Batas

Jaleswari:
The sun here is stinging hot, Sir.

Arif:
[laughs] Yes, we know that, Ma'am. We're at the equator. So there's always a backup sun, Ma'am. You should be afraid if it's not hot enough.

Jalung:
[shouting] The Floating Post! Sailing through rivers, passing through hills. Carrying packages for the whole village. Here I come: Jalung, the floating mailman.

Jaleswari:
[to village women] Now, if the children go to school, they will become smarter. They'll think about how to survive on their own land. They can become doctors, soldiers, or even a teacher like Mr. Adeus.

Village Woman:
I don't want my children to become like Adeus. He can't hunt, he can't farm, he can't even sharpen knives.

Adeus:
[congenially, to Jaleswari] I think our efforts are enough for today.

Panglima Galiong Bengker:
[to Jaleswari] Many people are smart, but only a few are willing to understand. If you kids truly, sincerely, want to help the people here, understand our way of thinking. If you can't, Jales, go back to Jakarta.

Arif:
Ah... Madam Jales, Madam Jales, please back off a little. [pointing to low stone marker] This boundary marker indicates the border between Malaysia and Indonesia. Madam Jales has just entered Malaysian territory without a permit.

Jaleswari:
[surprised] The border is delimited only by stakes like this one? [looks around] Without walls or... barbed wire?

Arif:
[smiles] Yes, indeed. For indigenous people, they can cross without difficulty. One must remember that the communities along this border are all of one tribe, they are brothers. Because of politics in the past, they became separated. But their social and cultural ties are ultimately one. When the border was created, legally they aren't allowed to cross. But since the terrain is like this, it's also hard to monitor.

Panglima Galiong Bengker:
[angrily] Adeus, wake up! That city girl is tougher than you!

Adeus:
[dejectedly, referring to Jaleswari] That girl is incredible. [pause] She does not think of school as just a rectangular room. She has created an even bigger classroom.

Panglima Galiong Bengker:
[agitatedly] So, wake up! You, here! [splashes Adeus with a bucket of water] Listen, Adeus! You are our hope, the village hope!

Jaleswari:
I've failed, Chieftain. It turns out my intentions and goals are not accepted by everyone here.

Panglima Galiong Bengker:
Come on, don't feel that way. It poisons your heart and mind. To me, child, you have managed to see the way we see. You are able to hear the rhythm of our culture. And also delve into our thoughts. For me, that's enough to accept you as a child of nature in the land of Borneo.

Jaleswari:
But they want me to go, Chieftain. Perhaps I've crossed the line. I should've tried harder to keep to the boundaries.

Panglima Galiong Bengker:
Each one of us has boundaries. Look at the path of the sun. There are times when it rises to illuminate this universe, and times when it sets to make room for the night. For us humans, we can distinguish things that are bright, so that we can know one another, as well as perceive things that are dark, so that we can ponder and reflect.

Jaleswari:
[to Adeus] People say you never sharpen your knife. They're wrong. The knife has always been in your soul. The knife has been slashing up the boundaries of your doubts... of remaining Indonesian, even though you have the option of crossing the border. You're doing the right thing. Keep teaching that to the children here.

Jaleswari:
So what is it that you still don't understand?

Arif:
Why time flies by so fleetingly.

Jaleswari:
[sighs] Perhaps you've never known how much time waiting really takes.

Arif:
To wait without expectation, what's the point?

Jaleswari:
Are you able to do that?

Arif:
I don't understand what you mean.

Jaleswari:
Someday you'll understand. If you feel the presence of someone who had left you.

Arif:
Yes, it seems that we all need time.

Jaleswari:
Yes, everything takes time. Nothing is certain. Nevertheless, Arif, all that has happened here, I will never forget. Because this is where I experienced things beyond the limits, beyond what I'd ever experienced in my entire life. And here is also where I learnt how to respect those boundaries. I learnt to keep them strong. As tough as your efforts to guard the borders of this country.