Academic English 01PBE: 2008

Thursday, 16 October 2008

Indonesia is not a meritocracy. There exists too much corruption, collusion, and nepotism for a system that rewards ability to flourish. People rise to power because of how much money they have or their political connections instead of because they deserve it. Even though the government talks about everyone having the same opportunity this is not really true, a few families still control over 90% of the country's wealth, meaning that Indonesia is more of an oligarchy than a meritocracy. Also, because it is a developing nation that has more than 200 million people, not everyone can have the same opportunity, even if they are talented enough to be successful. Therefore, if nothing done to diminish the oligarchy, meritocracy will always be a myth in Indonesia.

written by :
Mahatmadha Adisara

Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia

Rewarding people on the basis of their intelligence and skills defines meritocracy. This is recognized as the best method as it encourages people towards continuous improvement. It is an ideal basis for every country especially a developing one, such as Indonesia. However, Indonesia is considered far from meritocratic. It is a well known fact that factors such as family name, family relation, wealth, race, religion, age, sex are more commonly used. It seems that setting meritocracy as basis for advancement is not considered important in Indonesia. Moreover, the use of discrimination over metocracy as basis of advancement is so common that many find it acceptable and do not try to hide it. A meritocratic Indonesia was widely considered as too grand of a dream when former president Soeharto appointed his daughter, Siti Rukmana as Minister of Social Affairs. Aware of Indonesia’s non meritocratic ways, many bright Indonesian scholars chose apply their knowledge, skills and intelligence abroad. How can Indonesia improve if advancements and positions continue to be given based on the wrong basis? Indonesia may be far from being a meritocratic country but with widespread awareness of the importance of adopting a meritocractic system, it is not an impossible mission.

Meritocracy [FINAL]

All around the world, individuals and groups are awarded opportunities and rewards based on the talents or abilities they showcase. This system is known as a meritocracy. In countries like China and Russia, meritocracy functions in job interviews held so that individuals are appointed for the position they applied for due to the competency they managed to show. Unfortunately in Indonesia, this is not the case as many other factors clouds up decisions in the minds of people. For instance connections with the powerful/elite, their current or former position in the society(minister, lower class family etc.) , race and even religion often come into place when a decision is about to be made. Thus giving a biased view to the people who deserves the opportunity more then others. With this in mind, it is therefore concluded that meritocracy is in fact nothing more than a myth in Indonesia.

Meritocracy in Indonesia is a myth.

Countries like Singapore had a meritocracy in its government system. Not all countries have this kind of system, in which the person who rule the country (such as: president, king) is elected because of their talents, their speciality. The fact that developed countries like United States and Singapore have meritocracy system can not be hindered. They believed by having this kind of system will lead them to have a good prospect leader for the country. Meanwhile, some developing countries such as Indonesia did not 'acknowledge' meritocracy. Indonesia chose its leader by looking at the 'status', the job, race and religion.

Written by:

Olivia Tjuatja - PBE 01

1200994462

meritocracy is a myth in indonesia

in this world, all people need a job. but, many employers give a job because of their connection with some people, and not because the employees qualification. in indonesia, many companies are unsuccessful because of the myth of meritocracy which applied in those companies. the leader of the company hire the employees based on their relation to those people not because their skill, knowledge, and performance. this case not only happen in the companies, but also in the election of the government members in indonesia. they were chosen by their connection with the organization, or they do something dishonest to be chosen. so, the conclusion is indonesia is a country that applied meritocracy as a myth.

Meritocracy is a Myth in Indonesia

Since the old times, people need money for living. Hence, they find a job to get money and to be able to buy their needs and wants. In this day and age, having a job is getting crucial for each person. In the view of the fact that things has been sold in a higher prices, people are becoming more concern with their economy and decided to apply for a job. However, because of the high competition, applying for a job these days seems more challenging compared to the past period. As a result, it makes it harder for people to get a job. This situation cause the boss to judge people carefully so that he/she could select the best ones. Thus, there are various factors that decide whether a person should get a job or should not. These factors include person's own ability, wide connections, power, social status, and many others. Recently, good connections, social status and power are the factors that most influence boss' decisions. Other than that, one's ability or talent might also affect the decisions and if someone is accepted to have a job based on own ability or talent, it is described as meritocracy. In Indonesia, people could get a job easier by their social status, power and connections. It seems that it has been the most common way to get a job there. Therefore, meritocracy is more like a myth in Indonesia.

Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia

Nowadays every country is lead by the government who control the economic, military tenancy, etc. But unfortunately not the entire representative member is educated enough to be the leader of the country. In this case only a few developed countries such as Singapore with high respect to their law can really make highly educated people to be their representative in the government.
In the other hand most of the developing country such as Indonesia still based on the wealth or power that they have. In other words that people who have more power and money can become the leader of this country. This is the major reason why the number corruption is very high in Indonesia. So from the point above I can conclude that meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia.

Posted by:

WILLY - 01PBE

Meritocracy is a Myth in Indonesia

Nowadays, to survive in this evil world, people must earn money for their living and because of that they must have jobs to do. Various jobs are available in the work field as well as how to get the jobs. Usually to apply a job, people have to submit their certificates, lists of their talents and other data that are required to promote themselves to be accepted in the job vacancies. When they apply for jobs, things that they should look for are high practical experiences and intellectual ability. However, this situation seems to be different in Indonesia . In Indonesia , everything can be got by just money, title and position. Anybody, who is richer, has good title and higher position, definitely will become the first priority, although they do not have the talents or abilities in their jobs. So, it causes meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia.

written by Sharon Tanamas
1200963356,01PBE

Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia

Meritocracy is a social system in which a reward or occupational position is given to the talented based on their talents, not by their social position, family connection, wealth, or ethnic group. It is a social system that is based on fairness, objectivity, and equality by recognizig one's talent and/or ability.

Some would agree that the world would be a better place if we could achieve meritocracy. But nowadays, it can be seen that wealth and social position play a major role in society. For instance, in Indonesia, those who are wealthy and/or hold a high social position tend to receive special treatments and obtain easier ways to get things done or be put on their laps by other people.

Those who have big talents but are in the regular class or a lower class, have to work harder to get things done, in spite of their talents. Though it may seem unfair, we can see that it is a fact and it happens in Indonesia. Until now, meritocracy is still consedered a myth in Indonesia.

By : Raisa Andriana 01PBE

Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia

To determine ones competency in various fields, logically they have to be graded by their skills,ability, experience and talent. Those merits are very important to have in order to endure their lives. More specifically in the society. In order to survive in the society they lived in, they must have jobs to support their prior needs. As observed in Indonesia, there are not many work fields available and if there are, the requirements are very demanding. while demanding, there are only a few compared to the populations of Indonesia who meet the criteria. Sadly in Indonesia cases like that rarely happens. Sometimes there are still many who appoint ones based on their social status, wealth, and connections and not based on their merits. logically the one who has demonstrated their talent and ability is the one who ideally got the field that they excelled in. That is called meritocracy. In Indonesia the odds to be given responsibilities based on peoples merit are very low. It's save to say that it's only a myth. Therefore, a meritocracy is only a myth in Indonesia.

Meritocracy in Indonesia

Setting aside the obvious problems of corruption, collusion, nepotism along with the sheer practical difficulties of actually putting into place a system that rewards talent and competence in a nation spanning 17,000 islands with a population of over 200 million people, Indonesia by its very nature as a democracy, is not a meritocracy. Consider the office of President, arguably the most important position in a republic. Citizens are not required to vote for the office based on demonstrated ability, but may choose a candidate based on religion, creed or even his good-looks. Politicians are not required to have any executive brilliance or strategic foresight to attain the office of chief executive; but simply the charisma to dazzle the hoi polloi. Combine this with the reality that the votes of those who own property and contribute to the economy are equal to those who are landless and receive welfare and the result is that the votes of the wise and the stupid count the same, allowing politicians to pander to the lowest common denominator in elections. This obviously prevents the most talented and capable of candidates from ever becoming chief executive, and results in an Obama or Megawati facing off against a Vladimir Putin or Hu Jintao, both culled from actual meritocratic systems. Thus, because of its very nature as a liberal democracy, Indonesia is not a true meritocracy.

Meritocracy in Indonesia

Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia.

Meritocracy is a system that gives opportunities and advantages to people based on their talent, skills, education and abilities. This system is known to be success to improve the economy such as in Singapore. Indonesia is one of many countries that suggested to implement this government system. Unfortunately, Indonesia still has not use this system. Until now, Indonesia still evaluate their people based on wealth, status and connections. For example, there are two people who apply for a job, the first person has a family connection but does not have any skills and ability, and the second person has the skills and ability to work but does not have any connection. Finally, the one who get the job is the first person. Why? As mentioned above, Indonesia is a country that evaluate their people based on wealth, connections, and popularity. This kind of condition often really happens in Indonesia. Actually, if Indonesia wants to improve the economic condition and advanced their standard of living, Indonesia should adapt meritocracy system, so government representatives come from high educated background not from people who just has connection and status. So the conclusion is Indonesia cannot improve the economic condition due to fail in adapting meritocracy system . Therefore, meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia.

Marshellia-01PBE

Meritocracy

English Assignment. Irien Santoso.

Proved by the creation of one of the Pancasila principles, “Social justice for the entire people of Indonesia”, it could be assumed that meritocracy is initially an important belief or system held by Indonesians and its government. Unfortunately, today’s display of meritocracy is questionable with the high rate of corruption, collusion and nepotism contaminating the country’s government system. Due to these deceitful and unfair behaviours, appointments or credits are often given only to individuals who are considered as superior. The situation is aggravated by the existing cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious barrier shared among different groups in Indonesia which further make meritocratic system seems unfeasible to be applied. Another factor that threats meritocracy in the country is also the wide economic gap within the society which affects opportunity and level of education possessed by different groups in the country to advance. Poverty in Indonesia, worsened by the corrupt government, has made the less fortunate lost their opportunities to better living conditions due to the interrupted assistance services such as subsidies, health benefits or free education. With the numerous issues haunting the country and a dishonest government system ineffectively handling them, it is firmly believed that meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia.

Meritocracy is only a myth in Indonesia

To survive in this crazy world, to survive people must get jobs and earn a living. In this cut-throat competition market, getting a job is not as easy as it seems. Usually to be successful in doing something u have to work your way from the bottom to the top. They only way you can go to the top is by showing your talent and hard work so you can be promoted. They should be judged by their abilities(merits), not other qualities like social status, wealth or family connections. This is called meritocracy. Some countries uses that system while some other countries is totally against that system. In countries like Indonesia, sorry to say this system is not used, in most companies wealth, family connections, social status and political power is more important then the person's merits(abilities). Therefore it is save to say that Meritocracy is only a myth in Indonesia

Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia

English Assignment. Ian Eryanto Wongso. 01PBE

Indonesia, like any other countries wants and needs a great leader who can work logically, hard and honestly. Usually, these leaders are selected by the people who chose the president who will choose his/her own cabinet to help him/ her to run the country. Obliviously, only the best in their performance can only and should be selected. There are many methods such as nepotism, oligarchy, cronyism or social position to choose the people of the cabinet. But, seeing the repetitious bad condition happening in Indonesia such as major corruption, illegal logging and etc, it seems that the government is not selecting their people by their talents, which they should be. Therefore, seeing the progress of Indonesia government, meritocracy is just and had been a myth.

Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia...

Every person needs job. There are millions of people in Indonesia, either freshmen or not, are looking for their own profession. However, there are only limited seats to cover everyone. As a result, everyone should compete one to another. The company itself frequently seeks for employees in a rush. Some people attempt to do anything just to achieve the vacant job. They expose their wealth or seniority rather than their basis of skills and abilities. Indonesia’s freshmen start to missing their integrity. Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia.

"Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia"

Meritocracy is basically known as the system in which an influential group of individuals whose "progress" is based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth. For many years various countries around the world found meritocracy to be beneficial, however this system sends false hope of a better opportunity; a country that can be discussed is Indonesia. In Indonesia, one can argue that meritocracy is a myth due to evidential support on how one applies for a job or how one is chosen to work for the government. Applying for a job is not as easy as one may think due to the various competitors that a certain individual will face and due to the fact that meritocracy is not an option in making their decision. Meritocracy should be the system used in making the final decisions on who deserves the reward because it is the right thing to do, "let the best man win." Yet in Indonesia, it is not the best individual who wins, however it is the individual who is wealthier with better connections who takes the cake. Megawati Soekarnoputri was elected president of Indonesia on July 23, 2001 and many believe that the only reason why she was elected is because her father was the first president to ever exist in this country. As a president personally, Megawati had her ups and downs and never tend to carry out what she would mention in her speeches. She was not a good president, nor leader for that matter, which proves the argument that is being supported. Therefore, in Indonesia, meritocracy is only known as a myth.

Paragraph Assignment

"Meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia"

Nowadays, applying for a job is no walk in the park. There will be competition and applicants will be judge by plenty of factors. These factors such as; talent, ability, social status and even family connections will determine the result of the decision. Usually talent and ability are the factors that are more significant than the others, and when an applicant is accepted by those factors, it is called meritocracy. But companies from different countries have different perception of the factors. In Indonesia, talent and ability are not that significant. Social status and family connections are much more capable to affect the decision rather than talent and ability. There are plenty of people who got accepted because of connections. It seems that this kind of acceptance has been a culture for Indonesia, and has been done through out history. Therefore, meritocracy is a myth in Indonesia.

by: Xyzquo G.D. Poernomo

Myth of Meritocracy In Indonesia

In our life, we have to take many decisions and we believe that every single person want to get a good and right decision. But sometimes people are usually following their heart rather than thinking logically. Unfortunate, it is happening in Indonesia. We should asking why this independent country which is Indonesia still tagged as a under poverty country? It must be happened because some reasons. For instance is government. In Indonesia, we can give our money to the government, do whatever we want and it is show us how the governments are managing our country. The government in Indonesia is just following their wants and they do not thinking about the future of the country. In addition, we can see that many entertainers in Indonesia want to manage the citizen by becoming a government at some parochialism in Indonesia. From the statement above we can conclude that meritocracy is myth in Indonesia because of the government and also the citizen itself. Indonesia is supposed to have good leaders, government and people who can use their intelligent to make this country much better. What do you think?

Tuesday, 30 September 2008

A New Word

theriac

\THEER-ee-ak\

Meaning
1 : a mixture of many drugs and honey formerly held to be an antidote to poison
*2 : cure-all

Example Sentence
“Chicken soup may not really be a theriac,” said Helen, sniffling between spoonfuls, “but there certainly is something comforting about eating it when you’re feeling sick.”

Did you know?

There really is no such thing as a single remedy for all that ails us.

But that hasn’t kept English speakers from creating, not just a single word, but several words, that mean “cure-all”: “catholicon,” “elixir,” “nostrum,” “panacea,” and today’s word, “theriac.” When we first used “theriac,” it meant “an antidote for poison” — for any and all poisons, that is. That’s how our Roman and Greek forebears used their “theriaca” and “thēriakē,” which derive ultimately from the Greek word for “wild animal.” The first theriac was supposedly created by the first-century Greek physician Andromachus, whose concoction consisted of some 70 drugs pulverized with honey. Medieval physicians created even more elaborate theriacs to dose a plague-dreading populace, for whom the possibility of a cure-all didn’t seem too wild a notion at all.

An Important Announcement

Due to the nature of the corrections to a majority of the surveys,
there's a need for face-to-face consultations before the surveys are
distributed and results are processed for purposes of the class presentation.

As such, the presentation of results will be moved forward by 1 week.

Corrected surveys will be released the week of October 6-10, 2008 via email.

Cheers

Wednesday, 17 September 2008