Article : MAYOR IS A VERB

By : MAMAT SASMITA                               Indonesian Version
Translated from Indonesian into English by Josephine Natania

 The competition for the position of Bandung’s mayor will be held immediately in the next August, which means Bandung city will have a new mayor. So far, it seems that all the candidates have started to gain supports by making their visions and missions known through having acquaintances with people, the mass media, both printed and electronic, including having a website.

Looking at their visions, it is clear that most of them still use adjectives. For examples, Bandung Tenar (Kreatif[1] Nyaman[2] Sejahtera[3]), Bandung Sejahtera, even there is one said Bermartabat in continuous movement to make a history.
Adjective is a word or compound which is used to give explanation to a verb or a noun.  On the other hand, according to Voltaire, a French poet, adjective is the enemy of verb and noun. Even one said that we always had to feel failed when he uses adverb or adjective, when he cannot find the right verb or noun.”  The changes of this vision and mission came along with the changes of the mayors, from Atlas (Aman[4] Tertib[5] Lancar[6] Sehat[7]), Berhiber (Bersih[8] Hijau[9] Berbunga[10]), Genah Merenah Tumaninah to Bermartabat (Bersih Makmur[11] Taat[12] Bersahabat[13]). We can see that almost every word is an adjective.  We hope that those candidates do not forget the fact that since 1953, Bandung had had a vision called Gemah Ripah Wibawa Mukti, which means fertile the land prosperous the people. This vision can be found in Perda Kota Besar Bandung No.53 Year 1953 in accordance with the symbol of Bandung city. It should have been the real vision of this city, the purpose of the government. The vision of the city should not be changed in the same time with the change of the mayor, but the mission can be changed as the base of operational work in order to achieve the vision.  

 This becomes important so that there is a balance of the work result and the people (Bandung citizen) can feel the effect of it. Otherwise if the symbol of Bandung city and its vision and motto are not in used anymore, then it may be just better to put it down from the city hall.

Speaking about mission as the base of mayor’s work, the mission is supposed to be more oriented to the inside, to the bureaucrats so that their work is better and clearer. It is not for the Bandung citizen, because people will surely obey the good government. The people needn’t need to be stuffed up by vision and mission in every street corner, stickers on cars or everywhere. The most important people to be stuffed up are the bureaucrats themselves. The image of the bureaucrats is falling down with so many corruption cases involving the bureaucrats, isn’t it? Now is the best time then to erase the bad image. Probably it’s just reminds us that According to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (1998), bureaucrat is official workers that work bureaucratically. While the meaning of bureaucracy, still comes from the same source are 1. The system of official rules that is followed by the government official workers in accordance with hierarchy and title, 2.A system that is slow and complicated.

So, for you Misters, who will fight for the position of Bandung mayor in the Regency Election Committee, have a good competition! It is better to roar that the meaning of bureaucrats is not like in the dictionary, moreover like the second meaning. And the word mayor is not a noun or an adjective, but a verb. When the word mayor is understood as a noun, then when you have really got the position, it feels like your job is done. Nevertheless, if it is understood as a verb, it becomes a starting point to reach Gemah Ripah Wibawa Mukti. We hope for that.

(Published in Tribun Jabar newspaper, ed. Saturday August 2^nd 2008, in Podium Rubric)

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[1] Creative

[2] Comfortable

[3] Prosperous

[4] Safe

[5] In order

[6] Clear

[7] Healthy

[8] Clean

[9] Green

[10] Flowery

[11] Prosperous

[12] Loyal

[13] Friendly