TRICKY MONKEY AND FIERCE TIGER

This is a story from a land called Tropic. There the sun always shines brightly all year long. There are only two seasons – dry season and rainy season. In dry season there is no rain at all. The days are always sunny. The sun rises at six in the morning and sets at six in the afternoon. While in rainy season the weather is always cloudy and rainy. However, the temperature is warmer in rainy season. The land is very fertile and productive. There are so many fruits and vegetables there. That’s why most people work on agriculture. Some of them grow rice while the others grow vegetables and fruits. They were prosperous and happy.


There were many animals in Tropic land. There were tigers, monkeys, leopard, panthers, black panthers, elephants and many more. Monkey liked to live there because fruits and vegetables were abundant. Tigers like to live there because there were many buffaloes, goats, sheep, goose chicken etc. They did not have to hunt in forest. They often stole in villages. So they also lived prosperous life. But their numbers grew rapidly. Consequently their need was also rising. Then members of monkey community discussed their problems. Three leaders then appeared in monkey community. White monkey, red monkey and blue monkey. They were the smartest ones in their community. They discussed to find a solution. Finally they decided to improve their efforts of stealing in people’s farm.


The red monkey said: ‘We must improve our efforts of stealing. It must be more frequent and more organized. From now on we must steal five times a day. And we must do it in groups. Let’s say in group of five. Three of you will steal and the others will watch for safety. In case any human being appears, the guards should warn them so the whole group can run’ ‘That’s a good idea, I will inform the whole community about it’, Said the white monkey and blue monkey.

 The next day they implemented the decision. The plan ran well. In a short period their result were doubled. The monkey community enjoyed prosperity from their acts of stealing in human’s farm and rice field. Then the three colorful monkeys became heroes. They were highly respected in the monkey community. At first human being did not notice anything. But then they realized that their harvest diminished significantly. They were suspicious that animals stole their crop. So they decided to improve their security. They patrolled and guarded their farm and rice field night and day.


Some of them spotted groups of monkey tried to steal in their farm. They could repel some of them but still the monkey could steal from them. The problem made them to discuss it. They decided to set various kinds of traps. The plan worked. Several days later many monkeys were trapped. Their feet and hands were caught so they could not move. Human being arrested and punished them. Some of the monkeys were even killed. The monkeys were very worried with the problem. They realized that they were in danger.


The three leaders of monkey met again. They decided to find support from a powerful ally. The next day they met tigers. There were three tigers that they talked to. The striped tiger is the biggest and the strongest one. He was the king of the forest in Tropic land.

 The red monkey said: ‘O, great king of forest, glorious king of forest. Please accept respect and greetings from our community’
 ‘What do you want from me?’
‘We come here to build mutual benefit cooperation between our two communities’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I see a great opportunity for us to make tremendous profit. Near my village there is a village where human beings live. It is very prosperous. We can cooperate to exploit it’.
 ‘How can we do?’
 ‘We will take their crops and cattle’
 ‘Do you mean stealing?’ No, tigers don’t steal! And we don’t eat their crops’
 ‘You don’t have to do it. Let us take it from them. All you have to do is just protect us from human being. They always attacked us lately’.
 ‘What do I get in return?’ asked the tiger. ‘You can eat their buffaloes, goat and chicken’.
 ‘I told you tigers don’t steal’
 ‘I will do it for you if you protect us’
 ‘OK from now on bring us buffaloes, goats, sheep, and chicken everyday. I don’t care how you get them. As long as you can provide us, we will protect you. If human attack you, just tell us. We will see to it’.
‘Thank you very much, great king for your cooperation and protection. I promise I’ll do my best’. 

The next day monkey stole again but they were trapped and arrested by human. So the three monkey leaders immediately came to see the tiger.
‘O great king! We need you help. My people are arrested by human when they were working on a farm. We told them that we were your humble citizen. But they are very arrogant. They said they don’t care who we are. They said you are just a cat’.

 The tiger, the leopard and the Black Panther were very angry to hear that. They immediately came to the village. They talked to chief of village.

‘I am the king of the forest. I demand that the all monkey in your custody be released immediately. They are innocent. They were working when you arrested them. Your men who are responsible must be punished. And from now on monkey must be free to work anywhere in Tropic land. Furthermore you must pay tribute to us. Provide meat for us everyday’.

 Nobody dare to fight the tiger, leopard and black panther so human being had no choice but to accept the tiger’s demand. Since then on monkey were free to take whatever they want from human’s farm. Their farm and rice field were very fertile and productive but animals took the most part of it. So tiger, leopard, black panther and monkey lived prosperous life while human being lived poor life. People in Tropic land are still poor today although they live in a rich land.

A Note on Indonesia-Malaysia Relationship

(I have written this article some years ago. Now I posted here) Indonesia – Malaysia relations is like ocean wave. The ups and downs move very quickly. Sometimes it is good but sometimes it is very bad. The worst relation was during the Sukarno era in the 1960’s. The best one was under Suharto. The reasons are several factors. Elite’s perception plays an important role as in the case of Sukarno. He felt threatened by the international politics at the time. He led a new nation which had just free from western colonialism. He achieved freedom after a long and hard struggle against the Netherlands and the Japanese occupation. Consequently his mind was always suspicious to his long time enemy. That’s why when Malaysia was so close to British government Sukarno thought that it was a move to corner him. He interpreted it as a hostile action toward his new nation. So his reaction was also hostile. Ideology is no doubt played an important in the case. Sukarno was leftist while Malaysia at the time was so close to western capitalism. Ideology helped shape elite’s perception of a hostile neighbor. Sukarno saw Malaysia as a threat to Indonesia. The issue of border is also an important issue today. As there is no clear border between Indonesia and Malaysia this factor may become an obstacle to a good relationship of the two countries. The case of Sipadan and Ligitan Island is a recent example. The two countries claimed the islands but then Indonesia loses the case. The area of Ambalat, to the east of Kalimantan is the latest case of border dispute. It is an oil-rich area so both countries might think hat it is worth fighting for. This is a delicate situation that needs careful handling. Migrant worker is another important issue. Hundreds of thousands of Indonesian worker, most of them are low-paid workers like house maid, driver, etc work in Malaysia. Unfortunately some of them are illegal worker. They do not have legal documents like passport. In Malaysia some of them break the law that makes the situation more complicated. We have to realize, however, that some of them are victims of human trafficking. The issue of culture arises these days. This time the dispute is over song, batik, wayang, and tari pendet. There is an Indonesian song –Rasa Sayange – that appeared in a Malaysian tourism advertisement. The song which means the feeling of love and affection originally is a song from the province of Maluku in the eastern part of Indonesia. Batik originally was an art from royal court in Java. In Prambanan temple that was built in the 9th century we can see the batik decoration in the cloth of the Hindu gods. Wayang also come from the Island of Java. The stories come from India like Mahabarata and Ramayana, and from Java. Tari Pendet is a Balinese dance that appeared in a Malaysian tourism advertisement. Later Malaysia admits that it was a mistake. Reog is a dance from a small town of Ponorogo, east Java. Indonesian people protested the Malaysian claim over these cultural expressions. Consequently tensions mounted. All of these factors make the relations of the two countries complicated. But I am sure that both countries need a good relation. Both countries will suffer from bad relation. They need each other. Even I am sure that Indonesia and Malaysia actually are one nation divided by history and politics. Once Indonesia was occupied by the Netherlands while Malaysia was occupied by British. Good relation is the only way to achieve mutual benefit. That’s why I appeal all parties involved in the case– writers, journalists, press, political parties, business people and general public etc to work hard to create close relations of both countries. Good and close relation is a golden bridge toward business ventures. There are many opportunities for the two countries in business. Indonesian tourist is an important source of income for Malaysia. So are Malaysian tourists for Indonesia. So now let’s try to overcome all the obstacles and create a better relation and enjoy mutual benefit. Diplomats, politicians should talk. Writers, bloggers, hubbers, should contact and discuss the case. Business people should continue their business. For any Malaysians, let’s make peace not war, not conflict.