Tukul: The New Phenomenon

Tukul, when you hear that name you probably wondering who is he? Why is he so famous now in Indonesia? For you who is not so familiar with him, Tukul is a host for a show called "Empat Mata" in a local television network. At the beginning, sometime in June 2006, the show was only aired once a week. But now because the rating has gone sky rocketted, the show is aired everyday from Monday to Friday. Not only that, it is said that Tukul received between 20 to 30 million rupiahs per episode. His contract has just been renewed to 260 episodes. Just calculate it, and imagine what amount will he receive for a month or a year. Astonishing right?
Tukul who started his career as a comedian, has now become a celebrities. With his jargon "Silen please!", "Kembali Ke Laptop", "Puas? Puas?" he set a new trademark for a comedian. You can see nowadays, people are not shy to admit that they come from a small village, a village which represented by only a dot in the map. They now have a new idol, Tukul Arwana, who himself admitted that before becoming a successful presenter, he had to go from a village to another to act, and often he didn't get a warm welcome. But now through hard work and commitment he has turned all of that and silence his critics.
He really has inspired many people, young and old, male and female, even kids. Take this as an example: I was sitting in front of my counter desk at my internet cafe, when two teenagers trying to come inside. But he wrongly opened the door, he should have pulled the door, instead he pushed it from the outside. I said "pull the door, don't push it". After he opened the door, he smiled to me and said "sorry, I am a katrok (villager/peasant) like Tukul". Hearing that I said to myself, Tukul is really a great star, he can make people forget they come from somewhere only he know, or make the city people admitting they come from a small village. It's amazing, really amazing. He is the new phenomenon in Indonesian television. Let's just hope he carries on this way, just keeps humble, keeps his feet to the ground and as always giving a good joke. Quoting from MacGyver (again): "From the bottom of my heart, I salute you!"