From the category archives:

Indonesia

Medan Is NOT The Worst City In The World

photo credit: a_rabin I came to read this article that says Medan (capital of North Sumatra) is the worst city in the world from Twitter. Eyebrows were raised reading it, disturbing but at the end I found myself laughing. Disturbing, because as much as I have this love-hate affair with my own country, it always pull a few nationalism nerves on me when I read others write badly about Indonesia. Funny, because it sounds like that piece of crap – yes it is crap – article came out of an amateur bitter tourist. Let’s analyze it a bit, will you. You’re slim pickin’s for hotels, you don’t seem to boast a single, decent restaurant and from what I’ve heard, you’ve .....

12 Unique Facts About Indonesia

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Being Indonesian, let me introduce you to 12 Unique Facts About Indonesia With over 17,000 islands – approximately 6000 of them still inhabited, Indonesia is the largest archipelago country in the world. Over 580 languages and dialects, Bahasa Indonesia is the formal language (I only knows several traditional languages and dialects) Rice is the main food staple in Indonesia. That’s why most Indonesians will say they haven’t had their meal before they had rice even after they had eaten pizza or hamburger! Indonesia is home to one of the previous 7 Wonders of the world – The Borobudur Temple. It’s the biggest Buddhist temple in the world built in 9th century. Still one of the huge tourism spot in Indonesia. .....

Sex Tapes & Quake Victims

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That got you wondering what the heck I’m talking about? I’m talking about the recent scandal of sex tapes involving a singer, and two model/actresses that crowded not only the airwaves but also became Twitter trending topic. Everyday their news are on TV from major news time slots down to those infotainment gossip shows. A sex tape(s) is a sex tape(s)…deal with it…move on already! Not so much! This thing had caused so much uproar in Indonesia that the parliament members feels it is important to hold a special meeting to discuss it? Holly cow, Batman! Ridiculous is an understatement, many Indonesians doesn’t even know that a pretty big earthquake at 7.1-magnitute struck Papua province last week, June 16, 2010. .....

Religious Thuggery

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A couple of days ago a dear friend of mine forward me a link to sign this online petition to disband FPI. What the heck is FPI you asked? They are this big Muslim organization, literary translated means Islamic Defender Front. With their histories of violence acts in the name of religion, you bet I signed that online petition! FPI has been left alone for far too long, untouched by the law because they are religious group? Come on! This kinds of groups contributed to the bad imagine Indonesia have abroad and instead of ‘defending‘ their religion, it only makes Islam’s image more tarnished. One fact that sadly most of these kinds of group’s followers seems to forget (or brainwashed?!) .....

2 Years Old Smoker – Bad Parenting or Bad Policy?

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I for one is quite surprise to see this news spread internationally like wild fire for the last few days. Why? Because this boy is not the first case…yes – maybe first case that got such a spotlight – internationally none the less. There was another boy from Malang that ‘made-it-on-the-news’ last month. This 4 years old boy’s case is more severe, not only that the boy puffing away but also cursing like a sailor. Good to hear that children rights activist group had interfere with government and the boy is now smoke free. These are just a friction of child smokers in this country, the data from the Central Statistics Agency showed 25 per cent of Indonesian children aged .....

Jakarta Poverty Tour – My 2 Cents

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After seeing this on the evening news on Tuesday I can’t stop thinking about it. Jakarta Globe did a great write up about this on Voyeurism or Philanthropy? Jakarta Poverty Tours Sparks Debate and I stumble into this article on Karbon Journal. When one of the news anchor that interviewed Ronny Poluan, the man behind this Jakarta Hidden Tour and asked: “Aren’t you ashamed to show this kinds of life to tourist?” – I got all worked up! Kudos to Ronny for his honest answer “What’s to be ashamed for? It’s reality!” Bull’s-eye answer! Poverty stricken people does exist in this country especially in Jakarta. In fact it’s one of the biggest problems here but rarely address. Urban poverty numbers .....

Passport Renewal in Jakarta

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Seriously, I blame my mommy brain – just like I blame it for the decrease memory space in my head – that my passport had actually been expired since February this year! Last Friday, my youngest brother Danny and I went to the South Jakarta Immigration office. Although I had always used travel agencies to take care of my passport, this time we agreed to try something different. Doing it ourselves! Gasp! Why I used travel agencies before? Simple, because dealing with government officials here can be a total pain-in-you-know-where! We went there at 6 in the morning – yes no kidding! Half an hour ride in a taxi we got there and around 15-20 other people were already there. .....

Jakarta Riot, 12 Years Ago

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Has it really been this long? 12 years since the bloody and deadly riot in Jakarta, one of the worst in history of this country. It was during May 14-15 when the riot became more wide spread and turned violent. So violent I could never see some of the photographs that were circulating on the internet some years ago. What started as an outcry from the public from economic recession, national currency collapsed and prices of basic goods went sky rocketing. Students took to the street and voiced their protests to the then president, Soeharto. Two major universities lead the protest and the president ordered military to took over and four students were shot dead on May 12. It was .....

Dual Citizenship Dreams

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When Lil’ A was born in December 2006, the Dual Citizenship law for mixed children born out of marriages between Indonesian and foreign citizen parents were still pretty much fresh from the oven. We were pretty lucky as the law stated children born after the law was implemented (June 11, 2006) should immediately granted with Indonesian citizen, while the ones that were born prior, have a more tedious steps to follow. By the time he was 7 months old, Lil’ A proudly have his Indonesian passport and the process at Indonesian Consulate in Houston was a breeze. Although the law stated that when the child turns 18, they will have to decide which citizenship to follow and ditch the other .....

Kartini Today, Are Those Shackles Off?

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A little history lesson from Indonesia, Kartini or sometimes known as Raden Ajeng Kartini, was a prominent Javanese and an Indonesian national heroine. Kartini is known as a pioneer in the area of women’s rights for native Indonesians. For her roles in women’s rights Indonesian government declared April 21st as Kartini Day in 1964. In many ways she was a woman before her times. She wanted women to have the freedom to learn and study. Kartini’s concerns were not just in the area of the emancipation of women, but also the problems of her society. Kartini saw that the struggle for women to obtain their freedom, autonomy and legal equality was just part of a wider movement. She detests polygamy .....

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