Touring Indonesia Harmoni #29: A Dissertation by Zoom in Cirebon and the PCR Scramble in Semarang

Our journey can be watched on the channel: Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad

As it turned out, Dr. Tabrani had coordinated with the Cirebon City Police Chief to book a hotel in the City of Cirebon. So we had to stay in the City of Cirebon, not in the Regency of Cirebon. Once again, we needed to secure a hotel quickly, because in the late afternoon I had to examine a dissertation in Banda Aceh via the Zoom Meetingapplication. Since it was conducted online, I only needed to find lodging and simply check in to one of the hotels in this city. The dissertation defense ran until late afternoon. I used this opportunity to reconnect with the professors who served as virtual examiners. As it happened, the student being examined was one I had supervised together with Prof. Mukhsin Nyak Umar, namely Dr. Zubir, a lecturer at IAIN Langsa.

The chance to meet colleagues from Aceh face to face was something I had eagerly awaited, because it allowed us to exchange news. They asked how our journey had been since leaving Banda Aceh. One lecturer who asked with great enthusiasm was Prof. Hamid Sarong, who later, by the time we returned, passed away as a professor at the Faculty of Sharia and Law. During our tour, several teachers at UIN Ar-Raniry passed away, namely Prof. Dr. Farid Wajdi, Andika Prajna, and Fuadi. This of course brought profound sorrow to this journey, because the departed were dear friends of ours at the UIN Ar-Raniry campus.

At the same time, inside the Aston Cirebon hotel, we studied the route to the island of Kalimantan. It must be admitted that PPKM Level 4 had caused several cities in Indonesia to set up border checkpoints when entering those cities. We intended to cross into Kalimantan via Semarang, because heading to Surabaya would surely tempt us to continue on to the island of Bali. We had earmarked Surabaya as the place we would return to at the end of the tour, entering from eastern Indonesia.

In the end, the decision to cross to Kalimantan from Semarang was settled with various terms and conditions. For example, there were only ships to Kumai (Central Kalimantan), and none to Pangkalan Bun, that could carry both vehicles and passengers; routes to West Kalimantan were for cargo only. The next day, from the City of Cirebon we hurried toward the City of Semarang, along the Pantura (North Coast) road of Java.

The ship’s schedule had to be chased down, because if we missed the ship, it would affect the entire situation of our journey. We tore along the Pantura road for several hours until, by late afternoon, we reached the City of Semarang. Our primary target was the Dharma Lautan Utama office, to confirm the schedule and requirements for boarding the ship. As soon as we arrived, the security officer told us that the ship to Kalimantan departed the next day. The requirements were a PCR test and a Covid vaccine certificate.

We then decided to depart the next day regardless, accepting that the PCR price might be somewhat higher than the normal rate. The security officer told us where to find PCR testing at one of the health labs in Semarang. We headed straight to that place. There, we almost could not get the chance to take a PCR test with such a quick turnaround. We tried to negotiate, explaining that if we failed to cross the next day, it would affect the whole Touring Indonesia Harmoni.

We then presented our assignment letter from BNPT. A kind-hearted staff member assured us that we could take the PCR test and receive the results the next morning. The price, however, came to Rp. 900,000. I agreed at once. We completed all the required PCR procedures. Once everything was settled, we searched for lodging to spend the night in Semarang, praying that the results would come the next morning and would be negative. As soon as we reached our lodging, I informed the Head of FKPT Central Java, Prof. Syamsul Ma’arif, of our arrival. He was surprised because we had notified him so suddenly, as FKPT Central Java had wanted to welcome us officially.

I adopted this strategy in order to focus more on our crossing than on a welcome ceremony by FKPT Central Java. Prof. Syamsul then invited us to dinner together at a restaurant in Semarang. After dinner, we were taken to the Islamic boarding school managed by Prof. Syamsul. We shared stories. As it happened, he came under the same umbrella as me, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and he was a lecturer at UIN Walisongo, Semarang. While we were getting acquainted, a former terrorism convict came to visit us at Prof. Syamsul’s residence. In the end, the discussion grew all the more fascinating.

About The Author

Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad

Prof. Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad (KBA) has followed his curiosity throughout life, which has carried him into the fields of Sociology of Anthropology of Religion in Southeast Asia, Islamic Studies, Sufism, Cosmology, and Security, Geostrategy, Terrorism, and Geopolitics. Prof. KBA is the author of over 30 books and 50 academic and professional journal articles and book chapters. His academic training is in social anthropology at La Trobe University, Islamic Political Science at the University of Malaya, and Islamic Legal Studies at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. He received many fellowships: Asian Public Intellectual (The Nippon Foundation), IVLP (American Government), Young Muslim Intellectual (Japan Foundation), and Islamic Studies from Within (Rockefeller Foundation). Currently, he is Dean of Faculty and Shariah, Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

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