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| The Black Fingernail |
by Farah 'Fairy' Mahdzan 
(6-May-2004) | Readers Say |
| It was during a drive to Glodok in Jakarta with a few friends last Saturday that I noticed a peculiar dark discoloration on Fibi's left pinky fingernail as she rested her hands on the steering wheel of her Toyota Starlet. I winced silently as vivid images of Fibi's finger getting slammed by a door flashed continuously in my head. Hesitating for a minute, I leaned forward to ask my nerdy Indonesian friend about her kuku jari kelingking. "'Napa sih jari loe, kok hitam begitu, Fib? (What's wrong with your finger?)" I asked her sympathetically, slightly dreading her upcoming nasty story of how she bruised her little digit. Indonesia just had its pemilu (legislative election) last month. After every Indonesian casts their votes by stabbing a traveler map-size ballot paper with a nail (the metal kind) on the party of their choice, or nyoblos, one finger is required to be dipped in black ink. The black mark on Fibi's little finger differentiates her from folks who haven't voted, enabling quick transparency in carrying out voting exercises and discourages people from voting more than once. In a country where 147 million people were registered to vote, such a crude branding can be quite a God-send when tracking voters. Aan, who was sitting next to me in the car, smirked as he showed me his pinky finger, exposing a similar-looking black fingernail. We all laughed when he said "Sebel, kukuku hitam nih!" Apparently, it had been a month since Aan went to vote and while the black ink has washed off from his finger's skin, it seemed to have semi-permanently seeped through the nail! Not everyone went to nyoblos. At least one Indonesian friend in the car had a clean left pinky, a subtle sign of protest and disbelief in the governmental powers that be. Aan and Fibi aren't the only Indonesians griping about this tinta pemilu incident. People are retorting on forums, going as far as sarcastically humoring that the stubborn ink might actually be the same kind used in tattooing. Since presidential elections are due in July, Indonesians can expect more of this horrific-looking ink stain on their untainted finger nails. Another close Jakartan friend shared with me a clever tip when it comes to easy removal of the cursed voter's black ink on the fingernail. "My family and I apply transparent nail polish on our nails before heading off to the voting booths. Removing the unsightly ink on our nails after we nyoblos is as easy as using regular nail polish remover!" declares Riga. So how will you be wearing your nails this pemilu season, dear friends from Indonesia? Daintily polished or semi-gothically smudged?
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| WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT The Black Fingernail: |
#29. Malaysian GIRL you mean.  Posted by Fairy on 16-Sep-2004, 13:27 MYT
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"Oh ga papa kok, kemarin setiap orang yang sudah nyoblos jarinya dikasi
tinta, biar tampak beda sama orang yang belom nyoblos," explained
Fibi. I heaved a sigh of relief at her answer; it was merely black ink
and not some gory blood clot underneath her fingernail!
Cool nyoblos huh?!! Kinda cute also..
All the best for the presidential elections then! Remember, transparent nail polish! 
