Dari Timur Kita Ke Barat

Spirit Indonesia mengusung semangat, etos, budaya dan jiwa Indonesia. Banyak kebijaksanaan dan kearifan Indonesia yang perlu digali dan dibangkitkan kembali. Saatnya untuk bangkit dan berjaya!

Dipersembahkan untuk kebangkitan Indonesia.
Terbitlah cahaya dari Timur!
Google
 

Jumat, 29 Juni 2007

Mohammad Hatta

Mohammad Hatta (August 12, 1902 - March 14, 1980) was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He was Indonesia's first vice president, after being the country's Prime Minister. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, fought for the independence of Indonesia from the Dutch East Indies. Despite his effort to gain Indonesian independence, he had studied in the Netherlands since 1921 until 1932. Moreover, since his early education, he studied in Netherlands-based school in Indonesia.

Mohammad Hatta's name often remembered as Bung Hatta ('Bung' is an affectionate title used to address colleagues, popular in the early 1900s and is still used by Indonesians).

Next on Wikipedia >>

The Five Principles (Pancasila)

Pancasila, (pronounced /panʧaˈsiːla/), is the philosophical basis of the Indonesian state. Pancasila consists of two Sanskrit words, "panca" meaning five, and "sila" meaning principle. It comprises five principles held to be inseparable and interrelated, and is to some extent modeled on the original Pancasila, a Buddhist code of ethics. It was the inspiration for a similar statement of principles in neighbouring Malaysia, the Rukunegara.
  1. Belief in the one and only God (Ketuhanan yang Maha Esa)
  2. Just and civilized humanity (Kemanusiaan yang Adil dan Beradab)
  3. The unity of Indonesia (Persatuan Indonesia)
  4. Democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations amongst representatives (Kerakyatan yang Dipimpin oleh Hikmat Kebijaksanaan dalam Permusyawaratan/Perwakilan)
  5. Social justice for the whole of the people of Indonesia (Keadilan Sosial bagi Seluruh Rakyat Indonesia)
History
In 1945, facing the need to pull together the diverse archipelago, the future President Sukarno promulgated Pancasila as a recipe for Indonesian patriotism. The ideology was announced in a speech known as "The Birth of the Pancasila", in which Sukarno gave to the Independence Preparatory Committee on 1 June 1945 (Saafroedin Bahar et al 1992:65-72). He thus helped solve the conflict between Muslims, nationalists and Christians. The 1945 Constitution then set forth the Pancasila as the embodiment of basic principles of an independent Indonesian state.

Soekarno

Sukarno (June 6, 1901June 21, 1970) was the first President of Indonesia. He helped the country win its independence from the Netherlands and was President from 1945 to 1967, presiding with mixed success over the country's turbulent transition to independence. Sukarno was forced from power by one of his generals, Suharto, who formally became President in March 1967.

The spelling "Sukarno" has been official in Indonesia since 1947 but the older spelling Soekarno is still frequently used, mainly because he signed his signature in the old spelling. Official Indonesian presidential decrees from the period 1947-1968, however, printed his name using the 1947 spelling.

Indonesians also remember him as Bung Karno (Bung is an affectionate title used to address colleagues, popular in the early 1900s). Like many Javanese people, he had just one name although in religious contexts he was occassionally referred to as 'Ahmad Sukarno'.

Next on Wikipedia >>

Kamis, 28 Juni 2007

Indonesia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a nation in Southeast Asia. Comprising 17,500 islands, it is the world's largest archipelagic state. With a population of over 200 million, it is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation, although officially it is not an Islamic state. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected parliament and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the seventh century, when the Srivijaya Kingdom formed trade links with China. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Under Indian influence, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished from the early centuries CE. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Exploration. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. The Javanese are the politically dominant and largest ethnic group. As a unitary state and a nation, Indonesia has developed a shared identity defined by a national language, a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka tunggal ika" ("Unity in Diversity" lit. "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. However, sectarian tensions and separatism have led to violent confrontations that undermine regional stability. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country is richly endowed with natural resources, yet poverty is a defining feature of contemporary Indonesia.

Everyone a Leader

Imagine if every employee does what it takes to help his or her organization reach its goals, a place where everyone is a leader.

If chaos and confusion come to mind, think again! Spreading leadership and decision-making responsibilities liberates, inspires, and motivates everyone to achieve more and contribute the maximum-making a positive impact on both productivity and business results.

Step in, CLIMB(TM) up.

Based on a landmark study that involved 2,000 people across 450 organizations, Everyone A Leader explores the critical moments when employees at all levels step forward into leadership roles. The findings are summarized in five key strategies the authors call the CLIMB model of leadership effectiveness:
* Create a compelling future.
* Let the customer drive the organization.
* Involve every mind.
* Manage work horizontally.
* Build personal credibility.

Each chapter in this breakthrough book brings the CLIMB strategies to life with powerful first person stories and anecdotes that effectively highlight the small, often-overlooked turning points in an organization's daily life. Turning points made possible by grassroots leaders.

The CLIMB model's step-by-step tools for grassroots leaders build competencies such as presenting thoughts and ideas, listening proactively, giving recognition, managing priorities, turning conflict into collaboration, identifying and meeting unspoken customer needs, and many, many more.

No other book offers such compelling proof that-equipped with proper tools and support-everyone has the potential to be a leader and to make a difference. To remain agile and responsive in today's dynamic global marketplace, successful organizations recognize the critical need for greater flexibility, knowledge, and adaptability across the entire organization. To do so means everyone must learn to be a leader.

"Everyone A Leader explodes the myth that only people with official titles, big salaries, and high profiles mobilize others to get extraordinary things done. It makes the compelling case-backed by research and inviting anecdotes-that leaders emerge from all levels in all types of organizations. . . . You will learn how to make more of a difference once you've read and applied Everyone A Leader. This stellar book is not only a significant contribution to the field, it's also a rallying cry for all of us to leave a more lasting legacy." -Jim Kouzes, coauthor, The Leadership Challenge and Chairman, Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems.

"This work skillfully distills hundreds of observed experiences into a five-part strategic model, highlighting those behaviors most likely to produce successful leadership results. Both emerging and experienced leaders . . . can learn from Everyone A Leader. It offers a pragmatic roadmap for success!" -Major General Garry L. Parks, U.S. Marine Corps.

"Everyone A Leader is cause for rejoicing. The authors understand the key reality shaping today's organizations: leaders can emerge from anywhere. Their book is an invaluable tool . . . full of wise observations and practical advice." -Sally Helgesen, author, The Web of Inclusion.

"Everyone A Leader is a wonderfully actionable guide for creating a broad, take charge, leadership culture." -Ron Zemke, author, the Knock Your Socks Off Service series.

"If you want co-workers who are productive, satisfied, and willing to shoulder the responsibility of making your organization stronger, this timely and inspiring nuts-and-bolts account of democratic leadership is for you." -Meena Surie Wilson, PhD, Global Initiatives Group, Center for Creative Leadership.

"Finally, a leadership book for today's flat, dynamic, team-based organizations . . . This is the model." -Todd W. Arnold, Vice President, Customer Services, Cinergy Corp.

Tan Malaka, Sang Revolusioner Indonesia

Tan Malaka, lengkapnya Ibrahim Datuk Tan Malaka. Tokoh revolusioner Republik Indonesia.

‘Ntah kenapa, setiap mengenang dan melihat foto tokoh ini dada saya serasa bergetar. Terbayang seorang anak manusia yang menjadi legenda—hampir-hampir menjadi mitos. Bertualang dari satu negeri ke negeri lainya, menjadi buronan polisi rahasia internasional. Seorang pejuang revolusioner yang kesepian….

Seperti apakah tokoh kita ini? Sehingga menjadi pelarian sepanjang hidupnya dan mengakhiri hidup dengan tragis ditembak oleh bangsanya sendiri?

Bergetar dada saya, sebab saya begitu akrab dengan tokoh ini. Walau tak berjumpa fisik, tapi karya-karyanya: Menuju Indonesia Merdeka, Gerpolek, Dari Penjara Ke Penjara, sampai Madilog meninggalkan kesan yang sangat mendalam buat saya. Bahkan kisah hidupnya dalam Dari Penjara Ke Penjara membuat saya terobsesi. Bahwa, kecintaannya terhadap tanah air begitu melebihi kecintaannya terhadap dirinya sendiri. Ketika masih menjadi aktivis mahasiswa dahulu, saya bahkan berikrar tidak akan kawin sebelum reformasi selesai! Wah!

Satu lagi, karyanya Madilog (Materialisme-Dialektika-Logika) membongkar cara berpikir saya menjadi lebih kritis dan ilmiah dan banyak mempengaruhi saya dalam memandang sesuatu. Tak ada tidak tidak mungkin (mustahil). Sesuatu yang dianggap mustahil hari ini akan menjadi biasa di masa mendatang. Demikian kira-kira salah satu pokok pikiran dalam Madilog.

Tan Malaka, anak Minangkabau yang terlahir 2 Juni 1897 di desa Pandan Gadang –Sumatra Barat. Ia termasuk salah seorang tokoh bangsa yang sangat luar biasa, bahkan dapat dikatakan sejajar dengan tokoh-tokoh nasional yang membawa bangsa Indonesia sampai saat kemerdekaan seperti Soekarno, Hatta, Syahrir, Moh.Yamin dan lain-lain.

Pejuang yang militan, radikal dan revolusioner ini telah banyak melahirkan pemikiran-pemikiran yang orisinil, berbobot dan brilian hingga berperan besar dalam sejarah perjaungan kemerdekaan Indonesia. Dengan perjuangan yang gigih maka ia mendapat julukan tokoh revolusioner yang legendaris.

Beliaulah yang pertama kali mencetuskan kata “Republik Indonesia” dan mengucapkan kata “Indonesia Merdeka 100%”, tanpa konpromi sama sekali dengan penjajah.

Tokoh ini begitu berbahayanya kah hingga banyak sekali negara-negara yang mencekalnya dan mengejar-ngejar untuk di tahan bahkan dibunuh jika sulit menangkap? Sejumlah tokoh besar seperti: Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, Chiang Kai Sek, sampai Mao Tsu Teng menganggap tokoh ini adalah orang paling berbahaya dan terlarang! Tan Malaka dilarang memasuki Prancis, Sovyet, Baltik, Balkan, Britania, China Daratan apalagi Belanda. Tokoh ini ada guru imajiner buat Ho Chi Minh (bapak bangsa Vietnam), Aung San (ayah dari Aung San Syu Ki) dan Joseph B. Tito (bapak bangsa Yugoslavia, yang sudah sejarah) dll.

Tan Malaka ‘belajar’ dibawah kharismatik legenda yang juga “dihilangkan” dari sejarah bangsa, R.M Tirto Adhi Soeryo. Awalnya adalah SP, SDI kemudian menjadi SI terus pecah dan salah satunya PKI. Ia ‘dibesarkan’ dalam suasana semangat gerakan modern Islam Kaoem Moeda di Sumatera Barat. Tahun 1913 belajar ke Belanda, penyesalan bagi Belanda, karena merasa “membesarkan” anak harimau.

Tahun 1919 kembali ke Indonesia bekerja sebagai guru di Deli. Ketimpangan sosial di lingkungan perkebunan antara buruh dan tuan tanah menimbulkan semangat radikal pada diri Tan Malaka muda. Saat kongres PKI 24-25 Desember 1921, Tan Malaka diangkat sebagai pimpinan partai. Pemuda cerdas ini banyak berdiskusi dengan Semaoen mengenai pergerakan revolusioner dalam pemerintahan Hindia Belanda, juga merencanakan suatu pengorganisasian bentuk pendidikan bagi anggota-anggota PKI dan SI (Sarekat Islam) untuk menyusun suatu sistem kader, gerakan-gerakan aksi, keahlian berbicara, jurnalistik dan keahlian memimpin rakyat. Namun pemerintahan Belanda melarang hingga mengambil tindakan tegas.

Pemikiran-pemikiran beliau menjadi inspirasi dan motivasi bagi para pejuang kemerdekaan dahulunya. Pada masa awal kemerdekaan, Bung Karno pernah menunjuk tokoh ini sebagai penggantinya–pengemban amanat pemimpin bangsa untuk meneruskan perjuangan apabila beliau tertangkap atau tidak bisa melanjutkan perjuangan.

Di masa revolusi nasional, Tan Malaka adalah sosok yang disegani. Soekarno menganggapnya sebagai guru revolusi. Hatta menyebutnya sebagai sosok yang tak mudah membungkukkan tulang punggungnya. Sebagian orang malah menyebutnya sebagai filosof Indonesia yang paling awal.

Banyak hal yang tidak terjelaskan dalam sejarah bangsa ini. Dalam buku-buku sejarah dinyatakan atau dituduh bahwa beliau adalah tokoh komunis, dan yang namanya komunis maka akan ditenggelamkan dalam sejarah dan hidup bangsa ini. Padahal juga diketahui, bahwa beliau adalah orang yang dimusuhi oleh tokoh-tokoh komunis masa lalu. Beliau melarikan diri kemana-kemana negeri, salah satu sebab juga diburu oleh orang-orang komunis.

Banyak sejarah yang mesti diungkap kebenarannya. Tulisan ini cuma sebagai pengantar kritis kita terhadap para pejuang dan pahlawan kita. Sudah saatnya kita tempatkan pejuang dalam deretan pahlawan dan para pengkhianat dalam daftar para pecundang. Referensi mendalam tentang tokoh ini bisa didapat dari internet atau buku-buku. Silahkan cari sendiri.

Saya referensikan Anda untuk membaca karya beliau: Dari Penjara Ke Penjara dan Madilog. Inilah buku wajib para pencari kesadaran baru dan ingin merubah pola pikir. Selamat membaca dan menghargai pahlawan.

How to Be a Leader in Your Field

A profession is more than a job -- it is a community and a culture. Professions serve society by pooling knowledge among their members and creating incentives to synthesize new knowledge. They also help their members to build networks, find jobs, recruit staff, find collaborators, and organize around the issues that affect them. In a world without change or innovation, professions would not be so necessary. But in a world where change and innovation are ever more intense, every occupation needs more of the institutions and culture of traditional professions such as law, medicine, engineering, education, librarianship, public administration, business, and architecture.

Every profession has leaders. In a formal sense, the elected officers of a professional society are the leaders of that profession. Because a profession is fundamentally about knowledge, however, the true leaders of a profession are the thought leaders: the individuals who synthesize the thinking of the profession's members and articulate directions for the future. Sometimes a profession will elect its thought leaders to official positions. But often the thought leaders prefer to lead through writing and speaking, cutting-edge projects, conference organizing, and dialogue. Leadership means both talking and listening, both vision and consensus. A leader builds a web of relationships within the profession and articulates the themes that are emerging in the thinking of the profession as a whole.

In a knowledge-intensive world of ceaseless innovation and change, I assert, every professional must be a leader. This is not a universally popular idea. Some people say, "leadership is fine for others, but I just want a job". I want to argue that it doesn't work that way. The skills that the leader exercises in building a critical mass of opinion around emerging issues are the same skills that every professional needs to stay employed at all. In the old days the leadership-averse could hide out in bureaucracies. But as institutions are turned inside out by technology, globalization, and rising public and client expectations of every sort, the refuges are disappearing. Every professional's job is now the front lines, and the skills of leadership must become central to everyone's conception of themselves as a professional.

Read Next >>

Rabu, 27 Juni 2007

Everyone is a Leader of Everyone

One in every two or more individuals excels above the others. At every single step, we come and continue to come across different kinds of people, having different personalities, unique traits and ways, and each with their “leadership qualities”.

Contrary to the saying “Leaders are born, not made”, “Leaders are made, not born”. Leaders can be nurtured, molded and fine-tuned to lead their followers. Leaders are brought to the forefront by circumstances and time, beliefs and causes and by necessities. If not for these, leaders can never be leaders.

With our naked eyes, we see leaders being followed by their followers and followers being led by their leaders. In fact, this is the bond that ties a leader and a follower as one. One cannot be very wrong to say that “Everyone is a leader of everyone; everyone a follower of everyone”. We can also put it as “Every leader is a follower and every follower a leader”. This is to be the theme of our short writing here.

It would also be great a pleasure to provide you with something to help you scratch your itchy head - “Is there a possibility of a person being a leader and at the same time not and never be a follower of another?”

In the meantime, excuse me. Let me share with you some of the thoughts that have been bugging my head.

These thoughts have something to do with leaders and leading, followers and following. For some of you, you may even try to whisk it away as a whole lot of misconception. Nevertheless, the more I let my head brood over it, the more I see the truth in it.

There is a general apprehension in the mindset of the society. We seems to take it for granted that leaders are immune to temptations, invincible, perfect in all respect in carrying out their work and duties, good in deeds, an expertise in speaking and writing, soft, silent and understanding listener, having answers to all the problems that we face. All in all, we expect and look up to them as though they are “everything”. With these outlooks and the importance we gave to our leaders, we also expect them to be as such. Thus, the end results are all regrets for putting them in the hot seats. It also further extends to unnecessary whining and inflammatory remarks and actions that does nothing but painfully afflicts and bring chaos to whom but our very own society. Rather than the leaders, the followers are the one to be held responsible for the mistake in choosing their leaders.

Like their followers, leaders are like children. They are in need of encouragement to keep the fire going on in them. They need to be patted on their shoulders every now and then, for their every good deed done. They need new challenges to explore, invade and bring it to the feet of their followers. And the followers can only provide these challenges. Leaders need to be led by the followers themselves in order to be led by the leaders. If the followers do not take that step to lead their leaders, no leaders can be leaders of their followers. The followers need to sow the seed in their leaders, to reap the harvest in their leaders. The followers need to guide their leaders in achieving the goal of their causes. And I believe this to be the true essence of democracy.

Like the Planeteers, who ever remind us in the “Captain Planet” cartoon series, “The Power is Yours!” The fall and rise of our leaders are in our hands. The final verdict on the fate of the leaders lies entirely on the shoulder of the followers.

Thus, “Everyone is a leader of everyone; everyone a follower of everyone”.

– Lalremlien Neitham
February 27, 2005