Posts from — 12 May 2011

DENPASAR: A mechanic on board a PT Merpati Nusantara Airline flight that crashed in Kaimana in Papua last Saturday, was buried in an Islamic cemetery in Bugis village in Denpasar on Tuesday.

Joko Santoso, 41, is survived by his wife Siti Muawana and two children.The late mechanic had worked with the airline company for 21 years.

The engineering general manager at the company’s Surabaya branch office, Priharyono, expressed his condolences to Joko’s family.

“We feel deeply sad because we have lost so many dedicated staff. We pray for the bereaved families,” Priharyono said.

Ni Komang Erviani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Mon, 05/09/2011 8:00 AM | Bali

Officers from the elite police mobile brigade (Brimob) “paid homage” to their weapons Saturday to celebrate Tumpek Landep, the Balinese Hindu festival for weapons and metal tools.

Balinese Hindu members of the paramilitary unit began the celebration by praying at Padma Bhuana Temple located close to the unit’s headquarters in Tohpati, East Denpasar.

Dressed in Balinese Hindu attire, the officers prayed to Sanghyang Pasupati, the patron deity of
weapons.

Following the prayer, they gathered at the temple’s outer yard, where dozens of assault rifles, light machine guns, automatic pistols, revolvers, tear gas launchers, batons and shields were arranged on tables decorated with young coconut leaves. Next to the weapons were traditional Balinese Hindu offerings.

Similar offerings were also placed at the arsenal, where the bulk of the unit’s weapons are stored, and before an array of armored vehicles, water canon trucks, personnel carriers and jeeps.

The temple priest chanted while presenting the offerings before sprinkling holy water on the weapons. He then walked to the arsenal and the car pool to repeat the
process.

“Only the Brimob unit in Bali observes this ritual. The tradition is unique to Bali and we want to show our respect to local religious traditions,” Bali Police Brimob commander Sr. Comr. Heni Sulistiya said.

Bali Hindus celebrate Tumpek Landep every 210 days and, placing offerings before weapons, cars, metal tools and even computers.

“Landep means sharp and the celebration is our way of asking the gods for the gift of a sharp mind in our ongoing struggle against the darkness,” Padma Bhuana Temple priest Jero Mangku Made
Sukarma said.

He added that the ritual also symbolized the unit’s commitment to use the weapons to protect and to preserve peace and justice.

“The weapons should be used in the right way for the right reasons,” he added.

Bali Parisadha Hindu Council chairman I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana said Tumpek Landep was originally held to honor traditional weapons, such as kris (wavy dagger) and tombak (spear).

Now, Balinese Hindus use the day to honor everything made of metal and any instruments they use in their work, including laptop computers and cars.

“There is nothing wrong with that since all those instruments are, to a certain extent, also weapons in our battle against poverty and any other challenges posed by modern times,” Sudiana said.