M akalah dalam Seminar Nasional “ Cult ural Ident it y in Language, Lit erat ure, and Translat ion” Jurusan Pendidikan dan Sast ra Inggris, Fakult as Bahasa dan Seni, UNY. Tahun 2011.
The Indonesia and W est Relation in Tempo M agazine in the
Beginning of The Third M illenium
Oleh
Dian Sw andayani, Iman Santoso, Nurhadi Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Prancis FBS UNY
diansw [email protected]
Abstract
In Tempo M agazine 2000—2007 edit ion, post colonial t hem es are found in som e art icles of book reviews in lit erat ure w hich discuss: (1) t he st ories about t he East , (2) t he st ories about colonialism , (3) w est ern lit erary w orks (including t hose of t he Indonesian t ranslat ions), (4) t he lit erary w orks focusing prim arily on t he post colonial problem s. Besides, ot her post colonial t hem es revealed in t he book reviews are: (5) t he Indonesian lit erary w orks w hich are published (t ranslat ed) in English, (6) t he cont act bet w een t he West and t he East in several st ories, and (7) Islam in t he West . The depict ion of t he inferior East is not explicit but it can oft en befound in several books, fict ions or sem i-fict ions, w rit t en by w est ern aut hors w ho describe t he Indonesians or t he count ry’s nat ure. The post colonial const ruct s of t he West (as dom inant and superpow er count ries) should be critically st udied in order t o avoid or free from t he new m odes of pract ices of West ern im perialism.
Keyw ords: post colonial, nat ionalism , superiorit y of t he West (Europe), book review s in lit erat ure, Tempo M agazine.
Introduction
European cult ure t hat belongs t o t he ex-colonizers is oft en regarded as t rendset t er by t he
Indonesians in t he fast developing w orld of digit al and virt ual age as st at ed by Yasraf Am ir Piliang
(1998:1—35) in his bookDunia yang Dilipat . The w estern post colonial point of view is still root ed in
t he references (t ranslat ed w est ern lit eraryand philosophy books) in Indonesian universit ies.
As proposed by Raym ond William s (1988:88—93), lit erat ure, phylosophy, t ext books, w orks
of art s, schools, and ot her cult ural inst it ut ions are hegem onic sit es, i.e. bat t le places of idiologies. In
Gram scian’ view , w orks of lit erat ure, philosophy books or ot her universit y handbooks can be t he
area as reflect ing t he societ y’s w orld view as well as t he m edium for const ruct ing t he societ y. A
w orld view , idiology or societ y’s life st yle are oft en cont ruct ed by t he hegem onic sit es and spread
t hrough hegem onic inst it uions, such as schools, m edia, churches, religious preachings, and ot hers. In
t his bat t le of idiology, t he post colonial const ruct s in Indonesia are observed. In t his art icle t he
observat ion is focused on t he post colonial const ruct s found in Tempo M agazine dist ribut ed in
The accult urat ion of w est ern (European) cult ure can lead Indonesian people in t he t rap of
poscolonialism t hat preserves t he dominat ion of European values over t he Indonesian nat ionalism.
As st at ed by Benedict Anderson (2002:1—15), nat ionalism is an im aginary com m unit y t hat has t o be
const ruct ed and m aint ained by it s suppor t ers. Concerning Indonesian nat ionalism , t he w est ern
post colonial const ruct s need t o be crit ically st udied so t hat t he Indonesians w ill not be t rapped in
t he new m odes of w est ern im perialism pract ices.
This piece of w rit ing discusses t he art icels of book r eviews of w est ern (European) lit erary
w orks w hich are published in m ont hly m agazine Tempo of 2000–2007 edit ion (represent ing t he
developm ent of Indonesia-West relat ion at t he beginning of t he t hird m illenium ) so as t o find t he
developm ent of t heir relat ion in t he current decade, w het her Indonesia is inferior in viewing t he
West , especially w est ern lit erary w orks.
The Indonesia and W est relation in Tempo M agazine
In Tempo, t he post colonial t hem es found in art icles of book review s in lit erat ure are: (1) t he
st ories about t he East , (2) t he st ories about colonialism , (3) w est ern lit erary w orks (including t hose
of t he Indonesian t ranslat ions), (4) t he lit erary works focusing prim arily on t he post colonial
problem s. Besides, t hispiece of w rit ing uncovers subject s concerning (5) t he Indonesian lit erary
w orks t hat are published (t ranslat ed) in English, (6) t he cont act bet w een t he West and East in
several st ories, and (7) Islam in t he West .
The st ories about t he East from w est ern point of view exist in som e lit erary w orks t hat are
reviewed. Spice Garden w rit t en by M ichael Vat ikiot is t alks about som e event s in Indonesia,
part icularly M aluku (Tempo, 01–07 M arch 2004). In her review of t he novel, Dew i Anggraini says t hat
t he sequence of bloody event s happening in M aluku since 1999 is recorded in new spapers,
m agazines, t elevisions, and radios. How ever, t he Indonesians soon forget it all. Vit ikiot is brings us t o
t he horrible event s in M aluku by present ing virt ual event s. His novel The Spice Garden brings us t o a
fict it ious island, not far from Am bon, and a fact ual t im e, t he bloody period of 1999. It is int eresting
t o analyze such a descript ion since it is not im possible t hat Indonesia (East ) is oft en described as a
count ry w it h violence, chaos, and rage.
The review s of fict ions depict ing Indonesia from w est ern people’s or expat riat es’ point of
view have been published in Tempo 26 M arch 1 April 2001. Those fict ions m ost ly t alk about
Indonesia wit h it s polit ical background, w hich is perceived as an exot ic and new place t hat at t ract s
w anderers’ at t ent ion. Current sit uat ion in Indonesia is discussed in t his book but t he hist ory of
A book ent it led Orang Indonesia dan Orang Perancis dari Abad XVI sampai dengan Abad XX
w rit t en by Bernard Dorleans, is reviewed by Jean Cout eau (a French w ho is t eaching in Denpasar).
The review is published in Tempo11-17 Decem ber 2006. It is clearly seen in t he book t hat t he French
regard t he Indonesians as prim itive and uncult ured, a t ypical assum pt ion of t he w est erners w ho feel
superior w hen view ing t he inferior east erners. Such a descript ion is rest at ed by t he review er w ho
quot s one of t he w rit ings com piled and edit orialized by Bernard Dorléans. The desript ion is below .
ORANG-ORANG pribumi berperaw akan cukup t inggi, beberapa di ant aranya bert ubuh sem purna sedangkan yang lain t idak.M ereka t ak sehit am orang Guinea, hidungnya pun t ak sepesek m ereka. M ereka berkulit kuning at au cokelat , penipu dan pem bohong besar.” Penjelajah Perancis Francois de Vit ré m enggam barkan orang Sum at ra dalam t ulisannya pada 1602. Tiga rat us t ahun kem udian, Cabat on, penjelajah Perancis yang lain m enulis dengan nada yang sam a t erhadap orang Jawa. ” Orang-orang Jaw a bukan pekerja, cukup segenggam nasi dan beberapa buah unt uk hidup yang m ereka dapat kan t anpa usaha. Sem ua it u m ereka peroleh hanya karena kesuburan t anah saja….”
It seem s t hat Jean Cout eau as a review er realizes the bias of colonial perspect ive w hen
reviewing t he book. It is st at ed in ot her part of his essay t hat t he m eet ings bet w een French and
Indonesian figures in t he book are a com pilat ion of fact s and dat a lacking of em phat y. They are not
described as t he m eet ings bet w een people. The em ot ion, friendship or love are not seen.
What m ost ly described in t he book are sat ire, reject ion, and just ificat ion of t he behaviour of
t he local people or inform at ion based on pragm atic int erest s as if t he French and Indonesians are
connect ed only because of int erest s, alm ost not because of hum anit y. It can be st at ed t hat t he
relat ion bet w een t he Indonesians and w est erners is due t o im perial expansion int erest s w it h
m isunderst andings bet w een t hem . This is a naive st ereot ype present ed by Dorléans.
The review er, t hen, enquires t he t it le of t he book. He t hinks t hat t he t it le reflect s t he idea
t hat t he relat ion bet w een t he French and Indonesians last s for less t han four cent uries. M entioning
form erly t he w ord “ Indonesians” in t he t it le gives an im pression t hat t he Indonesians’ point of view
is t he m ain focus of t he book, in fact t he Indonesians only becom e t he object s (in t he edit ion of
original language, t he w ord “ French” com es t he form er and “ Indonesians” t he lat er).
The depict ion of t he East seen in Orang Indonesia dan Orang Perancis dari Abad XVI sampai
dengan Abad XX w hich focuses on t he fact ual aspect s rat her t han fict ional show s how t he West
view s t he East t hat is considered inferior. The inferiorit y is pict ured im plicit ly in several aspect s. Such
a pict ure is oft en found in several fict ional (or sem i-fict ional) books w hen t he West erners w rit e and
Books such as Kuasa Kat a: Jelajah Budaya-budaya Polit ik di Indonesia aut hored by Benedict
Anderson (Tempo, 19—25 M arch 2001), Surat -surat Adik RA Kart ini edit orized by Frit s G.P. Jaquet
(Tempo, 20—26 June 2005), Sumber Terpilih Sejarah Sast ra Indonesia Abad XX by Ulrich Krat z
(Tempo, 27 M arch—2 April 2000), Am in Sw eeney’s books concerning t he biography and bibliography
of Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir M unsyi (Tempo, 1—7 August 2005), Ulrich Kozok’s book about t he oldest
M alay book (Tempo, 7—13 August 2006) reflect t he w est erners’ percept ion of Indonesia w hich
should be learnt and underst ood. This is t he cont inuance of w hat is previously nam ed orient alism
st udies. Orient alism st udies can be seen in Prof P.J. Zoet m ulder w ho has conduct ed researches on
Javanese lit erary w orks. In Tempo (20—26 February 2006) it is inform ed about t he biography of t his
scient ist w ho com es from Net herlands and becom es the cit izen of Indonesia and his cont ribut ions t o
overcom e and report Javanese lit erat ure. What has been done by figures like Zoet m ulder is oft en
connect ed w it h orient alism , w hich is direct ly or indirect ly relat ed t o colonial pract ices.
Besides Zoet m ulder w ho has collect ed and analyzed t he old Javanese script s, Jaap Erkelens
has looked for and collect ed Indonesian books but for t he sake of KITLV Net herlands. What Erkelens
has done is his effort t o get inform at ion about Indonesia. This fact is explained in Tempo 11—17
August 2003 edit ion. Besides t he descript ion of t he East from t he st andpoint or int erest s of t he
West , ot her post colonial const ruct s are also found in t he descript ion of t he colonial hist ory from
t oday cont ext . It m eans t hat t he colonial pract ice t hat has ended is discussed and analyzed in several
books. This is called t he reproduct ion of colonial st ories t hrough lit erary w orks.
A w ork t hat present s event s of t he colonial period in Indonesia is ent it led Jalan Raya Pos,
Jalan Deandels by Pram oedya Anant a Toer, w hich w as published in 2005. The book is review ed by
Nurdin Kalim and Eviet a Fadjar in Tempo 17—23 Oct ober 2005 edit ion. The descript ion of building
t he road during Deandels period is a bit t er m em ory of t he colonial pract ices. Such a w rit ing, eit her
t he book or it s review , is t he reproduct ion of sad st ories of colonialism . Pram oedya is an Indonesian
w ho is against Dut ch colonialism in Indonesia as st at ed in his biography. His depict ion of t he colonial
pract ice in his w ork can be seen in t he follow ing cit at ion.
Such a sad st ory w it h colonial background is also found in ot her Pram oedya’s w ork ent it led
Cerit a dari Digul published in 2001. Digul is a place in Papua t o exile t he rebels against t he Dut ch in
colonial period. The review of t he book is w rit t en by Wilson in Tempo 25 June–2 July 2001. Ot her
st ory about Digul is found in M arco Kart odikrom o’s Pergaulan Orang Buangan di Boven Digul: Kisah
Nyat a. Originally it is a serial st ory of Pew art a Deli Daily from 10 Oct ober–9 Decem ber 1931. The
book is reviewed by M . Fauzi in Tempo 26 M ay—1 June 2003. Pram oedya’s or M arco’s descript ion of
Dut ch colonialism reflect s t he negat ive sides of t he period, w hich are oft en connect ed w it h t oday as
t he post -colonial period.
The dark t rail of colonialism reflect ed in cont em porar y lit erary w orks as t he reproduct ion of
colonial discourse is also w rit t en in t hree art icles under t he book rubric of Tempo 19—25 Sept em ber
2005 edit ion. The t hree art icles ent it led ” Bila Sang M eneer M elukis Indonesia” , ” M enunggu Komik
Asli Indonesia” , and “ M em buka Jejak Hit am Kolonial” are about com ics and relat ed t o t he hist ory of
Dut ch colonialism. Besides t he sad st ories regarding t he Dut ch colonialism as previously discussed,
t here are w rit ings about slices of colonial hist ory as nost algia, sw eet m em ories from t he past . A book
cont ist ing five short st ories ent it led ” Tukang Gam bar” (1970), ” Kucit ” (1970), ” Sekar Em as” (1970),
” Kat em u ring Tam paksiring” (1972), and ” Suaran Asu” (1972) w rit t en by an old Balinese aut hor,
M ade Sanggra, reflect s t he nost algia. The book is review ed in Tempo 8—15 August 2004 under t he
t it le “ Pot ret dari Jejak M asa Lalu” . As Sanggra’s m ast erpieces, t he five short st ories originally w rit t en
in Balinese are t ranslat ed int o Indonesian and English.
One of Sanggra’s short st ories is about a plan of t he Dut ch Queen, Juliana, t o visit
Tam paksiring Palace in Gianyar, Bali. The queen w ho had never visit ed Bali w as planned t o arrive in
1970. M ade Sanggra, as a Balinese m an, int ended t o express his friendship t o t he queen of a count ry
w hich once colonialized his nat ion. He, t hen, w rot e his short st ory ” Kat em u ring Tam paksiring” . Since
t he visit w as cancelled, t he short st ory w as not finished. Sanggra once forgot t he st ory and t ur ned
his at t ent ion t o w rit e ot her w orks, som e of w hich are ” Tukang Gam bar” and a Balinese m odern
poem “ ” Suara Saking Set ra.” Bot h w orks w on t he Balinese lit erary w rit ing cont est in 1970. The
achievem ent encouraged him t o finish his poem ” Katem u ring Tam paksiring,” w hich also w on t he
1972 w rit ing com pet it ion.
Rem ains and influence of t he West on Indonesia can also belong t o ot her const ruct s of
“ colonialism ” . One of t he exam ples is t he influence of Port uguese cult ure in Indonesia as w rit t en by
Ot her const ruct s of post -colonialism are also found in t he review s of lit erary w orks published
by t he West or t heir Indonesian t ranslat ions.The const ruct s cannot be classified as superiorit y of t he
West nor t he inferiorit y of t he East . Rat her, t hey can be classified as t he influence t o imit at e w est ern
cult ure or m imicry in lit erat ure or life st yles. Besides, abrogat ion and appropriat ion are also seen in
t he use of language, especially w hen using English as w ell as reading English w rit ings are regarded as
reflect ing upper social class. A num ber of w est ern lit erary w orks are review ed in Tempo during eight
years of t his 21st cent ury, som e of w hich are (1) Int erpret er of M aladies (Jhum pa Lahiri), (2) Berahi
(Jean Baudrillard), (3) Kit ab Lupa dan Gelak Tawa (M ilan Kundera), (4) Sabda Zarat hust ra (F.W.
Niet zsche), (5) Kekekalan (M ilan Kundera), (6) Out of Place (Edw ard W. Said), (7) Eragon (Christ opher
Paolini), (8) The English Roses (M adonna), (9) Va’ Dore Ti Port a Il CoureorPergilah ke M ana Hat imu
M embaw amu (Susanna Tam aro), and (10) Ikan Tanpa Salah (Alfred Birney).
Besides, t here are st ill ot her books reviewed in Tempo: (11) Insiden Anjing di Tengah M alam
yang Bikin Penasaran (M ark Haddon), (12) Negeri Bahagia or Cit y of Joy (Dom inique Lapierre), (13)
Leo t he African (Amin M aalouf), (14) The Dant e Club (M at t hew Pearl) (15) The Kit e Runner (Khaled
Hosseini), (16) Baudolino (Um bert o Eco), (17) The Historian (Elizabet h Kost ova), (18) Blindness (Jose
Sam arago), and (19) Harry Pot t er and t he Deat hly Hollow s (J.K. Row ling). The review s are not only
about books, but also about an event or new s relat ed t o books as seen in an art icle “ Sebuah Buku,
Pesaing Harry Pot t er” w hich discusses The Da Vinci Code w rit t en by Dan Brow n (Tempo, 04—10
April 2005 edit ion).
Am ong t he ninet een books previously m ent ioned, six t alk about post-colonial problem s, t hey
are Int erpret er of M aladies, Out of Place, Ikan Tanpa Salah, Negeri Bahagia or Cit y of Joy, Leo t he
African, and The Kit e Runner. The problem s are faced by t he charact ers of t he st ories w ho have t o
cope w it h West -East clashes in t heir lives. They are root ed out from t heir original cult ure. The
charact ers experience hybridit y or diaspora t hat lead t hem t o t he conflict s of ident it y or nat ionalit y.
In a review of Alfred Birney’s Ikan Tanpa Salah (De Onschuld van Een Vis), Nurdin Kalim
discusses t he problem s of m ixed-parent age (hybrid) people like below cit at ion.
Darah cam puran Indonesia-Belanda m engalir dalam t ubuhnya. Ia pun t erom bang-am bing ant ara dua dunia dan penuh ket egangan akibat paradoks dalam dirinya. M alangnya, pribadinya lem ah dan labil, t ak pernah bisa bersikap. Ia t inggal di Nederland, t api cara hidupnya Indonesia. Pola pikirnya t et ap dibaw a ke m asa ket ika ia m asih di Indonesia sebagai perw ira Belanda yang m engint erogasi para pejuang Indonesia. Tubuhnya di Barat , jiw anya di Timur.
The above quot at ion pict ures t he post -colonial w orld t hat brings about t he split of ident it y
of t hose m ixed-parent age (hybrid) people. Besides com m et ing t he problem s experienced by t he
charact ers, Nurdin Kalim (Tempo, 11—17 Oct ober 2004 edit ion) just ifies t hat Birney is equal w it h
ot her t rans-nat ional w rit ers as his appreciation t o Birney’s closeness t o t he East rat her t han t he
West as seen in his st at em ent .
Novel ini m enyejajarkan Birney dengan penulis t ransnasional lainnya sepert i Salm an Rushdie, yang m enggam barkan India dari kediam annya di Inggris, at au Am y Tan, yang m elukiskan Cina dengan w arna Am erika. Penulis t ransnasional lebih cenderung
m enyuguhkan set t ing yang serba fragment ed dan simbolis, t idak ut uh dan realist is. Dari sisi ini, harus diakui Birney t elah berhasil.
The review s in Tempo are not only about t he post -colonial t hem es as seen in t he some of
t he st ories as in t he above disccussion, but also about lit erary w orks w hich int roduce Indonesian
lit erat ure t o t he West . The w rit ing can be cat egorized as abrogat ion and appropriat ion w hen
considering English (as a language of t he West ) as a means t o int roduce Indonesian lit erary w orks to
t he West . The Indonesian lit erary w orks w rit t en in or t ranslat ed int o English w hich are review ed in
Tempo during 2000—2007 are: (1) Paris la Nuit (a collect ion of poem s by Sit or Sit um orang), (2)
Snake (a novel by Dewi Anggraini), (3) Goenawan M ohamad Select ed Poems (edit ed by Laksmi
Pam unt jak), (4) The Rainmaker’s Daught er (a novel by Richard Oh), (5) Ellipsis (a collect ion of verses
by Laksm i Pam unt jak), and (6) The Diary of R.S.: M usings on Art (a collect ion of short st ories by
Laksm i Pam unt jak).
Sit or Sit um orang can be cat egorized as a w rit er of diaspora due t o his w rit ing t hat reaches
France and ot her European count ries alt hough he finally ret urns t o his count ry and st ill exist s as an
Indonesian w rit er. Unlike Sit um orang, Sobron Aidit , t hat can also be cat egozed as a w rit er of
diaspora, can reach France but he does not hold an Indonesian cit izenship anym ore. Such a w rit er is
popularly called exile, w hich is also experienced by Ut uy Tat ang Sont ani (Tempo, 25 February—3
M arch 2002). One of Sobron’s w orks is M emoar Sobron Aidit : Gajah di Pelupuk M at a review ed by
Put u Oka Sukant a (Tempo, 22—28 April 2002). Som e of Indonesian w rit ers w ho have t rans-nat ional
view are Goenaw an M oham ad, Laksm i Pam unt jak, Dew i Anggraini, and Richard Oh.
Ot her post colonial t hem es found in Tempo are t hose regarding t he cont act s bet w een t he
West and East , w hich focus on t he effort s t o recognize and underst and bot h t o creat e a harm onious
and conducive sit uat ion. One of t he exam ples is found in t w o art icles on t he review of “ Ubud w rit ers
& readers fest ival” in Tempo 25—31 edit ion 2004. Besides, a review of “ int ernasional lit erary
(12—18 Sept em ber 2005). The review consist s of t hree act icles discussing t he w orks of Ant jie Krog
(Sout h Africa) and Ram sey Nasr (a Palest inian-Dut ch descendant ).
The cont act s bet w een t he West and East are not only seen in t he event s m ent ioned above,
but also in novels, one of w hich is The Hist orian by Elisabet h Kost ova w ho reveals t he origin of
dracula. The descript ion of dracula in t he novel breaks t he st ereot ype t hat drakula has t w o long
sharp t eet h and drinks blood. Kost ova t raced t he origin of dracula w ho act ually is Vlad Tepes, t he
m ast er of Wallachia. In his review (Tem po 12—18 February 2007) Seno Joko Suyono says t hat
Kost ova has w rit t en t he novel based on her research on t he hist ory sources of 1460s (t he period of
Sult an M ahm ud II) w hich are kept in Ist anbul. It proves t hat t he hist ory of t he East (Turkey) is
acknow ledged and underst ood.
The East -West cont act is also seen in Annem arie Schim m el’s book (Tempo, 6—12 June
2005) of t he ideas of a Pakist ani religious figure, M uham m ad Iqbal, and t he Islam ic myst ic poem s.
Islamic figures and t heir t hought s are not broadly know n in t he West . Wit h st ereot ypes and
suspicion som e Islamic figures are know n. Islam in w est ern count ries is oft en considered a sensit ive
post -colonial problem . It is discussed in t he final part of t his w rit ing.
Them es on Islam in t he West becom e problem at ic w hen w est ern figures w rit e about
m ult icult uralism since t hey t end t o discrim inat e and suspect t he developm ent of Islam by labelling
t errorism or fundam ent alism . The t hem es can probably be regarded t he m ost current post -colonial
ones. Islam som etim es represent s t he ex-colonialized count ries alt hough not all of t he count ries or
t he East belong t o t he m oslem count ries. Islam is a problem for t he West in t he beginning of 21st
cent ury. It can be st at ed t hat Unit ed St at es of Am erica is t he last colonizer having a num ber of
colonized m oslem count ries. Resurrect ing Empire: West ern Foot print s and America's Perilous Pat h in
t he M iddle East by Rashid Khalidi is a non-fict ion show ing t he sim ilarit y bet w een t he aggression of
Am erica in t he M iddle East w it h t he European colonialism in t he past (Tempo, 1—7 Novem ber
2004).
Problem s of Islam in America are recorded in Capt ain Jam es Joseph Yee’s biography For God
and Count ry review ed by Akm al Nasery Basralin Tempo (15—21 M ay 2006). Yee is a West Point
graduat e w ho is jailed because of silly accusat ions. He is alm ost sent enced t o deat h just because of
em bracing Islam. In his review Basral says:
Siang it u, ket ika m enginjak Jacksonville, ia baru saja meninggalkan Guant anam o. Di kom pleks penjara dengan pengam anan m aksim um yang dijuluki Am nest y Int ernat ional sebagai " Gulag Zam an Kit a" it u, alum ni West Point 1990 ini lebih populer dengan nam a Islam nya, Ust ad Yusuf. Ia m enyandang t ugas yang hanya bisa dipenuhi sangat sedikit orang Am erika: ulam a milit er (chaplain).
m uslim dari berbagai negara. Penget ahuan keislam annya yang luas, dan bahasa Arabnya yang fasih, m em buat Yee akrab dengan para t ahanan.
Sejak kedat angan Yee, pada Novem ber 2002, aura keagam aan sem akin t erasa,
m isalnya dengan penyelenggaraan salat Jum at di kalangan para t ent ara m uslim Am erika dan para penerjem ah. Rupanya, hal-hal sepert i ini just ru dipandang negat if oleh beberapa pet inggi m ilit er di Guant anam o.
Dan siang it u kerinduan Yee t erhadap keluarganya kandas. Pihak milit er Am erika m enuduh Yee kaki t angan Al-Qaidah, m elakukan kegiat an penyadapan dan m at a-m at a, dan t ak m em at uhi perint ah at asan. Dengan t uduhan " m aksim al" it u, Yee dijebloskan ke penjara Angkat an Laut di Charlest on, Sout h Carolina, dalam sel isolasi dengan t angan dan kaki digari. Jika sem ua t uduhan t erbukt i, Yee akan m enghadapi hukum an m at i.
In t he review , it is also st at ed t hat four days aft er Yee is capt ured, an art icle by an
anonym ous governm ent officer is published in The Washingt on Tim es, w hich says t hat t errorism has
infilt rat ed t he Am erican milit ary st ruct ure. M ass m edia t hen respond t he sensat ional new s w it hout
verificat ion.
Basral adds t hat som e people call Yee " Taliban Cina" or “ Chinese Taliban,” a double
m ockery. How ever, t hose accusat ions are not proven. Am erican m ilit ary t hen charge him w it h new
accusat ions t hat Yee has com m it ed adult ery w it h his t hree colleagues at Git m o and dow nloaded
obscene pict ures in his com put er, w hich are not proven eit her in t he court on 19 M arch 2004.
Aft erw ards, Yee w orks at Am erican m ilit ary as a capt ain unt il January 2005. His experience is w rit t en
m et iculously in his mem oir (t he English version w as published in Oct ober 2005). He also w rit es about
Am erican soldiers’ deviat ion in Guant anam o, his ancest ors, and his early int erest in Islam . His book is
one of t he represent at ions of Islam in t he West , w hich reveals problem s about t he post -colonial
syndrom es in t he West , t he suspicious and fright ening syndrom es t o Islam .
Note:
This art icle is part of a research of Hibah Kompet it if Penelit ian Sesuai Priorit as Nasional, w hich is ent it led “ Bent uk-bent uk Dominasi Barat M ut akhir di Indonesia: Kajian Poskolonial Terhadap Teks Book Universit as, Karya Sast ra, dan Pemikiran Barat ” by Im an Sant oso, Nurhadi, Dian Sw andayani, and Ari Nurhayat i in 2010.
References
Anderson, Benedict . 2002. Imagined Communit ies: Komunit as-komunit as Terbayang. Yogyakart a: Insist dan Pust aka Pelajar.
Said, Edw ard W. 1995. Kebudayaan dan Kekuasaan: M embongkas M itos Hegemoni Barat. Bandung: M izan.
Piliang, Yasraf Am ir. 1998. Sebuah Dunia yang Dilipat . Bandung: M izan.
