“Neolib”

For the past one week, ‘Neolib’ has been the buzzword in Indonesia’s mass media. From academics, activists, to lay men, the word has been hotly debated. This is due to the candidacy of Boediono, Indonesia’s Central Bank Governor who just resigned from the post, to run with SBY, the incumbent. Boediono may perhaps be labelled as the extension of IMF, neoliberal hardliner, pro-capital policies, and in the end, a salesman of Indonesia’s assets.

That is what has been discussed. But to my surprise, a friend of mine, who just managed to secure a seat for the next DPR RI from Jateng II constituency (Demak, Kudus, and Jepara), was told by one of his constituents that down there in the villages people do not know what ‘Neolib’ is. When trying to ask a Democrat party activist regarding the buzzword what ‘neolib’ was, he got the reply, “In a nutshell, ‘Neolib’ is BLT (cash aid assistance), PNPM (cash programme for villages), and BBM turun (fuel price lowered)!!

Indeed, common people just believe it. Perhaps, those anti-neolib advocates must learn to convey those big words to be easily comprehended by common people. Say, ‘Neolib’ means “persistently unemployed” alias “nganggur terus”.