Consensus Decision-Making

Indra, with his walking shoes, tri-climate jacket with a T-shirt as an inner shell, chino shorts, and neat hair, contrasts with his opponent in this game, who prefers a pair of slippers, cargo trousers, a jazz band T-shirt, long, messy hair, and a touch of thin beard.

Indra starts with the queen’s gambit; Iwan decides to castling and protect the king. Sadly, to no avail, the king is now trapped on the edge of the board, waiting for his demise. The situation is dire, with only three pawns, a rook, and a knight to protect his majesty. The other side is still protected by two pawns, a bishop, a rook, and a queen; even the king is out in the open, ready to spearhead any offensive. Eventually, the black king meets his demise on the edge, confronted by her majesty and the tough wall of her castle.

Iwan plays as white. After he decides to go with a gambit, he has no idea what to do next.

“What will you do now, Iwan? Remember, if you lose, you’ll have to treat me to a drink.”

“I know, ICBM gambit, I choose you!”

“What kind of gambit is that? Are you planning to hit us with an ICBM?”

“Nope, just look at this tactic. If an ICBM is really going to hit us, I’m sure anti-ballistic missiles will intercept-”

“That’s the Tennison gambit; who taught you about the ICBM gambit?”

“My classmate from high school… Oh great, I’m cooked.”

“It’s just a check; there’s still hope for you.”

“I guess so… Or so I thought.”

“checkmate! Nice game!”

“Thanks, come to my house! I hope you like coffee.”

“It’s my favorite, but are you sure about this?”

“Don’t worry, my home is nearby.”

Iwan’s home makes Indra want to chill. He sees his coffee made by Iwan, and while waiting, he reads the coffee packaging.

“Single origin, medium roast, arabica, Aceh Gayo natural… Quite the exquisite taste you have!”

“A great coffee is a must; what’s your favourite coffee?”

“If it’s single origin… Flores Manggarai, full washed, light roast, arabica. There’s a taste of ripe pineapple, which I love.”

“Ooh, here you go.”

(smells coffee, sips, gulp… Proceed to finish the entire cup)

“This is sublime… Can you make five more servings of this for me?”

“Hold on… You sure about this?”

“Yup, I promise I won’t get all political.”

(5 servings later)

Some intrusive thoughts rush into Indra’s mind, and some are hidden opinions he has never expressed to anyone. Not even his virtual assistant, Ayu. It seems now is the right time to let it all out.

“Iwan, you saw today’s news about a man stealing 25 kilograms of rice, right?”

“Yes, it’s surprising that he has the guts to do it. Rice is a staple food, but in this region, rice is free and equally distributed to each household based on the number of household members. Yet he steals.”

“I know, right? Despite the reform, there are imperfections. Those severe imperfections must be fixed through another reform by reimposing regional law like the old days and throwing away all these current rules that barely work on everyone.”

“I must disagree with that, since the reform, we have achieved prosperity, peace, better environmental protection, better city and spatial planning; free education, free healthcare, free housing to the point of erasing hostile infrastructure, no poverty, extremely low crime rates, high minimum wage, better air quality, better quality of life, 90 years of life expectancy, food secure, free and interconnected public transport; self-sufficient on energy and water; even this region’s fertility rate are at 2.1 per woman. Higher than the national average at 1.8 per woman.”

“That’s only the good part the media tell. The laws here are based on commandments despite the existence of a legitimately powerful constitution. The entire nation has improved, but it has many issues, including education, traffic, social inequality, etc. As a result, many people flock to this region, seeking a better quality of life. Since land use is strictly divided, residential areas become denser day by day. At this point, I won’t be surprised if there’s a doppelganger of Kowloon Walled City here since the regional government is using no policies or measures to control the population. You know? My ancestors used to own a lot of land in this region, but after the reform, they gave up all the land. Now, it’s either become a sacred groove, a village, or a plantation. Sometimes, I feel like all their sacrifices are useless because of these issues.”

“It’s a decision your ancestors made with careful consideration; just accept it. Even if you own the land, what will you do?”

“Fix the status of the sacred groove. It’s off-limits for everyone except for The Sultanate of Yogyakarta. They own a lodging at Kaliurang. Even the state-owned enterprise that handles piped water distribution manages to make a water pump there. Instead of building the pump at Gunungkidul, Kulon Progo, or Bantul. Pumping water from a river is still an option, or building a desalination plant.”

“Gunungkidul, Kulon Progo, and Bantul are mixed-use low-density residential, commercial, and home industries with the exception of Adikarto industrial zone and Gunungkidul karst geopark. Building a water pump at the sacred groove is acceptable because it’s a proven and renewable water source. In order to conserve the karst region, building a water pump is banned. Rivers here will be full of lahar, and the pump will give up living. The desalination plant is far too energy costly, and the brine water would damage marine life. You can purify water by connecting a cord from your phone to a pot of water and electrolyzing it for a few minutes. We can’t own a well, but with this technology, no-”

“But isn’t it unfair?! We-”

“Unfair for you, fair for me. Suck it all up; the price to pay is small compared to the benefits we enjoy. Remember, nrimo-”

“Shut up! Those words are meaningless to me, we can’t accept everything in life!”

“Sure we can, patience Indra.”

“Still pathetic as ever, huh? I just remembered you planned a demonstration to fight against increased value-added tax from 10% to 25%. But as the chief of the students’ union, you chickened out and instead changed the demonstration into a panel discussion.”

“Wait, what? Are you drunk or something? I never join the students’ union during my years of university.”

“Mark my words! 3 more incidents, and I’ll start a revolution!” storm out

“Itchy back, sour breakfast, shoulder pain, and this? My day couldn’t get any better than this, eh? Guess I’ll join tomorrow’s mass.”

Iwan then washed the dishes and ate four bananas for lunch. This was followed by a nice nap at 3 PM, which was not exactly the best time for a nap. During an astronomical twilight, his rosary was tightly held. Words of gratitude and desire seeped into the air. This was followed by a meditation and a deep sleep.

Notes:

Lahar: A violent type of mudflow consist of slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water.