Right???

Everybody thinks they are right because they have right.

Do you know what the biggest problem of all cases in this world is? RIGHT! (The reader: I didn’t answer anything, but why did Cipuk say that my answer was right?)

Yes, the answer is “right”. We were born with rights. We have right to live, right to speak, right to own something, right to get good environment, and others. Our human rights have been assured in our constitution and the government must fulfill them.

Yes, human rights are gift from God, then we can do anything with them. Like a case I investigated in Pekanbaru, the biggest problem came from a right. Mr. A, the land owner, had a land ownership certificate of his 50 hectares land. Therefore, he could do anything with his right. He wanted to plant oil palms, so he burnt his land because burning the land was the cheapest and easiest way to do. Then, Pekanbaru’s people could not breath fine. They suffered due to the smoke.

Can you get the point? Yes, we have right. But, we have something else more important. It is obligation. When everybody demands their rights, the problems come. Meanwhile, when everybody does their obligations, the peace comes.

I think this is the mistake of our education. Why are we taught about right first, then obligation? It’s a reversed thought. The correct one is learning about obligation first, then learning about right. Remember a quote: “No pain no gain”. To get something, we must do something. To get something called right, we must do something for it. In that case, it should be: Mr. A must have had fulfilled his obligation to manage and protect his environment before suing his right to burn his land.

Remember, in constitution article 28J, we have to respect the others’ rights and be obedient to the limitations determined in laws. Mr. A was not obedient of his right limitations in Act Number 32/2009 about environment protection and management. Once again, respecting the others’ right is an obligation.