paradoxical Commandments juga diterbitkan dalam buku Dr. Robert H. Schuller ‘Turning Hurt into Halos’, buku Neil T. Anderson ‘Victory Over Darkness, dan buku John Hagee ‘The Seven Secrets.’

Saya kemudian baru sadar bahwa lagu yang saya dapatkan dari pak John Campbell-Nelson sebagai hadiah perkawinan saya mempunyai lyric yang persis seperti paradoxical commandments. Tentu saja dengan penambahan dan pengurangan, serta tekanan disana sini demi kepentingan notasi. Lagu itu dinyanyikan oleh duo The Roches, Suzzy dan Maggie Roche dalam album mereka ‘Zero Church’.

Ketika saya mencari lyricnya di internet tertulis di bagian akhirnya: Music by The Roches, Author unknown. Banyak orang ternyata tidak tahu dari mana asalnya tulisan ini. Mungkin karena tulisan ini telah digunakan sedemikian luasnya dan orang lupa siapa yang menuliskannya.

Bunyi lyric Anyway yang dinyanyikan The Roches adalah sbb:

People are often unreasonable, illogical,
and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, People may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some
false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone
could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway

Tulisan ini kemudian punya dampak balik yang luar biasa bagi penulisnya sendiri. Pada bulan September 1997, Kent mengetahui bahwa The Paradoxical Commandments dimasukkan dalam sebuah buku yang dikompilasi oleh Lucinda Vardey yang berjudul ‘Mother Teresa: A Simple Path.’ The Paradoxical Commandments ditaruh di halaman terakhir sebelum appendix dan diberi judul “Anyway” dan diketik berbentuk seperti puisi. Vardey menambahkan sebuah catatan diakhir halaman yang berbunyi: “From a sign on the wall of Shishu Bhavan, the children’s home in Calcutta.”

Kent menulis kesannya tentang penggunaan tulisannya oleh Ibu Theresa dalam pengantar bukunya “Jesus did it Anyway-The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians,” yang ia tulis kemudian di tahun 2005:

“I was deeply moved to learn that Mother Teresa thought that the Paradoxical Commandments were important enough to put up on the wall of her children’s home in India. That discovery was a turning point in my life. It seemed to me that God was sending me a message. I felt called to speak and write about the Paradoxical Commandments again after thirty years had passed.”

Membagikan The Paradoxical Commandments dan maknanya kemudian menjadi pelayanan sehari-hari Kent. Ia menerima undangan dari berbagai penjuru Amerika untuk mempresentasikan dan membawakan seminar tentang perintah-perintah itu. Ia juga menulis dua buah buku: “Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments” dan “Do it Anyway: The Handbook for Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness in a Crazy World.”

Sebagai hasil pembicaraannya di mana-mana dan tulisan-tulisannya, ia menerima kabar dari orang-orang diberbagai belahan dunia yang menceritakan kepadanya bagimana artinya The Paradoxical Commandments bagi mereka.

Kent menulis dalam “Jesus did it Anyway”:

“I often hear from Christians who tell me how they use the Paradoxical Commandments in their churches, families and individual lives. I am pleased to hear from all of them, and I am grateful that the Paradoxical Commandments are useful to them as they live their faith each day.”

Banyak juga yang memintanya untuk memberikan cerita-cerita dan ayat-ayat Alkitab yang mengilustrasikan The Paradoxical Commandments. Mereka tahu bahwa perintah-perintah ini didasarkan pada kebenaran-kebenaran Kristen, tetapi ingin tahu bagaimana perintah-perintah ini berhubungan dengan iman Kristen dan bagaimana perintah-perintah ini berkaitan dengan Alkitab. Secara khusus Kent diminta untuk menjelasakan bagaimana perintah-perintah ini berkaitan dengan ajaran Yesus.

Buku “Jesus did it Anyway-The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians” ditulis sebagai jawaban terhadap pertanyaan-pertanyaan itu. Di dalamnya terdapat uraian yang lebih rinci dengan menggunakan ayat-ayat dan bagian Alkitab. Satu persatu kalimat The Paradoxical Commandments (seperti tertera dibawah ini) dibahas dalam buku ini:

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

Apa yang dituliskan Kent dalam usia yang sangat muda, 19 tahun, ternyata punya dampak yang luar biasa bagi banyak orang. Mungkin karena ia menuliskannya dalam masa idealisme yang luar biasa, dalam kejujuran dan kepolosan yang luar biasa, dalam integritas diri yang luar biasa, dalam masa pencarian makna hidup yang awal dan murni.

Kadang kita juga begitu bukan? Coba lihatlah karya-karya kita di usia 17, 18, 19-25 tahun, anda akan terkesima dengan karya anda sendiri. Mungkin memang ada bagian-bagian yang terasa naïve dan sederhana, tetapi ada juga yang membuat kita berpikir: “kok bisa ya saya berpikir (atau berbuat) sejauh itu? Sekarang mungkin saya belum tentu mampu melakukannya.” Kalau anda pernah berkuliah di perguruan tinggi, coba ambil saja skripsi anda dan lihat kembali. Anda pasti akan mempunyai perasaan yang sama, jika memang skripsi itu anda kerjakan dengan jujur dan penuh idealism. Lain halnya kalau anda cuma ngopy skripsi orang lalu dirubah-rubah sedikit, seperti yang dilakukan kebanyakan mahasiswa kita.

Sekarang saya bertanya pada diri saya sendiri: mungkinkan semua ini hanya kebetulan? Mungkinkah pak John memberi hadiah kepada saya adalah sebuah kebetulan? Kebetulankah saya membeli buku di Kinokuniya? Apakah kebetulan Wilson menulis di blog-nya dan kebetulan saya melihatnya?

-->Johann von Schiller pernah menulis: “Tidak ada yang namanya kebetulan. Apa yang tampak oleh kita sebagai sekedar kebetulan sebenarnya muncul dari sumber takdir yang terdalam.” Karena saya yakin semua ini bukan kebetulan, saya berusaha menuliskan tulisan ini dan membagikannya kepada saudara.

Squire Rushnell menulis dalam bukunya: ‘When God Winks: How the Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life’ bahwa suatu kebetulan bukanlah sekedar kebetulan, namun memiliki arti yang lebih dalam.

Jangan-jangan Tuhan memang sedang main mata dengan saya, memberi tanda, isyarat atau mengungkapkan suatu pesan. Mungkin saya saja yang tidak mengerti isyarat itu.

Why is finding money to develop sports so difficult?

Matheos Viktor Messakh, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 04/19/2010 11:30 AM | Special Report

Sports funding has always been a problem for many developing countries, but messy management of the relatively limited pool of money played a major role in the decline in the performance of Indonesian athletes within a few decades.

Indonesia, a participant in the Olympics since 1952, eventually won its first gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona games. The two gold medals from badminton saw the country end the event ranked 24. However, the country won only one gold medal in the games since then, which saw it finish lower: 41st in Atlanta, 38th in Sydney, 48th in Athens and 42 in Beijing.

Indonesian athletes have won a total of 25 Olympic medals with most of the medals coming from badminton, archery and weightlifting.

The country’s performance is also experiencing a decline in regional events.

Indonesia had dominated the South East Asian (SEA) Games for three decades since its first participation in 1977 by topping standings in the biennial event nine times and only lost out to Thailand in 1985 and 1995.

However, since 1999, the country has only managed to eke out a third place finish at best. It even lags behind the relative newcomers Vietnam.

“The problem with government funding is that stakeholders do not really understand how sports should be developed,” National Olympic Committee (KOI) secretary-general Arie Ariotedjo said.

“There is the impression that KONI [the National Sports Council] and KOI beg for government funding. Sport is not a proprietary business. Wherever the money goes, whether through KONI or directly handed to sports associations is irrelevant, as long as the money is used as intended.”

In order to host the 2011 SEA Games, for example, KOI and KONI had come up with a proposal for Rp 1.5 trillion (US$166 billion), but the government has so far agreed to only Rp. 350 billion. The ministry is now proposing a revision to increase the allocation to Rp. 1 trillion.

Ariotedjo said the National Development Planning Ministry and the Finance Ministry slashed the allocation because the Youth and Sports Ministry did not invite KOI and KONI to defend the proposal.

KOI program manager Gregory Wilson said the lack of government funding showed the poor commitment of the government to developing sports.

“Overall, it doesn’t seem like the government is serious about sports development in Indonesia,” Wilson told The Jakarta Post.

“I don’t think [they are serious] in terms of the proportion of GDP. It’s not a priority issue: you can compare the funding levels of neighbors such as Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, I think it’s relatively small,” he added.

Wilson said the Youth and Sports Ministry had always said that the country wanted to be in the top 20 of the 2016 Olympic Games after regaining supremacy in Southeast Asia, but that when it came to money, there was no support.

“There is a third world mentality associated with sports funding in this country. But it’s not a third world country, it’s a developing, proud country that needs to be the premier nation in Southeast Asia and even within Asia itself. But you can’t achieve that without sustained funding and programs and without some real commitment and leadership from the government.”

The government needs to be committed to continuous funding to assure better preparations, Wilson added.
“We finished the SEA Games last year and here we are in April when we just saw in the paper that we still can’t get the funds. The Asian Games [in November] are going to be over before we actually get any programs started. There is not enough development time.”

In addition to a relatively small amount of funds, a lack of priority means the limited money is not used efficiently, Wilson said.

“Last year [the government] sent people all over the world to do tryouts, which is a low priority. And now when we need funds for qualification and important international competitions such as the Youth Olympic Games, they say there’s no funds.”

Legislator Utut Adianto said he believed inconsistency in the financial models of support made sports development stagnant.

“We are half-hearted about models of funding we need to embrace. Ideally, sports should not be funded by the state, therefore becoming an Olympic champion like Michael Phelps is not the state’s business.

“But this country still needs glory so the sports funding is still in need of government backing,” Utut, a member of the House of Representatives’ Commission X overseeing sports, youth affairs, tourism, culture and education, said.

He added that the country should choose to either fully support sports development or to leave it to other parties.

“If the government decides to fund sports, they have to work out how much is enough,” the chess Grandmaster said.

Utut said he believed that fund proposals are trimmed by the Finance Ministry and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) — as the two institutions are best placed to decide allocations the money the country has — and by parliament.

“There are many interests in the House and there is a struggle on whether to approve proposals or to trim them.”

Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) secretary-general Alamsyah Wijaya said the government gave too much emphasis on multi sporting events rather than single events. He said single events were the best catalysts to groom athletes with a minimum amount of funding.

Alamsyah agreed with the idea of a state-public partnership to fund sports, but said the current level of state funding for sports was enough.

“The classic problem of funding sports in Indonesia is that many people use institutions such as sport federations and sports committees at national or regional levels for personal gain,” he said.

“For example, from the current budget of Rp 1.1 trillion, the Youth and Sports Ministry sets aside
Rp 600 billion for sports development. If the Rp 600 billion is disbursed to 50 sports unions, each union would receive Rp 12 billion a year.

“For us, that is more than enough. If PABBSI was given that for five years, we would guarantee gold at the Olympics.”
For the former national weightlifter, individual sports should be prioritized rather than team sports because they were relatively cheaper to develop.

“Singapore has topped us several times in both the SEA and Asian Games and they have far fewer athletes than us.”

Sports suffers lack of funding and priority

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 04/19/2010 11:30 AM | Special Report

Indonesia is not famous by any stretch for international achievements in sports. Government officials have repeatedly pointed to the lack of funding as the main reason. But The Jakarta Post’s Matheos Viktor Messakh looks at the issue and finds that funding is not the sole reason, as sports represents a low priority for the government and there exists a lack of transparency as well as uncertainty in setting benchmarks for state funding for sports associations.

Even when he had to bring lifters to compete in international events, weightlifting official Alamsyah Wijaya had to dig deep in his own pocket to pay for airfare, travel documents, accommodation and pocket money.

Now in his ninth year as secretary-general of the Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association (PABBSI) — sports that have produced great athletes with notable international accolades for the country — he has come to believe that expecting the government to shell out money is a waste of time and energy.

“The government and KONI [the National Sports Council] only paid lip service when they said weightlifting was a priority. We won an Olympic medal in 2000 there has been no significant support since,” Alamsyah said.

Alamsyah’s frustration is shared by many. Annual state funding for sports has become a burning issue.

Although the amount of the state budget allocated to the Youth and Sports Ministry has significantly increased from Rp 300 billion (US$33.3 million) in 2004 to Rp 1.1 trillion this year, leaders of sports associations still complain of the lack of priority and transparency.

Alamsyah expressed frustration at government rhetoric that weightlifting was a priority sport in the country.

“The money we receive in a year is about Rp 3 billion, while the PSSI [soccer association], for example, receives Rp 48 billion. That’s what I mean by a lack of priority. Give me Rp 48 billion and I will guarantee gold at the London Olympics,” he said.

Alamsyah should mean what he said about medal prospects at the Olympics. Indonesian weightlifters have managed to perform well at very high levels in the past 10 years despite poor facilities and lack of government support.

Indonesian weightlifters bagged one silver and two bronze medals at the 2000 Sidney Olympics, one silver in Athens four years later, and two silver and four bronze in Beijing, a respectable feat surpassed only by the badminton contingent, the country’s long-held source of pride when it comes to international sporting achievements.

PABBSI is one of few associations with a clear vision of the long term development of the sport. For example, it has set its sights on the upcoming Youth Olympic Games and has since 2007 prepared its under-17 athletes.
The result of this preparation is that weightlifting became the first sport in the country to secure a place at the 2010 Youth Olympics Games in Singapore.

The squad further sealed their supremacy in international events when they dominated the Asian Junior Championships last December in Dubai with nine gold, four silver and six bronze medals.

“Before the Dubai event, we asked the ministry to provide us with Rp 109 million to support three athletes, one coach and one official. Three days prior departure, the ministry said they would give us Rp 75 million, but we only received the money a month after we got back.

“This is a big problem but obviously not the fault of anyone specifically. It’s a bureaucracy problem. Every time we go abroad we have to be ready to use our own money. ”

This week, PABBSI saw another female lifter secure a spot at the Youth Olympic Games after a qualification tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Ironically, the team managed to go and compete in Tashkent only after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave a $35,000 solidarity fund for the federation as a “reward” for its efforts to have it first athlete qualify for the Youth Games.

PABBSI recently proposed a budget of Rp 4.9 billion (US$532,608) to the government for the development of junior and youth weightlifters, but is still awaiting approval. Given the history, however, hopes are slim.

“We submitted a similar proposal following the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand. It was never approved,” PABBSI deputy Sjafriadi Tjut said.

Like weightlifting, badminton is also one of the sports fighting its own battle to win medals at international events, although badminton is bit luckier thanks in part to the participation of the private sector and a higher profile.

As the only sport in which Indonesia has won the gold at the Olympics, badminton has attracted quite a few sponsors, according to Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) secretary-general Yacob Rusdianto.
For more than 20 years, the PBSI has been sponsored by sporting apparel company Yonex.

This year the PBSI received Rp 20 billion, double the Rp 10 billion it received last year.

From the government, the PBSI, which trains 80 players at all levels and 18 coaches, receives different amounts for the preparation of group events such as SEA Games or Thomas Cup. It also receives less than Rp 100 million a year for administrative expenses.

Yacob said that as a source of national pride with a gold medal hopes at every Olympics, badminton still lacked special attention from the government, and was left to build partnerships with private companies.

To help meet international challenges facing badminton and to help deliver the sporting excellence expected by the public, additional funding will be used to enhance high performance coaching, identifying talent and to provide more sophisticated sports science and support services to elite athletes, he added.

“Our responsibility is very great. We still need financial support from the government. To obtain maximum results, we definitely need more funding,” Yacob said.

“In China and Korea, the government finances almost everything. Malaysia bought dozens of former world champions including Indra Gunawan and Rexy Mainaky form Indonesia. It is us they are looking to overtake and we should be aware of this.”

Despite the complaints, the secretary to the Youth and Sports Minister, Wafid Muharam, denied that the government gave less attention to sports funding and that sports development was not a priority.

“We really pay attention to the Olympics, Asian Games and SEA Games. However, we cannot give sufficiently fund all sports, only the sports where our athletes show great achievements,” Muharam told the Post.

“It’s impossible for the government to fund every single sport. It is good if these associations can get sponsors. In the end, it depends on the inventiveness of the people in the associations.”

This year, the ministry received a budget allocation of Rp 1.5 trillion. Rp 1.1 trillion was allocated to sports, Rp 258.7 billions to youth affairs and Rp 179.4 billions to good governance programs.

Looking to overhaul the lack of funding, Wafid said that the ministry was lobbying the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry to encourage state firms to sponsor at least one sport.

“Learning from the fact that many sports association are not financially independent, we encourage State-Owned Enterprises to support athletes, coaches and referee development rather than just supporting sporting events,” he said.

Wafid also said that part of problem was the fund-raising ability of associations, including the ability to make proposals to the ministry. Recently, he said, the ministry rejected several unqualified proposals for SEA Games preparation funding.

“The people in the associations made small mistakes such as bank account numbers. We can’t provide them with money given such trivialities because these are state funds,” he said.

Alamsyah, however, said that mistakes were with the ministry and KONI.

“They claim people in the associations did not ask for money, but in fact there is no forum for that matter. There is no formal mechanism for associations to apply for funds.”

Lack of priority: Junior athletes are seen training at a not-so-fancy weightlifting facility in Bekasi, West Java. Weightlifting has produced great athletes with notable international accolades for Indonesia, but still suffers from lack of funding. JP/Berto Wedhatama