YESTERDAY I reached out to an old friend. His name is Zulkarnain, a man born in the 1980s and a father of three. He comes from a village deep in the countryside of North Aceh, specifically from Meurah Mulia Subdistrict. I first got to know him around 2011, when I was serving as a member of the Lhokseumawe City Local Election Supervisory Board.
At that time, I was on an official trip to Jakarta. As someone coming from the regions to the nation’s capital, all travel expense claims had to be approved by officials at the head office. It was while processing my travel authorization documents that I met Zulkarnain.
I was surprised to find out he was from Aceh — and even more so, from North Aceh, an area very close to where I live in Lhokseumawe. In the past, before it became an independent city, Lhokseumawe served as the capital of North Aceh Regency.
Zulkarnain seemed just as pleased to see us. Beyond sharing the same ethnic background, we were seen as people from his hometown. Our conversation naturally shifted from Indonesian to the Acehnese language.
Years later, during the 2018 General Election, he returned to his hometown in North Aceh. I want to try something new, Brother, he said back then. I’ve grown tired of life in Jakarta too.
He had indeed lived in Jakarta for a very long time, ever since enrolling as a student at the Perbanas Institute in Kuningan. Following his studies, he served for eleven years at the General Elections Supervisory Agency of the Republic of Indonesia.
Drawing on his experience and expertise in election oversight, he applied to serve as a commissioner with the North Aceh Regency General Elections Supervisory Agency for a five-year term. Praise be to God, he was selected as one of the commissioners for the 2018–2023 term.
Once his tenure as an election official came to an end, Joel — the name I usually call him by — found himself with hardly anything to keep him occupied. Aceh is not like Jakarta, where there are countless opportunities and things to do. What is more, he has long been registered as a resident of Jakarta; his network, friendships, and professional connections are all centered there.
Though he is a native son of the region, half his life has been spent in Jakarta.
A few days ago, I decided to contact him just to see how he was doing. To my surprise, he was deeply moved and full of warmth.
I am so happy you reached out, Brother, he told me over WhatsApp. In times like these, it means so much that you still remember me.
We then made a promise to meet and share a cup of coffee together. After finding a time that suited us both, we finally met at Padu Cafe in Geudong, Samudera Subdistrict, North Aceh.
We spent about two hours together, reminiscing about our days working in election administration.
Before joining the Lhokseumawe City Independent Elections Commission, I myself had also served as an election supervisor on two occasions — during the 2012 Local Head Election and the 2014 Legislative and Presidential Elections.
Reconnecting with an old friend is truly such a joy. Especially when you can offer them encouragement to keep moving forward.
You can do it, if you believe you can, that was the message I left with him.
KEMARIN saya menghubungi seorang teman lama. Namanya Zulkarnain, seorang pria kelahiran tahun 1980-an dengan tiga orang anak. Dia berasal dari sebuah desa di pedalaman Aceh Utara, tepatnya dari Kecamatan Meurah Mulia. Saya mengenalnya sekitar tahun 2011 silam, saat menjadi anggota Pengawas Pemilukada Kota Lhokseumawe.
Ketika itu, saya ada dinas ke Jakarta. Sebagai orang daerah yang pergi ke pusat, semua pembayaran biaya perjalanan dinas harus mendapat persetujuan dari pejabat di kantor pusat. Ketika mengurus surat perjalanan dinas itulah saya bertemu dengan Zulkarnain.
Saya kaget ternyata dia berasal dari Aceh, apalagi dari Aceh Utara, daerah yang sangat dekat dengan tempat tinggal saya di Lhokseumawe. Dulu, sebelum menjadi kota, Lhokseumawe adalah ibu kota Kabupaten Aceh Utara.
Zulkarnain kala itu juga tampak senang kami datang. Selain karena satu suku, kami juga dianggap orang dari kampungnya. Percakapan pun beralih dari bahasa Indonesia ke bahasa Aceh.
Bertahun-tahun kemudian, pada Pemilu 2018, dia pulang ke kampung halamannya di Aceh Utara. “Saya ingin mencoba suasana baru, Bang,” katanya ketika itu. “Saya bosan juga di Jakarta.”
Dia memang sudah lama sekali menetap di Jakarta, sejak mendaftar menjadi mahasiswa Sekolah Tinggi Perbanas di Kuningan. Kemudian, selama 11 tahun, dia mengabdi di lembaga Badan Pengawas Pemilu Republik Indonesia.
Berbekal pengalaman dan wawasan terkait pengawasan pemilu, dia mendaftar sebagai komisioner Bawaslu Aceh Utara untuk masa jabatan lima tahun. Alhamdulillah, dia terpilih sebagai salah satu Komisioner Bawaslu Kabupaten Aceh Utara periode 2018–2023.
Setelah masa tugasnya sebagai penyelenggara selesai, Joel—begitu biasanya saya menyapa—praktis tak punya aktivitas. Aceh tak seperti Jakarta yang punya banyak pilihan untuk dilakukan. Apalagi selama ini dia tercatat sebagai warga DKI Jakarta. Koneksi, pertemanan, dan relasinya lebih banyak di Jakarta.
Meski dia asli putra daerah, separuh hidupnya dia habiskan di Jakarta.
Beberapa hari yang lalu, saya mencoba mengontaknya untuk sekadar menanyakan kabarnya. Tak disangka, dia sangat terharu dan antusias.
“Saya senang Abang hubungi. Di saat seperti ini, ternyata Abang masih ingat saya,” katanya via WhatsApp.
Kami pun kemudian berjanji untuk bersua sembari menikmati kopi. Setelah mencari waktu luang yang pas, akhirnya kami bertemu di Padu Cafe di Geudong, Kecamatan Samudera, Aceh Utara.
Kami menghabiskan waktu sekitar dua jam bersama sembari mengulang kisah lama sebagai penyelenggara.
Sebelum menjadi anggota KIP Kota Lhokseumawe, saya juga sempat dua kali menjadi pengawas, yakni saat Pilkada 2012 dan Pileg/Pilpres 2014.
Bertemu teman lama memang sesuatu yang amat menyenangkan. Apalagi kita bisa memberikannya semangat untuk terus berjuang.
“Kamu bisa, jika kamu berpikir bisa,” pesan saya.