Lukas or Je? I’d go for the white space between two pictures (oration stage, part 1)

Alors, c’est parti! Just around 09.40 yesterday we saw the ‘presidential’ campaign for KOMAHI kickstarted with speeches by the two candidates, Lukas (#1) and Je (#2), both from class 2015. It was in the class of Teori Hubungan Internasional, in which most are 2014 students. They will continue to other classes some time later on, and I assume the speeches will be similar.

To begin with, I’d like to say there is really not much to politicize in this process. Rather, we need to see the candidates’ merit (and other social capital) to help us to decide who deserves our vote to lead our beloved KOMAHI.

I know no one really needs my opinion, but I’d like to use freedom of speech privileged to me as a citizen of a quasi-liberal country. If you’re already reading this now, I hope it can help broaden your view and challenge you to assess critically what the two candidates have to offer.

The thing I’d like to point out is: none candidate impressed us (I talked to some classmates and they had the same thought as mine). Yeah, if I had to cast the ballot now (at least for now at this early stage), I’d go for the white space between the two photos.

When I point my finger to others, my other three (or four) fingers point back at me myself. I’m well aware of this and I’d like criticize myself first (you can skip this paragraph if you do not care though hehehe). I did not do well during the campaign; was not good enough in public speaking. I could not get what I said in line with what I think, simply because I find difficulties in getting shit together. I was very much part of this obsolete “professionalism v family” bunk. I concede that I did not have sufficient knowledge on my own concept that I was trying to build. I was so much into this conception of ‘family’ only to find things were much different from what I had envisaged. In short, I realized I did not have sufficient intellectual capacity and charisma to be the head of this immense organization, to create what I had envisaged. It needs much more than imagination and confidence of being able to do what I want. It needs real hardwork. But I’d also like to see what I did quite right. It was the commitment to get into the real work, to cope with the challenge. I challenged myself to be someone that was no different from the people I lead. It was a commitment to lead by example. I know I have not had much success, but I never regretted on trying to do so. I’m not a kind of person that tells people what to do (although this position obliges me to do so), but I’m trying my best to get involved directly into some of each of the 9 departments and BSO programs. I enjoy this particular part of the hardship actually.

Okay, enough talking about me. Now let’s get to the next two candidates.

First, an overview of the quality of the candidate. This is of course 100% my opinion.

Lukas offers “Dedikasi untuk KOMAHI” which I can confirm is not at all nonsense, looking form the track record. I’ve worked closely with him and I can see he’s been doing his best at INKA with its IRCCT montly discussion. He’s the program organizer in partnership with Tiffany and they did well. Lukas has been present in discussions that I attended and he made sure everything went well. The same case at HI CINE, he played his role in Antologi Anatomi, he did his job well in editing the films produced by the amazing HI CINE guys. In these two cases, he successfully showed his responsibility and proved himself reliable. Surprisingly, lately he got involved in DIRA and performed in two occasions. I argue that he’s been showing his dedication, which he can brag if he wants. So apparently, he’s multitalented. Had the chances never come, we’d never know that he is. However, he’s not a person who stands out in the crowds so few know his contribution to KOMAHI. For me, he’s also a little bit timid, so he’s okay with being not known.

At the other end, we have Je who offers professionalism as the key to KOMAHI’s thriving. In my opinion, he’s been a pro all his life. He’s a guitarist and he also sings and there’s a lot at stake with this role. It’s important not to make mistakes up the stage. Amazingly, he’s very much used to doing that and we can see this in other arena. As for KOMAHI, he’s been a staff at INKOM’s Diplomatic Affairs which mainly deals with building relations with KOMAHIs from other universities in Indonesia. However, due to some conditions, he wasn’t available at times when the diplomatic events were held. He’s been doing good recently by finally taking part in KORWIL IV meeting and also in the UGM’s delegation for the 28th PNMHII at Universitas Budi Luhur, Jakarta next week. At the last KORWIL IV meeting, he showed his ability to think critically and show his eagerness to learn about the affairs. Outside INKOM, he is also a member of Tim Minat-Bakat, HI Kustik under DASS. Well, no doubt he has impressed many people (especially girls) with his unbelievable talent and personality. He has performed in some occasion. As an addition, he was also successful as the chief of committee for MAKRAB 2016. Contrary to Lukas, Je is a person who stands out in the crowd. He’s got fans, which is undoubtedly good for him.

So we know already their contribution to KOMAHI. but it does not stop here.... (continue to part 2)