Kredit (Credit)
No matter what day a Balinese’ birth date is, they are all the same, thing…they are keen to be ‘prestigious’ (gengsi).
That’s the sort of opinion that comes from I Wayan Morat Marit (I Wayan Hard Life). Before the discussion even starts he comes up with opinions like this while his friends just smile and nod.
“That’s why Balinese are arrogant and proud,” he continues.
If a neighbor buys a new car, he will buy a more expensive one. If a neighbor buys a Kijang, he will buy a Mercedes, whether he can drive or not, or whether he has a garage. He will park his Mercedes under a jackfruit tree during the day and birds will shit under the car and during the night chickens will sleep on it. He doesn’t really care…as long as he is happy with his status.
“If a neighbor has a Blackberry, he will buy four Blackberrys, so his pocket will full of Blackberrys. It doesn’t matter for him whether he understands about email or chatting, or if his Blackberrys has phone cards or not: he just wants to show off,” adds I Wayan.
The most important thing is ‘appearance’ — or what you can see with your own eyes.
These sorts of people are usually lazy. They do not want to be workers nor staff in an office. They don’t like to be ‘subordinates’.
These kinds of Balinese will become “LPD” (Lemah Peteng Diwang = Hang Out All the Time) and KKN (Kilang Kileng Natakan lima ken rerama = Still asking for money from one’s parents even though one is already grown up).
“Where do they get their money even though they don’t work to keep their ‘prestigious’,” asks I Made Srarat Sririt (I Made Weak Body).
In old times, it was a bit difficult to keep your ‘prestigious’. Many people had to sell their inheritance to make themselves look successful.
“Today it is much easier as there are many agencies who can support you to make yourself look ‘prestigious’. If you want to have a new car like your neighbors, many agencies can help you buy something on credit, from Finance bodies, bank to LPD (village bank),” says I Wayan.
You can buy anything on credit these days; houses, cars, motor bikes and even creambath and rebonding.
“As everything can be bought on credit, never be surprised to see a poor Balinese can ride a new Honda!”
As many Balinese want to be prestigious, never be surprised to see a farmer going to a village bank. It is not because he has a deposit or saving: he goes there to borrow money.
Don’t be surprised to see more and more Balinese looking ‘prestigious’ and pretending to be rich.
Even when you are poor, you can be look ‘prestigious’ to your neighbors by buying things on credit. You can borrow money at the banks. And when you can not pay with cash, you can pay by credit.
