The people who are firmly holding the principle of Moral Conduct- Budi Pekerti in Javanese language, they are free from any kind of dangerous temptation which can ruin their good life.
In Javanese moral conduct, there are 3/ three kinds of dangerous temptations. In the old days, every state official, bureaucrat, priyayi in Javanese, was warned to strictly avoid these tempatations.
Nowadays, these temptations menace every official holding strategic position in the state and private institution. The temptations are :
Money
An official of a state or private enterprise is not allowed to receive illegal money from corruption and bribery. He/she is forbidden to steal money from the state as well as from the company’s coffers.
The Javanese ancient expression for money temptation is grombyang wang “ the noise of money”. In ancient time money was in the form of coins which are made from metal, such as gold, silver or copper. An honest official should avoid receiving illegal income.
Extravagant party with excessive food
A good and responsible official is strictly forbidden to spend the state money for organising extravagant parties with excessive and expensive food. Currently, there are many state banquets aired directly in the television. It is clearly seen where some government officials talking with noted individuals such as businesmen, celebrities etc. They are smiling broadly with bright faces, wearing the latest fashion styles, all of them are happy because they have a good life. They are enjoying delicious and expensive food and beverage,they do not remember that majority of the people are poor, they can not afford such a luxurious food.
The people are sick to see the behaviour of the upper level officials and individuals.
The old Javanese expression for such irresponsible attitude is Kecopak Iwak which means “The noise of a caught fish”. It is the way to illustrate one who has a habit to eat a lot of expensive food and frequently organises extravagant parties with luxurious and expensive food and drinks.
Sexy underlegs
The Javanese phrase : If you are tempted by sexy underlegs means that you are tempted by another woman. In the old days, the women wear a long skirt which cover the legs down to the feet. If the skirt is lifted-up a bit showing at a glance their soft underlegs, the lust of the gentlemen of the old days would arise.
The old Javanese expression for this matter is : Pledhinge wentis jenar – The exposure of the soft underleg of a woman. The expression warns a married man, mainly a married bureaucrat not to be trapped by another woman’s flatteries or to other woman’s lap, he might lose his mind completely. He will then easily break his oath of office by doing corruption to satisfy his lust.
Nowadays, in the era of emancipation, the moral message is adjusted as follows : A married person,man or woman should not commit adultery. It is a temporary romantic sweet moment”. It is a fatal mistake. It ruins the truly happy family life.
Temptation for the guardian of law
The guardians of law such as policemen, prosecutors, judges who have the official duty to maintain the rule of law are proned to temptation. If they deviate the law, break the law and order against the oath of office, it is obviously dangerous for the state order.
It is a fact that good and bad are eveywhere, they are like two sides of the same coin.
The solution is simple, one must have the guts to hold the truth and avoid bad temptations.
Since ancient times, the Javanese people have some proverbs/ expressions showing violations of law conducted by the officers of law enforcement agencies, as below :
Dhindhang Kariban
It is meant for a law enforcer such as police, prosecutor, judge etc. who receive bribe.
Madhasan
A law enforcer who misused his function to get illegal money from persons involved in law-suit.
Misa Jaya
A law enforcer who misused his authority by deviating the law in favor of the wrong person or party.
For “ his service” he receives some money. How big is the amount of money involved, depends on the case.
The lure of money is extremely dangerous, it can ruin morality. In many cases, some law enforcers dare to take risk by breaking the law and the oath of office, although what they do menace their own safety as well as the safety of their families. On top of that, their bad deed will tarnish the good reputation of their institutions and the corps of law enforcers who obidiently uphold the law and order.
Milik anggendhong lali
Another temptation which is also very dangerous is the desire to posses something in a wrong way – Milik anggendhong lali in Javanese i.e. stealing, deceiving, doing dirty tricks or in a more brutal deeds, seizing, robing from the owner, if necessary by eliminating or killing those people who hinder. This is some examples to seize physical things.
Except the physical things, some people are fighting to seize abstract matters such as a strategic office position which can yield a lot of illegal money on top of their official salaries and allowances. A lot of extra illegal income will fill their purses.
Even their signatures mean a lot of money i.e when they grant written agreement to certain business’ companies for “their good understanding”, the businesmen shall give them “ precious reward” in the form of money and/or expensive things such as cars and other kinds of properties.
Besides illegal income, the greedy officials receive regular salaries and allowances and many other facilities provided by the institutions where they work.
This is a general picture of the cause of “high cost economy” in a sick society. It is not surprising that some individuals wish very much” to dedicate themselves” to the state and the nation by occupying strategic positions.The positions with “a lot of fortune” are available from the low to the top ranking of bureaucracy. The corruptions are rampant in almost every sector of public life. There are fierce competation between civil servants to seize the strategic positions in the bureaucracy.
This kind of situation is considered as normal in the moment of disorder. In order to get a good strategic seat in the bureaucracy, one must have a strong connection or one must have “ a lot of capital” to” buy” the position. After he got the desired strategic position, normally he shall recollect the money he had spent plus a huge amount of” profit”( from corruption, illegal levies and bribes).
This is a terrible condition of a sick society . The bureaucrats involved, justify the corruption due to small salaries which are far from enough to cover the monthly expenses for their families in this consumeristic style of life.The truth is due to mental sickness in almost every aspect of life.
Some people are really concerned whether we can find a way so that our brothers and sisters, the high ranking bureaucrats are not trapped by such a shameful temptation. It seems that they are quite happy to enjoy the advantages of their strategic positions.
To correct the low shameful moral, budi pekerti – the good moral conduct must be revitalized.
So that everybody will act as in accordance with his good heart, the soul enlightened in the divine path. This is the most appropriate way to change drastically the present disorder condition,( of course the law- enforcement must be implemented consiously), otherwise the state will go bankrupt, the people will suffer.
Afterwards, with God’s blessing, the qualified professional persons whom their souls are already enlightened, with their expertise in worldly science, should be able to solve the multi-dimentional crisis and build a just and prosperous life in this country.
JagadKejawen,
Suryo S.Negoro
Edited by Arie Suryo
