Pada komentar online-nya terhadap berita “Indonesian, English, yes, Portuguese, sorry, no” (oleh Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Dili, Wednesday, 11 April 2007), seorang pembaca yang menggunakan nama Jack Daniels mengeluarkan komentar yang kupikir cukup menyakitkan di telinga setiap orang Indonesia.
Dia tulis begini (exact words): “At least now they have a choice. I wonder how long they will continue to speak Indonesian for? Any bets they will dump it as soon as they can?! Anyway, Portuguese is very similar to Spanish, like Bahasa is to Malay, so Portuguese/ Spanish is a good thing, not least to rid themselves of the stench of Jakarta.”
Di dunia maya, seseorang bisa ambil identitas sesukanya. Tapi membaca komentar Jack Daniels, tersirat warna-warna etnosentris-sektarian yang tertutup. Satu suku, satu bahasa, harus beda dengan tetangga, contohnya seperti di benua Eropa jaman dahulu. Hari gini?
Anyway, setelah membaca comment beliau ini aku pikir tidak bisa dibiarkan lewat begitu saja. Negara, pemerintah boleh kita kritik habis-habisan, tapi negeri ini siapa lagi yang bela kalau bukan kita masyarakatnya? Segera kukirim online comment juga ke pengelola situs harian nasional The Jakarta Post (http://www.thejakartapost.com). Sayang tidak dimuat oleh pihak Redaksi. Begini isi balasanku (also in exact words):
“Jack Daniel’s comment reminds us all that ignorance is still very much alive in today’s open and borderless world community. There is nothing wrong with East Timorese using the Bahasa or Indonesians using Tetum (I know some who do). It is a common and natural part of living in the Archipelago, as people meet, trade, or raise families across ethnic lines. It is truly regretful that some people just won’t be part of this time-tested process of goodwill.”
Tidak apa-apa Redaksi The Jakarta Post, mungkin lain waktu saya bisa urun komentar lagi di harian nasional Anda ya? Terimakasih. Dan salut atas dikembangkannya program online comment, situs webnya jadi makin keren saja 
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p.s: Bangsa Timor-Timur sungguh beruntung mendapat liputan luas media massa internasional mengenai proses nation-buildingnya. Salah satunya seperti yang pernah saya dapat dari seorang teman, “East of, Uh, Timor” (oleh Hannah Beech, TIME, Saturday, 10 Mar 2007).
mungkin teh program online commentnya teh ga bener2 online
Berani tarohan si jack daniels ini pasti orang aussie. hehe.. makan tuh bahasa inggris!
Oia, Dan, kalo bisa sih jangan pake “Bahasa” utk bilang Bahasa Indonesia. Bule banget gitu loh! Emangnya mereka bakal terima kalo kita nyebut “Languange”?
Dandy, the only person who can read my hand-writing while I myself can’t!
Inspiring thoughts are to be found here in this blog. I won’t question the quality of the writings due to the writers integrity in presenting his point of view. There is bias here and there in his writings. But I think it’s okay because as we all do, the writer DOES have his own frame of reference and field of experience.
For what it’s worth, his writing can provide us with pluralism in information (or in this case point of view to a certain event and fact), by which we can compare them with those of our own.
I am really looking forward to updates and more of his writings. They’re enlightening yet chewable… just like those german bratwurst. Yummy….