TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Letters: Bombing, divine power, power struggle
The moment I heard about the bombing of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Friday, my mind immediately went to James Castle, the founder of CastleAsia
Change Size
T
he moment I heard about the bombing of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Friday, my mind immediately went to James Castle, the founder of CastleAsia. I was supposed to attend the breakfast meeting organized by CastleAsia, but could not make it because I had gone to Semarang.
My feeling had it that I should call CastleAsia, and I was informed that James Castle and Max Boon from CastleAsia had been victims of the bombing and were at the Metropolitan Medical Center (MMC) hospital nearby.
Soon, it became clear that all attending the CastleAsia Indonesia Country Program (ICP) breakfast meeting had been victims of the bombing, including former Freeport president Andrianto Machribie, former Newmont president Noke Kiroyan and Andy Chobim. I then rushed to MMC to see the situation and became infuriated by the bombing.
Through ICP, CastleAsia gives special attention to its clients through a high-level discussion forum. ICP, normally conducted every Friday at breakfast time, is organized on different topics, and the attendants come from similar areas of interest. For example, there are groups for banking, consumer industries as well as oil and gas - where I'm normally involved.
I still don't know if the terror target was the ICP participants or the Marriott Hotel? If the target was the Marriott, this hotel has already had a bombing experience when a suicide bomber attacked the hotel in 2003.
We know from media reports that the suspected terrorist checked into the hotel using a falsified Jakarta ID and paid a cash deposit of US$1,000. The moment a guest pays a cash deposit, it should alert the hotel security system.
Who were the bombers? Were they from the regular terrorist group operating in the country, those associated with the Jemaah Islamiyah, or were they associated with politics in this country? I would not dwell on this, as this is the purview of the National Police.
I would rather connect the bombing with a Javanese shadow puppet story that could bear similar terror intrigue, i.e. the story of Wahyu Cakraningrat (victorious power bestowed on kings or presidents).
About two weeks ago, I performed Wahyu Cakraningrat to celebrate the presidential elections. In this story, three knights compete with each other to win divine powers that can make them king. They are Prince Lesmono, son of Astina King Duryudana (the eldest among the 100 Kurawa brothers), Prince Ongkowijoyo, son of Arjuna (one of the five Pandawa brothers) and Prince Sombo, son of Dwarawati King Kresna. The story portrays the competition among the three presidential candidates.
The story has it that Ongkowijoyo won the competition and got the divine power of Wahyu Cakraningrat. The process of his gaining the divine power proceeded smoothly, but left a big wound with the Kurawa clan, and a problem occurred later when Ongkowijoyo's new-born son, Parikesit, was due to be crowned as the new king of Astina.
Aswotomo and Kartomarmo, two of a few Kurawa knights who survived the war of Mahabarata between Kurawa and Pandawa, did not like the idea that Parikesit, who was not even one year old, would become the new king of Astina, and planned a special terror operation to kill Parikesit. This special operation was known as Aswotomo Nglandak, in which Aswotomo built a secret tunnel into the room of Parikesit.
While making the tunnel, Aswotomo was assisted by Bethari Durgo, the queen of demons who possesses a terrorist's character, and his mother Bethari Wilutomo. Wilutomo provides lights for the tunnel, and the lights come from her bossom. Wilutomo tells Aswotomo not to look back while digging the tunnel.
Once the tunnel reaches Parikesit's room, however, Aswotomo becomes curious about where the light has been coming from and looks back. Wilutomo becomes angered, and this wakes up Parikesit, who is protected by a Pulanggeni arrow belonging to his grandfather, Arjuna. Parikesit unintentionally kicks the Pulanggeni arrow, which then hits Aswotomo in the neck, and the terrorist is killed.
The essence of this story is that terrorists will never win. Whoever gains the divine power to rule a country will be protected by God Almighty, and those who want to destroy what has been built will perish by their own deeds.
Rohmad Hadiwijoyo
Jakarta
