By: Arie Widodo (Lecturer and Founder of Tax Volunteers, University of Indonesia)
“One, two, three… Lift…
Continue… Moving forward… Turn right… Continue… Don’t rush the front… “
That’s a glimpse of the atmosphere of the sound of the traditional leader in the process of moving houses carried out by the Bugis tribe community in South Sulawesi, which is usually known as Mappalette Bola. For those who have not seen this customary tradition, it is necessary to describe that this activity is not only moving houses or goods but indeed the place of residence or house is physically moved to a new place. But the houses that were moved were stilt houses that were almost entirely composed of wood or bamboo and not wall houses as most people occupied. So in simple language, the house is carried by the community together. The house was so heavy and big, transported together and moved to a new place where there were only hundreds of meters and kilometers away. All residents who moved this house were men. Meanwhile, women prepare food and beverage supplies from the start of the activity until the end of the activity. The beginning of the activity usually begins with a prayer of salvation led by religious leaders. Then the homeowner and assisted by the community moved the furniture in the house so that the burden on the house would be lighter. The next stage is to install bamboo on the legs of the house stilt to be used as a handle when lifting the house. After everything was ready, the traditional leader who led the procession of moving the house gave a signal and directed the residents. Quite a lot of residents are involved, if the house is large enough and the distance to move is long enough, the residents involved can reach hundreds of people. There are two ways of moving the process, there is by pushing if the distance is not far and by being carried if the distance is far enough.
Ants
This routine and still sustainable activity is exactly the same as the activities carried out by ants. This small living creature with a number of 20,000 species is very inspiring for all of us. For those of us who often observe the life of ants, there will be many lessons that we can learn and examples that we can imitate. Some of the things that can be learned from ant life include:
- Strong, even though his posture is small, the strength to lift objects can be up to tens of times his weight. Humans? Maybe only weightlifters can do that no more than 5 times their body weight.
- Willing to share, have seen ants when they are eating, no one has ever fought or fought. All the food found must have been enjoyed together.
- Disciplined, the pattern of the ant path is very orderly and marched. There is no command from the male ant, but the level of discipline is very high.
- Getting to know each other and greeting each other, if they meet it’s like shaking hands with each other. There is a sense of mutual happiness. Some researchers refer to it as trophyllaxis.
- Mutual interests prioritize common interests over personal interests. We never see any rich ants or poor ants and no bossy style in their lives.
- Always united, the strength of the ant lies in its cohesiveness. Reinforce each other. Try to observe that if ants are crossing between branches in the tree, they help each other and help each other. When their home is disturbed or damaged, ants will be reactive to fight.
- Clear job description . Ever seen a house or an ant’s nest? Their house is neat and organized. Their job descriptions seem to be arranged. The role of the queen ant as the founder of the colony is only to lay eggs. The worker ants, all of whom are females, are tasked with taking care of the queen, taking care of the queen’s eggs, foraging, removing feces and supervising in case of conflicts in the colony. Meanwhile, male ants that have wings when they are adults are mating with young ant queens.
- High work ethic, mutual cooperation, shoulder to shoulder and cooperation with each other in achieving the same goal. Good and solid teamwork , quick response, good work execution, not blaming each other, not questioning the duties of other ants, not arguing with the coachman.
- Anticipatory, keep liquid food in his stomach. Ants always gather food supplies in the summer to face the winter. Assuming that all summers are winters, it indicates that they belong to hardworking beings, moving without stopping, never giving up, never being lazy and never despairing.
- Bear the burden of his fellow countrymen. Quoted from Surah Al-Naml verse 18, Allah SWT said: “Until when they reached the valley of ants, an ant said: O ants, enter into your nests” (QS. An-Naml: 18). When Prophet Solomon AS came with his army, an ant felt that there would be a threat of danger to his people and his people, he spontaneously said: there is danger…. Let us save yourselves, as it says in the Qur’an: “lest you be trampled on by Solomon and his army, while they are unaware”. (QS. An-Naml: 18).
Collaboration
How many of us feel the way ants feel and experience? Has it ever crossed our brain that we want to try to save the nation, want to do something for the life of the nation? Have we taken a role or participated in this country? Let’s see in our own lives, how much have we done for the nation and state? Most of us are quite reluctant to think and do something that has a huge impact and is needed by many parties. Some of us still struggle with personal interests in fulfilling our own needs. Even though our lives are helped and supplied by taxpayers. Highways, hospitals, bridges, schools, toll roads, infrastructure, ports and others are some of the tax-financed facilities. Taxes are the ones who bear the cost of development in Indonesia. If you look at the posture of the 2020 State Budget in Presidential Regulation Number 72 of 2020 dated June 24, 2020, the target tax revenue in 2020 is Rp. 1,404.5 trillion or around 82% of total state revenue. In fact, it is predicted to experience a budget deficit of 6.34% or the equivalent of Rp. 1,039.2 trillion due to the covid-19 pandemic.
If we search under normal conditions, the infographic of tax revenue in Indonesia in the last five years has not reached a single year that has reached the government’s target. In normal conditions it is not achieved, will it be achieved in the current conditions of Covid-19? The author believes that the government always improves excellent service and implements regulations adjusted to the latest conditions. It is necessary to make efforts to carry out risk management in the tax revenue process must be carried out in every tax service office environment. Jokowinarno (2009) defines mitigation as actions to reduce or minimize the potential negative impact of a disaster. The main goal of risk mitigation is to reduce or even eliminate the risks and impacts of those risks. It should be noted that development is not only the government’s task. However, it is the duty of all citizens. Try to each take a role according to their field and expertise.
- The government through tax officers is carrying out the function of excellent service, facilitator by creating conditions conducive to the development process.
- Academics, improving the quality of human resources, producing a resilient generation, educating the life of the nation.
- Taxpayers, be good taxpayers and obey the regulations. The government will only impose taxes when conditions are convenient and fair. Like during Covid-19, there are quite a lot of regulations that ease the tax burden of taxpayers.
- Tax volunteers, in addition to acting as agents of change , this group of young people can be a driving force for information and education to the public about tax science.
- Banking, makes the process of borrowing and borrowing easier for the community. In an effort to grow the economy so that it has an impact on the income that will be received by the community.
- Media, provide positive and useful information for readers.
- Other parties, for example, the MSME community share business strategies in dealing with Covid-19 conditions.
There needs to be driving initiators that involve all elements of society. Believe me, there is nothing difficult to achieve the tax revenue target if we implement it together. How important is mutual cooperation and collaboration. Do not all parties leave the task of state revenue only to tax officers. Don’t blame them if it is not achieved. Because it is the duty of all of us as children of the nation. With the meaning of help helping, working hand in hand by paying taxes, then indirectly helping our lives as well. So Sufism and emulating ants are very important for all of us. Because we were born in the same place, live in the same place and will die in the same place, namely Indonesia. (AW)
(This article has been published in SINDOnews.com and KOMPAS.com)
