Contoh konkrit kerukunan hidup umat Allah yang membawa kesejukan dan kedamaian sejati.
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Hal berbuat dosa - Hawa nafsu dan Penderitaan

Saudara-saudariku,
baiklah sekarang kita belajar untuk menelaah hal apakah yang menyebabkan orang cenderung untuk jatuh ke dalam perbuatan dosa?

Aku membaginya ke dalam dua golongan: orang kaya dan orang miskin.
(catatan: kaya dan miskin di sini dalam arti materi, sama seperti apa yang dimengerti oleh orang banyak ketika setiap kali kedua kata tersebut diucapkan).

Bagi mereka yang sudah berkecukupan materi: apapun kebutuhan fisik hidup yang diperlukan dapat dipenuhi dari penghasilannya. Kalau mereka masih cenderung untuk jatuh ke dalam perbuatan dosa, tidak lain dikarenakan oleh sebab hawa nafsunya. Baik nafsu mendapatkan kekuasaan, kedudukkan, uang, maupun nafsu syahwatnya. Adalah sifat dasar (negatif) manusia yang tidak pernah merasa puas.

Bagi mereka yang masih berkekurangan materi: penghasilannya tidak mencukupi bahkan sekalipun sudah dihemat-hemat sedemikian rupa. Mereka cenderung jatuh ke dalam perbuatan dosa disebabkan oleh karena tidak tahan penderitaan. Mereka lebih memilih mencuri daripada kelaparan. Mereka lebih memilih korupsi u/ dapat "hidup lebih layak" drpd hidup sederhana atau mungkin sangat sederhana.

Oleh sebab itu pada waktu khotbah di bukit yang terkenal itu, Yesus berkata:
"Berbahagialah orang yang miskin di hadapan Allah, karena merekalah yang empunya Kerajaan Sorga"
"Berbahagialah orang yang berdukacita (menderita), karena mereka akan dihibur"
"Berbahagialah orang yang lemah lembut, karena mereka akan memiliki bumi"
"Berbahagialah orang yang lapar dan haus akan kebenaran, karena mereka akan dipuaskan"
"Berbahagialah orang yang murah hatinya, karena mereka akan beroleh kemurahan"
"Berbahagialah orang yang suci hatinya, karena mereka akan melihat Allah"
"Berbahagialah orang yang membawa damai, karena mereka akan disebut anak-anak Allah"
"Berbahagialah orang yang dianiaya oleh sebab kebenaran, karena merekalah yang empunya Kerajaan Sorga"
"Berbahagialah kamu, jika karena Aku kamu dicela dan dianiaya dan kepadamu difitnahkan segala yang jahat.
Bersukacita dan bergembiralah, karena upahmu besar di Sorga, sebab demikian juga telah dianiaya nabi-nabi yang sebelum kamu."

Ipin & Upin

Di salah satu minggu dalam masa pra-Paskah yang lalu dalam kotbahnya Romo bercerita tentang dua sahabat yang bernama Ipin & Upin. Si Ipin punya kebiasaan berkata "itu baik" terhadap hal-hal yang agak mengejutkan. Suatu ketika kedua sahabat itu pergi berburu. Disaat mereka berburu timbul kecelakaan yang menyebabkan jari tangan Upin buntung. Dan ini disebabkan oleh kesalahan si Ipin.

Sementara Upin sangat kesakitan, Ipin (karena kebiasaannya) secara spontan malah berkata "itu baik". Perkataan Ipin ini yang biasanya tidak dianggap terlalu serius oleh si Upin, kali ini dianggap tidak bersahabat dan sangat mengecewakan. Lha wong sahabatnya sudah kehilangan jari tangannya malah masih dikatakan "itu baik". Upin tidak terima, dan melaporkan peristiwa tersebut kepada polisi dengan tuduhan kelalaian yang menyebabkan orang lain cacat. Pendek cerita, akhirnya Ipin masuk penjara karena kelalaiannya itu.

Sementara Ipin di penjara, Upin bergabung dengan kelompok relawan yang melakukan ekspedisi di Afrika. Singkat cerita, ia tertangkap oleh kelompok suku asli di pedalaman Afrika yang punya tradisi mempersembahkan nyawa seseorang pada saat upacara adat mereka kepada allah mereka. Karena Upin mejadi tahanan mereka, maka Upin yang "terpilih" untuk dipersembahkan. Ketika mereka hendak memulai upacara "penyembelihan" mereka menemukan Upin ada cacatnya (yaitu jari tangannya sudah tidak komplit lagi) dan hal ini merupakan pantangan bagi suku tersebut untuk mempersembahkan sesuatu yang cacat kepada allah mereka. Maka Upin tidak jadi "disembelih" dan akhirnya dilepaskan.

Kembali ke Indonesia Upin teringat akan Ipin yang telah dipenjarakannya. Upin menemui Ipin di penjara dan menyatakan penyesalannya karena sebetulnya Ipinlah yang telah menyelamatkannya dari "sembelihan" suku di pedalaman Afrika. Mendengar pernyataan Upin, lagi-lagi secara spontan Ipin berkata "itu baik". "Untung aku di penjara, jadi aku tidak ikut kamu ke Afrika. Coba kalau aku tidak di penjara, akulah yang akan disembelih di sana"

Saudara-saudaraku, dari cerita di atas jelaslah bahwa apa yang direncanakan oleh Allah seringkali berbeda dengan "logic thinking" kita dan seringkali dimulai dengan hal-hal yang bagi kita manusia tidak menyenangkan alias suatu penderitaan tetapi yang akan berakhir dengan kebahagiaan. Namun sayangnya seringkali "akal sehat" kita tidak dapat menerimanya dan kita tidak tahan penderitaan yang "membutakan" mata kita terhadap sesuatu yang baik yang sedang direncanakan oleh Allah untuk kita.

Marilah kita selalu belajar untuk tetap tersenyum disaat kita mengalami penderitaan karena penderitaan itu (apabila kita sanggup menjalaninya dengan baik) akan membawa kebahagiaan. Dan sebaliknya hendaklah kita tidak tertawa terlalu lebar disaat kita menikmati kebahagiaan. Bahkan berilah unsur kesedihan disaat kita "menyelami" kenikmatan duniawi karena seringkali kenikmatan tersebut malah berujung kepada malapetaka.

Bahwa sesuatu yang kelihatannya baik belum tentu baik adanya. Dan sebaliknya sesuatu yang kelihatannya buruk belum tentu buruk adanya. Baiklah kita untuk selalu dapat mengambil hikmah positif dari setiap apa yang kita alami. Di dalam suatu kejadian yang dianggap buruk selalu ada hal positif yang dapat diambil. Demikian sebaliknya di dalam suatu kejadian yang dianggap baik selalu saja ada hal buruknya yang harus diwaspadai.

Itulah sebabnya mengapa Yesus mengajarkan kepada kita:
"Kasihilah sesamamu manusia seperti dirimu sendiri"
bahkan kasihilah musuhmu, berdoalah untuk keselamatannya.
"Janganlah menuntut pembalasan, sebab pembalasan itu adalah hak Tuhan"
Salam Damai Sejahtera dalam Yesus Kristus.

Mother's Womb is in fact the most frequent killing field

How many people are being killed by accidents?
How many people are being killed because of narcotics?
How many people are being killed due to natural disasters?
How many people are killed in wars and alike?
and how many kids are killed because of fornication and carnal lust which is outnumber the all above causes?
Where is the place those kids are killed?

The place is Mother's Womb.

And this killing is not only done by adulterers outside a marriage, but in fact is also done by many married couples who pratise birth control artificially and even naturally.
So be sure each time a married couple wanna have sex it is more as the expression of love rather than the satisfaction of lust. Having the element of procreation or open to possibility of conception each time a married couple unites become 'one flesh' is the best practice.

Busway Proyek Gagal

Jalur busway telah 'merampas' hak publik yang membayar pajak. Akibat pembangunan jalur busway, jalur arteri jadi berantakan. Tiga jalur tiba-tiba mendadak jadi dua jalur yang bukan saja jadi menimbulkan kemacetan kerena bottleneck tapi juga menjadi rawan kecelakaan karena manuver yang tajam. Entah sudah berapa banyak kecelakaan terjadi di jalur busway bahkan semenjak sebelum jalur tersebut difungsikan.

Lebih jauh, penggunaannya tidak efisien. Jalur sudah lama ada, namun busnya gak muncul-muncul lebih dari 2 tahun (contoh koridor 9 PGC - Pluit ataupun Pinang Ranti - Pluit). Sekarang sudah ada busnya tetapi jumlahnya sangat tidak mencukupi, sehingga penumpang di dalam bus berdesakan laksana ikan sarden'. Jalurnya pun menjadi mubazir karena hanya sekali-sekali dilalui busnya. Sementara di arteri kendaraan berdesak-desakkan. Akibatnya para pengemudi sepeda motor banyak yang menggunakan jalur busway, kucing-kucingan dengan petugas, masuk dan keluar jalur busway menembus pemisah jalur di berbagai tempat, yang sebenarnya berbahaya baik bagi pengemudi motor itu sendiri dan juga mobil yang dipotongnya. Ini merupakan pemandangan setiap pagi.

Parahnya lagi, Dishub pemda DKI dengan sangat 'bijaksana' mengeluarkan peraturan baru yaitu menghapus trayek bus reguler yang tumpang tindih dengan busway. Sok-sokan, emangnya buswaynya sudah memadai? Kapasitas angkutnya saja jauh dari cukup. Apalagi mau bicara soal kenyamanannya.

Dulu, idenya sih dengan adanya busway diharapkan orang-orang berdasi yang bermobil mau beralih ke busway. Alih-alih orang berdasi, wong ndeso lan berdosa seperti saya pun jadi males naik busway. Saya pernah coba naik busway lho, ternyata sangat tidak nyaman. Antrinya lama, dorong-dorongan, sesudah berada di dalam bus... dempet-dempetan seperti bandeng cue'. Ada saja setiap harinya penumpang yang protes kepada awak busway terutama pada jam pulang kantor karena sudah antri berjam-jam di sebuah shelter, namun saat busnya datang tidak bisa ikut naik karena jumlah penumpang yang naik dibatasi oleh awak bus. Namun sang awak dengan enteng menjawab, "telpon saja ke nomor pengaduan, jangan protes ke saya". Betul juga!

Namun demikian ada juga sih yang senang naik busway, yaitu mereka yang ingin cari 'kesempatan' dalam kesempitan.

Amerika Salah Satu Sumber Masalah Dunia

Kekuasaan Tuhan "ditantang"
Amerika adalah salah satu negeri di mana Setan berhasil menjalankan misinya. Dengan segala kemajuan duniawinya Amerika telah "menantang" kekuasaan Tuhan. Banyak hal-hal buruk yang dihasilkan oleh Amerika disamping hal-hal yang baik. Kemajuan teknologi media telah meracuni umat di dunia. Film-film Hollywood isinya melulu soal kekerasan, tokoh idol dan sex. Lebih banyak mengedepankan ajaran setan drpd ajaran Tuhan. Sepertinya filmnya tidak akan laku kalau tidak ada kekerasan. Lebih banyak orang memuja tokoh idolanya dalam film seperti Superman, Spiderman, Harry Potter, Lord of The Ring maupun dalam berbagai pertunjukkan seperti American Idol, America Got Talent, dll. drpd memuja Tuhan. Lebih jauh isi cerita Harry Potter melulu soal okultisme yang merupakan kekejian bagi Tuhan. Tetapi hal ini dianggap biasa saja oleh publik sebagai cerita fiksi dan tokoh Harry Potter menjadi idola bukan saja anak-anak tetapi juga orang dewasa. Penulis bukunya pun, seorang perempuan bernama JK Rowling asal Inggris, mendadak menjadi tenar dan kaya. Lebih parah lagi, buku Harry Potter dikelompokkan sebagai buku anak-anak. Tuntas sudah misi setan meracuni manusia sejak masih kanak-kanak.

Entah berapa juta bayi setiap tahunnya terbunuh oleh praktek aborsi. Entah berapa banyak orang/keluarga yang hidupnya berantakan karena kalah di meja judi. Entah berapa banyak anak-anak menjadi korban penipuan dan kejahatan lain melalui media elektronik yang semuanya menyenangkan si jahat. Semakin tua umur bumi, manusia dan sekelilingnya semakin dikuasai oleh perbuatan-perbuatan jahat. Semakin banyak orangtua yang semakin terlihat masa bodoh terhadap pendidikan moral anak-anaknya, karena mereka sendiri, turun temurun, semakin tidak mengerti hal baik apa yang harus mereka ajarkan kepada anak-anak mereka.

Sex, Sex dan Sex
Semakin banyak orang kumpul kebo, remaja putri hamil, remaja putri melahirkan anak 'kecelakaan' dan menjadi single parent muda. Angka perceraian yang terus meningkat. Bintang-bintang filmnya selalu saja berpakaian yang mengumbar 'pesona' dan nafsu birahi. Belahan buah dada dan (maaf) puting susunya serta (maaf lagi) pangkal pahanya menjadi menu keseharian yang dapat dilihat baik di dalam film-film yang mereka bintangi maupun di berbagai arena festival. Mereka melulu mencari ketenaran duniawi dan 'mengajarkan' kawin cerai.

Penularan
Berkat kebijakan dominasinya dan didukung oleh industri media cetak dan elektroniknya yang sangat maju, dari Amerika kejahatan ini dengan cepat menular ke berbagai negara. Setan tambah senang karena pengikutnya bertambah banyak dalam waktu singkat. Indonesia selalu saja belajar menjadi "murid yang baik dan pintar". Dengan cepat belajar dari 'ketinggalannya'. Artis-artisnya pun banyak yang ikut-ikutan kawin cerai, bak (maaf) ayam atau bebek. Cara berpakaian dan penampilannya pun tak jauh beda. Para orangtua di Indonesia berbangga bila dapat menyajikan tontonan asal Amerika atau apapun yang berasal dari sana, kepada anak-anak mereka, karena Amerika identik dengan simbol 'keberhasilan'. Saking dalam dan luasnya pengaruh Amerika di sini, sampai sampai para pengembang perumahan pun berlomba-lomba memakai apa-apa yang berbau Amerika termasuk nama-nama jalan dan kluster-kluster yang mereka bangun berbau Amerika.

Besar Memakan Kecil
Perusahaan-perusahaan besar Amerika menjadi sumber lain malapetaka dunia. Mereka sangat royal membayar gaji CEOnya dengan jumlah uang yang fantastis besarnya sekalipun tidak ada performanya bahkan perusahaannya bangkrut seperti Lehman Brothers. Di lain pihak, dengan lobi-lobinya, mereka 'merampas' uang dari orang banyak dan lemah dengan cara mendominasi setiap kegiatan ekonomi yang tentu saja dibungkus dengan peraturan-peraturan resmi yang tidak bertentangan dengan undang-undang buatan manusia, sekalipun bertentangan keras dengan kehendak Allah. Tidak ada kasih di dalamnya, yang ada hanyalah hukum rimba; yang kuat 'memakan' yang lemah. Pemerintah Amerika sendiri telah mengeluarkan triliunan dollar untuk mem 'bail out' perusahan-perusahan raksasa Amerika yang terancam bangkrut oleh salahnya sendiri. Rakyat Amerikalah yang disuruh menanggung akibatnya. Hingga setiap bayi yang baru lahir di Amerika sudah menanggung utang sekian ratus ribu dollar. Masih mending kalau utang tersebut adalah utang orangtuanya. Lha ini utang perusahaan-perusahaan raksasa yang biasa 'menghisap darah' orang banyak dengan berbagai instrument finansial dan turunannya. Ingat subprime mortgage akhir 2008, dosa siapakah itu? yang akhirnya menjadi beban orang banyak? bukan saja orang Amerika tetapi juga negara-negara lain yang membelinya.
Lain halnya jika ada individu Amerika yang bangkrut, apakah pemerintah Amerika mau mem-bail out utangnya? Hampir pasti tidak! Mengapa? Karena bila dibantupun tidak akan ada efeknya (atau efeknya tidak akan terasa karena kecilnya) bagi ekonomi Amerika. Jadi yang besar selalu mendapat perlakuan istimewa (priviledge). Hal mana terjadi juga di negara-negara lain. Itulah kenapa Yesus selalu menghibur orang kecil dan lemah. Oleh sebab itu "Berbahagialah mereka yang miskin di hadapan Allah... (u/lanjutannya silakan baca Matius 5: 1-12 dan Lukas 16: 19-25).

Murid yang Baik
Pemerintah Indonesia belajar menjadi "murid" yang baik. Ambil saja masalah BBM. Dengan dalih pengurangan beban subsidi harga BBM akan dinaikkan. Siapa yang paling senang bila harga jual BBM dinaikkan? Tentu saja raksasa-raksasa minyak seperti Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, Total, dll, karena omzet penjualan SPBU mereka pasti akan meningkat. Dan siapa yang paling menderita? Tak lain adalah masyarakat kelas bawah, golongan ekonomi lemah dan miskin. Rakyat Indonesia dipaksa oleh pemerintahnya membeli BBM dengan harga Internasional. Di bawah lobi-lobi si kuat pemerintah berusaha tutup mata terhadap fakta bahwa pendapatan per kapita rakyat Indonesia jauh di bawah Amerika dan sekutunya. Boleh-boleh saja harga BBM naik. Tetapi naikkan dulu donk pendapatan per kapita rakyatnya. Boleh-boleh saja BBM naik. Tetapi kurangi dulu donk kemacetan Jakarta dan benahi aparatnya. Sediakan dulu angkutan umum yang memadai. Kalau tidak, harga yang sekarang Rp4500/liter pun sudah mahal. Lha 1 liter cuma cukup untuk jalan 3-5km. Bandingkan dengan tetangga kita Singapura yang Rp14000/liter (ini bensin setara Pertamax lho) tapi cukup untuk jalan 12km. Ternyata BBM di Jakarta tidak lebih murah dibanding BBM di Singapura. Lha sudah tidak murah malah mau dinaikkan?

"What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Note: To those who are American, please do not misunderstand me. I wrote this because I love you all. It's not only America but also many other nations must repent and follow the God's ten commandments and practise Jesus Christ's teaching of love, mercy and charity.

Kalahkanlah Kejahatan dengan Kebaikan

Janganlah membalas kejahatan dengan kejahatan; lakukanlah apa yang baik bagi semua orang! Sedapat-dapatnya, kalau hal itu bergantung padamu, hiduplah dalam perdamaian dengan semua orang! Janganlah kamu sendiri menuntut pembalasan, tetapi berilah tempat kepada murka Allah, sebab ada tertulis: Pembalasan itu adalah hakKu. Akulah yang akan menuntut pembalasan, firman Tuhan. Tetapi jika seterumu lapar, berilah dia makan; jika ia haus, berilah ia minum! Dengan berbuat demikian kamu menumpukkan bara api di atas kepalanya. Janganlah kamu kalah terhadap kejahatan, tetapi kalahkanlah kejahatan dengan kebaikan.

Roh jauh lebih penting drpd Badan

Pandangan umum yang berlaku adalah "tidak ada agama yang mengajarkan sesuatu yang jelek". Itu benar. Dan saya pribadi menyatakan bahwa "tidak ada seorangpun yang tahu akan ke manakah jiwanya setelah meninggalkan dunia ini, sekalipun ia yakin bahwa dirinya pasti akan masuk surga". Karena hal masuk surga atau neraka adalah hak mutlak Tuhan Allah untuk memutuskannya, bukan manusia. Mereka yang dalam hidupnya kelihatan selalu menjalankan hal-hal yang baik saja belum tentu masuk surga. Apalagi mereka yang jelas-jelas selalu memusuhi sesamanya dengan alasan apapun.
Di "negeri impian" kita ini ada saja segelintir pihak-pihak yang selalu mengedepankan kekerasan dengan mengatasnamakan agama atau suku tertentu. Ada juga yang melakukan kekerasan demi memenuhi hawa nafsu (ambisi)nya baik uang, kedudukan, maupun kekuasaan duniawi dan juga tidak ketinggalan nafsu syahwatnya. Kekerasan (apapun alasannya) bukan berasal dari yang baik, melainkan dari si jahat (setan). Kekerasan hanya dilakukan oleh mereka yang belum memahami ajaran agamanya secara benar. Mereka selalu menganggap dirinyalah yang paling benar. Padahal, jangankan berbuat kekerasan, menganggap diri sendiri yang paling benar saja sudah suatu dosa karena merupakan kesombongan yang tidak disukai oleh Tuhan. Apalagi menganiaya atau bahkan membunuh sesamanya (sesama manusia). Orang-orang seperti ini mengklaim yang paling mengenal Tuhan, padahal mereka sama sekali tidak mengenalNya. Dan karena mereka tidak mengenalNya maka Dia pun tidak akan mengenal mereka.
Berdasarkan pengamatan sebagian besar orang menjalankan agama/kepercayaannya menurut keinginan badannya, lebih mengedepankan segi lahiriahnya. Mangkanya jadi banyak salah tafsir terhadap ayat-ayat yang ada di dalam kitab suci. Padahal roh yang melatarbelakangi ayat-ayat tersebutlah yang harus lebih diperhatikan. "Janganlah takut terhadap mereka yang hanya dapat membinasakan tubuh, tetapi takutlah kepada Dia yang dapat membinasakan bukan saja tubuh tetapi juga jiwa". Tetapi sayangnya seringkali kita, termasuk para pemimpin negeri ini, lebih takut terhadap yang pertama. Inilah salah satu tanda-tanda akhir zaman. Baiklah bagi kita yang percaya (apapun latarbelakangnya), berjaga-jagalah selalu, persiapkanlah diri kita sebaik-baiknya, supaya jiwa kita, sewaktu meninggalkan dunia ini, berkenan di mata Tuhan. Amin.

Andai saya jadi penguasa tertinggi di Indonesia

Andai saya menjadi penguasa tertinggi di negeri yang katanya (menurut saya bukan katanya, tetapi memang seharusnya) "gema ripah loh jinawi" ini, saya hanya akan melakukan 3 hal tapi dengan teramat sungguh-sungguh bukan ngomong doang, yaitu:

1) Pemberantasan korupsi dan penegakan hukum.

2) Pembangunan infra struktur yang memadai di seluruh wilayah Indonesia.

3) Perubahan mendasar moral seluruh pegawai negeri dan aparat pemerintahan dari mentalitas "majikan" menjadi mentalitas "pelayan".

Untuk hal-hal lain di luar ketiga hal di atas saya gak perlu ngurusin, karena saya hakul yakin kalau ketiga hal di atas dilaksanakan dengan baik, hal-hal lain akan berjalan dengan sendirinya secara baik pula dan dimana swasta dapat lebih berperan.

Jadi waktu, pikiran dan energi saya akan saya fokuskan kepada ketiga hal di atas. Hal-hal lain biar diurus oleh menteri-menteri saya dengan memperbesar partisipasi rekan-rekan dari swasta.

Setuju?
Pilih saya jadi presiden 2014-2019, maka ketiga hal di atas akan jadi kenyataan, bukan lagi hanya sekedar mimpi seperti yang selama ini terjadi. Tapi siapa yang mau milih saya ya? Emange nyong sapa?

"What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

Year 2010 Economic growth and Inflation rate

China:
- year 2010 economic growth was 10.3%,
- while inflation rate was only 3.3%.
Inflation was much below its economic growth, but even this has made China government busy with a series of concrete action to curb inflation and a little bit cool down its economy.

Indonesia:
- year 2010 economic growth was 6%,
- year 2010 inflation rate was 6.96%.
Inflation was 0.96% higher than economic growth, yet government plans to raise fuel price and might also electricity tariff?

Beware of the next economic crash - which is a big collapse

The big problem was stemmed from US.
A few months end of 2008 the world's news were dominated by Sub Prime Mortgage issue which was actually stemmed from and happened in US. However, it quickly spread all over the world as a result of its vast exposures to many banks and financial institutions in many other countries, which bought debts related to the sub prime mortgage, with expectation of getting some "cuan" but finally ending with big losses.
Many big names in the US (AIG, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, General Motors, Ford, etc.) plunged into financial difficulties and some even declared bankrupt in their effort to avoid their obligations. The Fed and US treasury were "pusing seven round" and arrived in a decision to bail out ("menalangi") the debts. Was it success? My answer is "NO". We see after 2 years the US economic is still not recovered yet. Unemployment rate is still high close to 10%. In a country where economic is heavily supported by the spending of its people, the jobless data is very important. In his frustration the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke introducing the so called "Quantitative Easing" by buying US government's bond & obligations in order to stimuli the economy by adding a substantial liquidity to the market. This QE is made simply with newly printed green-buck (without any increment in the Fed's Gold reserve to back up the money?). I think this is a biggest bet in history the Fed has ever made, with the US nothing to lose position. Why? USD is still the world's major currency which is still well accepted all over the world. Till now there is no other single currency which can take over the place of the USD. All countries in the world keep the green-buck as their foreign reserve. So if US has to go bankrupt (which is in fact I think it has been bankrupt technically), so would many other countries. US knows this, that the world can't afford the US bankruptcy.
The problem with QE is there will be excessive liquidity in the market which will affect not only the US but also the world especially emerging markets (Asia). This would make economy bubbling which eventually collapse.

China could be another problem.
With its double digit economic growth China is running up its staircase dangerously fast ("Menaiki anak tangga dengan cepat bahaya ya?"). If China can't control its inflation amid its high growth its economy would make a hard landing from a bubbling condition. As "anything want-to-eat" country, a sudden change in China economy will affect the world's economy seriously. Economic would face a sudden contraction as demand for all commodities would be suddenly dip.

The next economic collapse (which is very close) will be more likely triggered by the US rather than by China. China is now making its serious effort to curb inflation.

So how we are all related to all of the above?
Prepare yourselves to protect your assets. How?
Buy GOLD and/or SILVER.
Why Gold/Silver?

Their prices will surge tremendously by the time economic is collapsing.

The Fed or any central bank in the world can print money (which is in fact a merely paper if not supported by gold reserve), That is human's money. However, no body can print Gold/Silver. These two are in fact "God's money"
FYI, China central bank is gradually reducing its position in USD by buying gold. So China is also trying hard to reduce its exposure to the risky USD.

I prefer Silver to Gold, because:

Gold is only used as jewelry particularly by Indian people and recently by the Chinese, besides its traditional role as central banks' reserve.

Silver, other than used as jewelry, it is also used by many industries from mirror, photography, electric/electronic, medical to fuel cell, etc. which is due to its unique properties which is not replaceable by any other materials in most of its applications.

In the last 14 years the production of silver is less than its consumption. The shortage is made from the existing stocks which is depleted.
The price of silver is still undervalued so much as compared to gold. It should be around 1/16, which is now still about 1/47 the price of gold.
However, either silver or gold you choose, they would still make your asset undiluted (even becomes higher) over the time even in normal time (no economic collapse).

Gold and silver prices have been advanced so much in recent years.
Now there is some correction to their prices as a result of better jobless rate data (9.7%) and other US economic indicators, which is actually cosmetical (as a result of over liquidity created by the Fed). Soon their prices will go up again. If crude oil price surges, gold and silver will rise.

See just a little better economic data of the US, the USD rise so much against other currencies. Investors start to increase their position in USD. But a big jump in Indonesia macro economic data doesn't really mean anything to rupiah. "Woow ... rupiah oh rupiah, nasibmu selalu merana".

BI dikatakan selalu mengawal rupiah. Rupiah gak boleh menguat, takut menghambat ekspor. Inilah kebijakan yang amburadul. Daya saing ekspor harusnya dibuat dengan cara menciptakan low cost economy dengan menghilangkan berbagai pungutan yang gak jelas, dengan mentalitas pegawai negeri yang melayani publik seperti di Singapura, bukan dengan memelihara rupiah tetap murah. Pantes aja nilainya merosot terus, sampai jadi kebanyakkan nolnya sehingga bikin repot semua dan sekarang ribut-ribut mau di-redenominasi?

Tahun 1975 Yuan 1 = Rp 80 (sekarang Yuan 1 = Rp 1500).
Tahun 1996 USD 1 = Rp 2200 (sekarang USD 1 = Rp 9000).
Tahun 1996 SGD 1 = Rp 1400 (sekarang SGD 1 = Rp 7000).

wuala mak...

Disclaimer: The above is my personal opinion and not an invitation to purchase/invest in anything. The author bears no liabilities to any losses and accept no claim whatsoever from the use of those information/opinion.

Seven Deadly Sins

Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity. Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities, or situation. Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires. Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body. Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath. Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness. Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

Catatan: Lust termasuk apabila melakukan hubungan sex hanya untuk memenuhi nafsu dan kenikmatan tubuh semata, sekalipun dilakukan oleh pasutri sah (di dalam naungan lembaga pernikahan). Apalagi mereka yang melakukan kawin sirih, sudah jelas tujuannya bukan?

"What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

www.prophecyfilm.com

Saint Bridget's Revelation

To those who believe in God, please visit this website: www.prophecyfilm.com
Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

The Importance of Human Capital to A Company

Company who doesn't pay enough attention to its human capital won't be able to survive. Human resource is the most critical and important asset of a company. It is their people who make the difference between one company to another. A merit system of employment is a crucial thing to bring the company to its highest performance possibly. Company should know how to maintain the best employees it has. To appreciate them and give rewards to those who deserve without being asked for. On the other hand company should be decisive to award an early retirement to those who are not perform and often only as trouble maker. Otherwise they will give bad influences to other good employees. It is wise to give reward to good performing employees but a big mistake to maintain the bad ones.

A reward in form of bonus, incentive, promotion or whatever appropriate to a deserve staff will affect the rest of the staffs positively. They will not be jealous if the reward is given based on the fact and not because of like/dislike. Even they will also try to do their best in order to be rewarded the same as their colleague. In turn it will boost the overall performance of company. Leader of company should never take advantage of employee's weaker position. All of employees must be treated equally regardless their social background. The evaluation must be solely based on his performance, contribution to company. Bias must be avoided to the best effort. A leader who practise like and dislike or even over protective to some of his staffs without any reasonable justification would eventually kill himself.

Leader in company should be sensitive enough to know what is going on with his best employees. Are they happy in their work? Are they motivated enough in doing their work to the best they could? Do not wait till employee tender a resignation letter then company just give a sudden great attention to that employee and make him/her a king/queen of the day. It's most likely has been too late besides it doesn't give a good image to the company. Leader must not make any promise to employee if he can not deliver his promise. Once promise is given it must be fulfilled at all cost.

HR manager should play its main role in balancing the employees and employer interests. He has to stand in the middle of the line. He may not side to employer just because where he get his paid from. Nor he may stand behind his direct boss or the staffs with higher rank against the lower ones just to play safe for himself. He has to play his role as HR, not just doing administrative work. He must think the most on how to create condusive atmosphere and comfortable working environment through HR matters.

In short I would like to say that a good company must have these three fundamental elements (written in order of importance): capable employees, unbiased HR practice and good system.

Is Your Insurance Premium Fair?

Last month I received a letter from an Insurance company informed me S$174.96 has been deducted from my CPF account for one year premium of ElderShield insurance. It is stated that all CPF members (Singaporeans and Permanent Residents) with Medisave accounts are automatically covered under ElderShield when he/she enters 40 years old. The yearly premium is fixed over 26 years till age 65 with coverage extended only till age 85. It covers "severe disability" that refers to the inability to perform at least 3 of the following activities of Daily Living, even with the aid of special equipment, and to always require the physical assistance of another person throughout the entire activity. These activities are washing, dressing, feeding, toileting, mobility and transferring.

ElderShield provides a monthly cash payout of max. S$400 for a maximum of 72 months to help pay the out-of-pocket expenses for the care of severely disabled person. It is estimated that as many as one in 12 elderly persons suffer from disabilities as a result of ageing or illnes which render them incapable of doing simple daily activities.

After simple calculation I found the $ premium is considered too high. Please look into the following calculation and decide yourself if it is fair or not.

Annual premium is S$174.96 over 26 years --> total = S$4,548.96. That is not yet take into account their interests and their compounded interest over the years.

Starting pay premium at age of 40. At 4% interest (CPF-Medisave), an annuity of S$174.96/year over 26 years will become how much at age of 65? Simply by using this annuity-due formula S = R[((1+i)^n+1 - 1)/i] - R
It will become, S = 174.96[((1+4%)^26+1 - 1)/4%] - 174.96 = S$8,062.89

It is estimated that as many as one in 12 elderly persons will suffer from severe disability. So we are 12 persons (please regard us as a family of 12) will have paid
= 12 x S$8,062.89 = S$96,754.68 when we reach 65 year-old.

Then say one of the twelve become disable at age of 70. At age 70, the S$96,754.68 above (with 4% interest) will become = 96,754.68(1+4%)^5 = S$117,716.86
Insurance Company will get S$117,716.86 when our (the twelve elderly persons) ages reach 70 year-old.

Say one of the twelve will get the MAXIMUM i.e. S$400/month over 72 months (from age 70 to age 76). So total will get S$400 x 72 = S$28,800.00 which is ended at age 76.
The present value (at age 70) of S$28,800.00 = 28,800.00/(1+4%)^6 = S$22,761.06

*** Insurance Company will SURELY COLLECT S$117,716.86 and SPEND MAXIMUM only S$22,761.06 ***

It could be that none of those 12 elderly suffers from severe dissabilities; or he suffers but less than 3 kinds of daily living activities so that not eligible to claim).

According to my opinion, as long as INSURANCE is given to PROFIT ORIENTED organizations to manage, it will be based on ACTUARY calculation. So the end goal is to make PROFIT as high as possible. INSURANCE is GOOD if and only if it is managed by a state body which is NON-PROFIT ORIENTED. So there is a COOPERATIVE and COLLECTIVE SPIRITS. Thus the premium definitely would become much lower.

People would be very much obliged if her Highness Singapore Government is willing to manage insurances in non-profitably way especially the ones that are targeted for elderly.

I know the importance of insurance and I fully support its existence. Only I don't agree the way it is managed. That's the reason why I decided to opt-out from ElderShield.

OFFICE POLITICS - ARE YOU TOO SMART FOR YOUR OWN GOOD?

weekend TODAY • August 25 - 26, 2007 31
Knowledge can be a bad thing, if others are taking credit for it
DR MANOJ THULASIDAS

TECHNICAL knowledge is not always a good thing for you in the modern workplace. Unless you are careful, others will take advantage of your expertise and dump their responsibilities on you. You may not mind it as long as they respect your expertise. But,they often hog the credit for your work and present their ability to evade work as people management skills. People management is better rewarded than technical expertise. This differentiation between experts and middle level managers in terms of rewards is an Asian phenomenon. Here, those who present the work seem to get the credit for it, regardless of who actually performs it. We live in a place and time where articulation is often mistaken for accomplishments. In the West, technical knowledge is more readily recognised than smooth presentations. You don't have to look beyond Bill Gates to appreciate the heights to which technical expertise can take you in the West. Of course, Gates is more than an expert; he is a leader of great vision as well. Leaders are different from people managers. Leaders provide inspiration and direction. They are so realy needed in all organisations, big and small. They are not to be confused with middle-level folks who keep harping on the "big picture", the "value-chain" and such, and spend all their working hours in meetings. Why should they get such hefty salaries when they know and do so little?Technical experts are smart cookies. They can easily see that if they want to be people managers, they can get started with a tie and a good haircut. If the pickings are rich, why wouldn't they? Going the other way is a lot harder, though. For a pure people manager to become a technical expert, it takes a lot more than losing the tie. But why would anybody want to be an expert in the current corporate climate here? Slim pickings, really. Is it time to hide your knowledge, get that haircut, knot that tie, and become a people manager? It comes down to your personal choice. Knowledge gives you technical authority and a sense of indispensability. But it also sets you up for a stunted career progression. So, the choice is between fulfilment and satisfaction on the one hand, and convenience and promotions on the other. I wonder whether we have already made our choices, even in our personal lives. We find fathers who cannot get the hang of changing diapers or of household chores. Is it likely that men cannot figure out washing machines although they can operate complicated machinery at work? We also find women who can not balance their accounts or estimate their spending. Is it really a mathematical impairment, or a matter of convenience? At times, the lack of knowledge is as potent a weapon as its abundance. Yes, knowledge is a double-edged sword. Use it wisely.

The writer is a scientist from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern), who currently heads OCBC’s Quantitative Analytics team. His internationally-acclaimed book, The Unreal Universe, is available in local bookstores and at www.TheUnrealUniverse.com

Three Pillars in Your Life

As per subject “Three Pillars in Your Life”, I would like to elaborate it to you. It's a bit philosophical.

Ad 1) Destiny, --> totally out of your controlThis pillar is originated from heaven. Each person has his own destiny either considered good or bad. Some is born to a rich family and some other to poor parents; some born in a developed and neat country like Singapore and some other in developing or even underdeveloped and troubled state like Afghanistan. Along your way you may desperately wish something but you never get it. On the other hand you get something you've never expected. Some incidents are not causality. That's destiny. You can't change it. Nothing you can do about it. Let's call it “luck” factor.

Ad 2) Harmony, --> some under your control; some not
This is about the level of suitability of relationship between you and your environment. You must live in a way that create and maintain good harmony with your surroundings. Good harmony will give you positive supports, mentally and psychologically, in whatever you do. This is important for your spiritual well being that may also affect your physical condition. Not all you know about harmony you can practice it. There is some disharmony you can't avoid or some good harmony you can't implement. There are quite a few of occurrences you might not understand logically but you feel it, witness it, or even experience it. Normally the more your age and life experiences the more mature you are in achieving your harmony.

Ad 3) Effort, --> totally under your control
Your effort is totally under your authority. You are the master of your mind and action. You can practice and implement it in your daily life. Good effort must have the qualities of diligent, expend, flexible, trustworthy, passionate, perseverance and if possible resourceful. Do your best whatever under your control for it is your opportunity. Otherwise you would regret yourself later since you didn't make your maximum effort that actually you could. Those properties are centralized in the quality of your creativity.

Creative Personality

What are the psychological attributes of the creator? Researchers who look at creativity from personality perspective have identified a number of attributes. First, the creator displays a genuine passion for what he is doing. Second, because of his passion, the creator is willing to expend a lot of time and energy to realize his goals. Third, he has a high tolerance of ambiguity, i.e., he can live with a lot of uncertainties during the whole creative problem-solving process. Fourth, he is willing to take calculated risks in the task. Fifth, the creator is attracted to deep and complex ideas, and has broad rather than narrow interests in life. Sixth, he is an open person, i.e., he is willing to seek out and undergo different experiences. Finally, the creator is very confident in what he is doing, and behaves with a lot of independence and autonomy as a person.

Being open to his experience in this world, having broad interests in life and being attracted to deep and complex ideas enable the creator to develop and make use of complex mental models to solve problems in the real world. However, as far as creative work is concerned, these complex mental models are not sufficient by themselves. This is eventually must be translated into concrete action. In the process, the creator will encounter a lot of obstacles to the unconventional solution which he proposes. To overcome these obstacles, the creator needs to be passionate and committed to his work, to take calculated risks, as well as to persevere in the face of severe obstacles. The going will get especially tough when the creator faces social resistance of his community. In such a situation, the creator needs to display great autonomy, independence and confidence in what he is doing; otherwise he will succumb to the pressure to conform to his community.

Low inflation rate - A success?

Asian countries have woke up from 1997 economic crisis. They have more than 3 trillions US dollars in their foreign reserve, a spectacular figure never ever before. Many of them showing good macro economic indicators. Though inflation rate seems well under control, to me this relatively low inflation is a question mark. I'd like to highlight countries with high unemployment rate and people who live under poverty line is increasing. With so many people are jobless surely they don't have money to spend. Overall country spending is less, thus pull the inflation rate down.

Therefore we have to think and analyze whether this low inflation rate is a result of good economic performance of the country or simply because of poverty of the people who don't have money for shopping even to fulfill their basic needs. If shops have no buyers then automatically the prices remain stagnant if not going lower. Thus no inflation but deflation. So the fact is that lots of people are jobless and those without their other family members' financial support are living in poverty.
The most important task for a responsible government is to create jobs for its people. Economic development alone, even at high rate, is meaningless if it can not give job to majority of the people. If government can not create the jobs or can not facilitate the conditions leading to jobs creation by private sectors then the government is considered fail.

World Economic is Built on Crude Oil - Our Earth is Getting Damaged

Economic development built on crude oil to support people's comfort, desire and their ultra modern life style within just the last two centuries has been bringing unexpected and scary consequent such as destroyed ecosystem, creating many imbalances and anomalies to the nature of our mother earth. In the past human learned how to protect him from wild animals. Now he has to learn how to protect him from himself.