Touring Indonesia Harmoni #30: Boarding the Ferry from Semarang to Kumai, Kalimantan

This former terrorism convict recounted what he had been doing all this time, namely helping friends who had once been terrorism convicts return to a normal life in society. For them, stigma and economic need are crucial problems for those who have only just been released from prison as terrorist inmates. For that reason, this former convict undertakes various efforts to bridge other ex-convicts with stakeholders in Central Java. Naturally, in the midst of his account, he often wove in the story of why he had been drawn to becoming a terrorist. This story can certainly serve as a lesson that terrorism brings no benefit to the Muslim community or the nation. After taking photos, we were finally escorted to our lodging to rest.

The next morning, our PCR test results were sent to us exactly as we arrived at the DLU office to buy tickets for the crossing to Kumai. As soon as we presented all the requirements we had completed for departure, the tickets were finally issued by the officer. The ship would leave for Kumai at 2 p.m. Once the ticket matter was settled, we headed to a roadside stall for breakfast. Because we were wearing our touring gear, the stall owner remarked that we looked like astronauts about to head into space. As soon as we explained our mission and spoke in Javanese, the woman running the stall finally smiled.

Usually, when I meet Javanese people, I use Javanese as the language of conversation. This certainly smooths the process of being accepted by the Javanese I am speaking with. Quite a few of them are surprised that an Acehnese man can speak Javanese. Then my story of having lived in Yogyakarta for years becomes the seasoning that endears me to Javanese people. Although, sometimes, when you hear Javanese people speaking Indonesian, the Javanese flavor is still very strong. The term used for that is medhok banget.

After finishing breakfast, we headed to Tanjung Emas Harbor in Semarang. Its location was not far from the DLU office. Beforehand, I had studied how to board the DLU ship from the YouTube channel of a biker who had crossed to Kalimantan. So I simply followed the directions and method from the experience of that
biker . As soon as we reached the queuing area, because I held an assignment letter from BNPT, I showed it to one of the officers. During the pandemic, a reason for traveling was so important for prospective passengers, all the more so under PPKM Level IV.

We were asked to wait in a corner of the room. At 11 o’clock the queue for verification began. We were asked to go through the verification process and check in with the port security officers. Once we completed all the procedures we had to pass through, we were directed to load the motorcycle into the hold of the DLU ship. Because we boarded early, we were free to choose a spot to rest for the night. The journey was planned to be just one night. After choosing a suitable place, we then wandered around to see what facilities this DLU ship had. It is said that DLU ships are always sought after by biker and overlanders for crossing from Java to Kalimantan or Sulawesi.

While we were enjoying lunch in the ship’s canteen, there was suddenly a surprise inspection by an ‘important person.’ He walked around several of the ship’s rooms. As it turned out, that ‘important person’ was the DLU manager for the Central Java region. He greeted us as well. After we told him about our journey, the manager offered his encouragement to Touring Indonesia Harmoni. After taking photos and asking for a few words about the TIH journey, we returned to our sleeping spot inside the ship. The atmosphere of this ship was very clean and orderly. Most of its workers, the crew, came from Java.

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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