Monday 26 March 2007

Flooding - A Grand Day Out

Some curse the rain, the government or just about anyone else but themselves. Others raise funds, but don't have a clue who needs their help most they collect first, ask questions later. And some enjoy the "flood tour"!

One of the most amazing sights of the last month was recorded between the two overpasses in Kebon Baru, Tebet, South Jakarta, where heavy rains and inflow from Bogor had turned the low-lying land into a lake.

Hundreds of people gathered together, stepping around parked motorbikes to take handycam or camera-phone footage of the rare sight.

Rare? But doesn't it happen every five years?

"This bigger," said a man who was busy shooting and sending pictures via his brand new Nokia phone, momentarily forgetting that chest-deep muddy water filled his home in Bukit Duri, some 10 minutes drive away. Apparently without insurance he could not quite fathom out that he was a victim with little chance of getting any financial assistance to repair the damage.

Not only did they see the calamity as a photo opportunity but many appeared to be enjoying the cool weather and the spectacle.

A teenager parked at the overlook" tentatively snuck an arm around his girlfriend's waist. Parents encouraged their children to test the waters, probably rationalizing "it'll save us a trip to Ancol".

Once in a while, there was live-action entertainment as rescue workers battled to reach flood victims.

All that was missing was the popcorn.

Oh, wait, there's a gorengan (deep-fried snack) vendor, and there's another selling candy and cigarettes. The only thing keeping bakso (meatball soup) vendors from pushing their gerobak (carts) through the waters was a police patrol car blocking the way. Aaawh, too bad!

As sociologists often point out, Indonesians have the curious ability of being able to turn even the most grueling moments into enjoyable ones, especially those who have thus far survived the test of being dirt poor in the capital.

And, anyway, Jakartans are curious by nature. It doesn't take much for people to stop minding their own business. Crowds of onlookers are quick to form at crime scenes. Rubbernecking is a national pastime, “look a plane crash – get the barbecue out”, “wow, that volcano has just erupted, tell the rest of the village to come and see”, “ah shit, another flash flood, where’s the fucking surfboard when you need it”!

"It would be more stressful if we let ourselves cry. We might as well try to be grateful for what we still have," said a woman who was forced to sleep, eat and do her laundry in a public cemetery in Central Jakarta after her home flooded.

Many of the flood tourists on the Tebet overpass were also victims. Standing on the shores of the "man-made lake" was probably a better alternative than wading through the water in their homes.

Foreigners are often amazed by how resilient Indonesians are. Well, living in disaster-prone locations with people who couldn't give a toss about the environment means that they have to be.

But there is a very thin line between being resilient and being permissive".

The first means they bounce back after a fall, while the latter traps them in a vicious circle.
Temporarily enjoying the sight of the flood and then going back home and thinking they should do something so they don't have to see something like that again is being resilient.

Temporarily enjoying the sight of the flood and then returning to the same level of environmental ignorance while jokingly saying that "we are not Jakartans, if we are not flooded," is, not only being too permissive, but just being a pure fuckwit.

Anyway, don’t worry if you missed it this time, it will happen again because no fucker will do anything to resolve the problem. The cause cannot be eradicated, but the effect can be minimised, that is, if the greedy fat cat motherfuckers who can do something about it can be bothered!

Police question SMS Looters

In the aftermath of the floods, it has become evident that once again, Indonesians really know how to identify an opportunity, this time looting.

The Jakarta Police said that they had apprehended a man who is believed to have sent SMSs encouraging people to loot flooded buildings.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. General Sgt Major Unpronouncable said the man, who is yet to be named, was undergoing questioning. (Read getting the crap knocked out of him)

Many people have reported receiving text messages in the last few days about breaking into deserted homes. (Beats the shit out of “Where are you? “ and “What time will you be home?”)
"There have been no reports of looting in flooded areas but I confirm an SMS is being sent out that instructs people to go into flooded homes and take any valuables that were left behind by the owners," city police chief Insp. Gen. Major Corporal Brigadier Wherethe fukarwe said during a fag break outside the 6th Floor..

He also confirmed the man was being questioned (still getting the shit beaten out of him) but indicated there was more than one suspect in the case. (Possibly 12 million to be precise)

Thursday 22 March 2007

Out off Town


In Taipei, Taiwan today for business meetings. All wnt pretty well, but, I did get a chance to see the Taipei 101, the worlds tallest building for real.


Let me assure you, it is far more impressive than you can tell from photographs!

Sunday 18 March 2007

Looking for Work!


And they thought it could not happen here!

Young women from North Sumatra and East Java left their homes for the lure of good jobs and a better life, but instead ended up trapped in the hellish world of forced prostitution.

For three young women from Binjai, North Sumatra, the promise of work ended in a brothel in Pekanbaru, Riau, where they were forced to serve male clients in the Cirim Manis 2 red-light district. I've been in Pekanbaru may times, never ever heard of this area, but, I think it is best left unexplored!


Amei, Tina and Nunu said they were offered jobs as restaurant workers by a neighbor, who they identified as Rita, with a monthly salary of Rp 700,000 (about US$73). According to this neighbor, the jobs were in the North Sumatra regency of Pematang Siantar.


Tina, an elementary school dropout, said she jumped at the chance, and had no reason not to trust Rita. "Who would not be interested in a job with good pay?" she said. Tina said she, her younger sister Nunu and Amei, a distant relative, left home on Jan. 18.

After driving for a day in a Kijang van, however, the three girls found that instead of Pematang Siantar, they were in the Cirim Manis 2 red-light district.

Tina said the three were taken out of the van and handed over to a brothel owner, identified as Nana, who made the girls immediately begin serving clients.

Tina said that most days she had to sexually serve four men. "I served everyone from a becak driver to a police officer. For a short period each client was charged Rp 150,000, and Rp 300,000 for overnight service," she said in Medan, North Sumatra.

Nunu said the brothel owner made all 11 women working there take crystal methamphetamine so they could service more customers.

The ordeal of Tina, Nunu and Amei lasted for about two weeks. They were released from the brothel after their families paid the owner Rp 1.5 million.

A similar tale was told by dozens of women from Surabaya, East Java, who found themselves forced to work as prostitutes in Makassar, South Sulawesi, after also being lured from their homes by false promises of good jobs.

This particular trafficking ring was uncovered late last month after four of the women managed to escape the hotel where they had been forced to service clients. The women were eventually able to report the case to police in Makassar.

Sofi, one of the women, said she had made several earlier unsuccessful attempts to flee the hotel, which was always tightly guarded.

Then one night, about a month after being forced into prostitution, Sofi and 15 other women were able to escape through a backdoor in the hotel.

"We managed to get out and ran off in different directions. I managed to meet up with three of my friends ... the others I don't know," Sofi said.

She said at least 70 women had been forced to work as prostitutes at the hotel, a noted center for the sex trade in Makassar. The women, between the ages of 18 and 30, were recruited by a man in Surabaya identified as Jimmy.

When they arrived in Makassar, the young women were not aware they were to be employed as sex workers. They had been promised restaurant jobs with a monthly salary of Rp 900,000.
"I accepted the offer because I was only making Rp 400,000 a month working at a restaurant in Surabaya. So without thinking twice I signed a work contract with Jimmy," Sofi said.

On the ferry that took her to Makassar, Sofi was full of thoughts of making enough money in the restaurant to help support her family back in Surabaya.

But her journey of hope, like those of many other girls and young women, ended in the nightmare of sexual slavery.

Again, just another instance of Indonesians doing what at times they do best, taking advantage off their own!

The police forces turn a blind eye to this situation because, guess what, they have a vested interest in the locations where the brothels are located and without the rent and protection money they may have to work!

Great Balls of "um, err" concrete



A university team has declared that recent measures to halt the mudflow in East Java have had some success, while a political party has called for the area to be declared a national disaster.

The team, from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said Tuesday that the flow of hot mud coming from a botched gas exploration well in Sidoarjo, East Java, has slowed since the team began to insert large concrete balls into the well.


Bagus Fuckwit, head of the team, said that a smaller amount of mud had been recorded over the last week. "However, we're still evaluating the trends recorded, in line with our field observations," he said in Sidoarjo.

The ITB team has so far inserted 138 chains of balls. Eventually somewhere between 500 and 1,000 balls will be placed in the hole.


Rudi Fuckwit, a spokesman for the National Mudflow Mitigation Team in Sidoarjo, said he could not speculate about the results of the ITB team's work. "It still needs further evaluation, but we are optimistic and committed to continuing our work until we succeed," he said.

Chief Sgt. General Captain Major Fuckwit, a soldier stationed at the team's media center, was not so optimistic about the work. He said local soothsayers had said that the spirits who lived in the crater would be angry after being hit by the balls.

"The hot mud explosion happened because the spirits in the crater are angry. The insertion of the balls will only spark more anger. The soothsayers have already said there will be anew and much bigger burst. I believe this," he said.

The locals also noted that Lapindo Brantas "is believed to have triggered the gushing mud", and said that the company must not hand over its responsibilities to the government.

Good Thinking Batman, this means that fuck all will be done…..

It is estimated that the mudflow, which started around nine months ago, was costing the province Rp 500 billion (US$54 million) a day, with income from tourism dropping by around 10 percent.

In the nick, in Indonesia! Muchbetter than being free!


Barring an unforeseen delay, convicted terrorists will soon have a new home on Nusa Kambangan island off Cilacap in Central Java, where a new maximum security prison will open next month.

The idea is to isolate the convicts so that they cannot communicate with the outside world. No shit!

Being put behind bars, prisoners are expected to have restricted contact with people outside their cells or prisons. In general, they can only communicate with relatives and friends during visiting hours. They are not supposed to have access to communications devices like mobile phones and the Internet.


But what happens in many prisons here is quite unbelievable. Prisoners can easily bring in cell phones and even laptops, as in the case of Imam Samudra, who was sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. Even though he was imprisoned, Imam could still immerse himself in the world of terrorism using a laptop in Krobokan Correctional Institution in Denpasar. Iman had been calling for more terrorist attacks and been active in raising funds for terrorism several months before the second Bali bombings in 2005.

How could he obtain a notebook? It wasn't difficult. In July 2005, he ordered the computer from a friend and it was sent using the services of a courier firm to a prison guard, who later gave it to Iman, who also happened to have his own cell phone.

It is quite easy for prisoners, not only Imam, to obtain cell phones and other communications devices, and well as goods that are banned in jail. When the police raided Krobokan prison in December 2005, they found dozens of mobile phones, eight LPG stoves, three gambling boards, 0.5 grams of marijuana and 2,300 ecstasy pills, a brothel complete with female prostitutes, an illegal still, copies of Indonesian Playboy and a fuckwit in a Glasgow Celtic Shirt!

The smuggling of illicit items happens not only in Bali, but in many other prisons throughout Indonesia.

The finding of drugs in the Cipinang correctional institution and Salemba detention center, both in East Jakarta, is not uncommon. There have been many reports about the smuggling and distribution of drugs inside these institutions, which are severely overcrowded. As a matter of fact, some prisoners have run their own drug businesses from inside their cells. In many cases, prison guards or other employees are also involved.

The latest case came to light recently. The Jakarta Police said they arrested a woman late in February and confiscated 100 grams of heroin from her. She admitted that the business was controlled by two inmates in an East Jakarta prison. The police had earlier arrested two staff members from the Cipinang correctional institution and four other people for trafficking drugs, confiscating 415 ecstasy pills, 254.7 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 20 grams of heroin from them.

True, such abuses involving prisoners have been happening right under our noses for a long time. Besides the smuggling of various items, it is widely known that important inmates receive special treatment, even in Nusa Kambangan prison, although this has been repeatedly denied by Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin.

It is common knowledge that when Tommy Soeharto, the youngest son of former president Soeharto, was serving his jail term in Nusa Kambangan, he often flew to Jakarta for medical treatment. He also reportedly visited his supposedly ailing father at his home in Menteng, Central Jakarta, several times before he was released last year. It appears that he may also have attended the opening of the Indonesian A1 Grand Prix in January of 2006, flying in by helicopter while the President SBY, arrived on a motorbike!

The Central Jakarta District Court jailed Tommy for 15 years in 2002 for masterminding the murder of a Supreme Court justice, but the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to 10 years in 2005 on the grounds that he had not been proven to have illegally possessed arms and avoided arrest.
Because of "good behavior", the government was generous in awarding him a total of 32 months in remission so that he could walk out of jail after serving only about six years in jail.

Currently, Nusa Kambangan prison is home to inmates convicted of serious crimes, including premeditated murder and corruption. The idea of sending terrorists to the maximum security prison is actually not new. Funnily enough, it seems to work in other "developed" countries!

The new prison for convicted terrorists is being built next to the present prison complex. It will have the capacity to accommodate 400 inmates.

We shall see what turns up the first time they inspect the place!

Nyepi, the Day Bali gets shut-down!


The island of Bali is temporarily closed for 24 hours as of today at 6 a.m. through to the same time Tuesday to observe Nyepi (the Hindu Day of Silence).

The island's Ngurah Rai International Airport will welcome its last flight on Sunday at midnight and will halt operations until the morning of March 20.

The place is fucking well shut!

As the day approaches, everyone stocks up on essentials, no supermarkets are open, the bars are shut and even the lovely Balinese ladies will refrain from doing a turn!


During the ritual of Nyepi, 90 percent of the island's 3.5 million inhabitants will practice Yoga Semedi and Catur Berata Penyepian (meditation), Amati Geni (which forbids them from lighting fires and switching on lights), Amati Karya (working), Amati Lelanguan (enjoying leisure activities) and Amati Lelungan (leaving their houses). Shagging is also banned!

Bali will be completely darkened and silenced for a full day, allowing the island's Hindu population to meditate, contemplate and pray for a better future.

Nyepi is one of the most important religious rituals for Balinese Hindus to welcome the Saka New Year 1929.

No visitors are allowed to come to the island during the day of silence. All entry points, apart from the international airport, Gilimanuk Port in West Bali and Padang Bai Port in East Bali, will be closed.

Domestic and foreign visitors are encouraged to stay in their hotels and other places of accommodation during the holiday, as the island will be tightly guarded by traditional Balinese security guards, Pecalang, to ensure all people abide by the holiday regulations.

Schools, public and private offices, and banks will put a hold on operations on the day. Most local and foreign bank ATMs will only operate until 12 noon on Sunday and will be reopened on March 21.

Prior to the Nyepi holiday, Balinese Hindus carried out a series of rituals that began last Friday when thousands of Hindus paraded to the beach nearest them to hold the Melasti ritual -- the cleansing of utensils and more importantly, their souls.

The Melasti ceremony symbolizes the purification of the earth and the universe through the removal of all evil elements. Realistically I would require to be deported from the island if that were the case!

On Sunday, the Balinese held a Tawur Kesanga ceremony, a ritual to present a caru (sacrifice) to the Bhuta Kala (demons), which will be symbolized by giant Ogoh-ogoh dolls that act to ward off any devilish or negative forces.

Yesterday afternoon, thousands of people carried their Ogoh-ogoh and set them on fire at a Pengurupukan ritual. (Think the Indonesian equivalent of Guy Fawkes)

A Bali Police Spokesman Chief Inspector Major General Captain Fuckwit said he had already deployed hundreds of police officers to ensure the smooth running of the ceremony.

"Many streets are closed and rerouted to avoid traffic jams in many places in Bali. I suggest to visitors they stay away from the crowds for their own security," Pak Fuckwit said.

But for many of the island's visitors, these ceremonies provide a rare tourist attraction, with many traveling to Bali specifically to watch the holiday celebrations.

No live music, no lights to be switched on, no TV, no DVD, no beer?

Fuck that!

Why do they call it rush hour when nothing fucking moves?



I moved to Jakarta from Dubai after living there for over 18 years of my life.


I've been having a hard time dealing with the traffic and pollution here ...


Jakarta has been built in such a way that we can only get about by car, and more land is used for roads and car parks.


I suppose you could walk…….


All very easy to say, but, you stand more chance of getting knocked down on the pavement than on the middle of the road because our motorcycling fuckwit fraternity use them more than they use the fucking roads! That is, if you can get around the warungs all selling what passes for food here!


Even better: Take public transportation as it causes less traffic. Like fuck, stuck on the buses with the thieves and vagabond musicians….not an option!


They tried a dedicated busway, turns out that doesn't make things easier; it creates more and more traffic on the remaining lanes. They tried to work things out with the 3-in-1 system. Effectively this means that on certain roads and at certain times a vehicle must contain three passengers or more. Only two off you in the car, easy, pick up that third individual known as a Jockey at the side of the road and you are then legal!


But what about the jockeys? You need to keep all your valuables with you or locked in the boot as these fuckers will rip you off just as effectively as the thieving bastards on the buses.


Either way you look at it, you are fucked!


Ah Jakarta…………….

Tommy, dont you just love the guy!

The “government's handling” of US$10 million of "Tommy" Soeharto's money is the ultimate insult to the intelligence and sense of justice of the Indonesian people.

There is simply no justification for the government in 2004 and 2005 passing the money -- which had earlier been returned by a London branch of BNP Paribas -- straight back into Tommy's bank account.

Everybody knows the reputation of Tommy Soeharto. They know how he built his business empire largely by using, or rather abusing, the office of his father. Everybody knows that the nation, and successive administrations under four presidents since 1998, has been at pains to go after the money stolen by Soeharto and his children during the strongman's three-decade rule. And everybody knows that these efforts have been futile, leaving the Soeharto clan to continue enjoying their ill-gotten wealth virtually untouched.

Forget the mafia, ignore the Yakuza, the Soeharto family make them look like chickenshit!
Here was a rare chance for the government to at least keep $10 million of Tommy's money -- a piddling amount for him but enough to pay for schooling and textbooks for a significant number of Indonesian children.

The money could also have served as evidence to initiate an investigation into Tommy's business dealings. Had the government bothered to follow the trail of money in 2004, it's investigators would have reached London then, rather than now, almost three years later.

Instead of this, according to his own account, as soon as the money from BNP Paribas was transferred to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights' account in 2004, the government fuckwits decided that the money was clean and had no connection to any pending corruption cases against Tommy.

Once this was established, the money was transferred to Tommy's account. All of this took place while Tommy was serving time for the murder of a senior judge who was hearing his corruption case.

This is simply an unbelievable story.

At the very least, BNP Paribas had the decency to ask the government about the origins of Tommy's money before transferring it to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, rather than straight to Tommy's bank account. For the government to let Tommy off the hook when it had the chance to nail him is laughable -- but it is also tragic.

With most people living on less than US$ 2 per day, the callousness and downright criminality of this action should be cause for the people to vote these fuckers out off office, the only problem is, the government which would then be elected would be no better than the current power base!

Motor Racing

The A1 World Grand prix came to Indonesia in December, about a week after I posted my last submissions.

Brilliant day out, weather was abominable for a large part of the race, but I did get this cracking shot of the race action!
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Fetishes

This place is just around the corner from my house. Unbelieveably, it offers "piercing services" and erotic outfits!

Love the gas mask!
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Accountability is an alien concept in Indonesia

Accidents happen. Sure. But the spate of recent disasters in Indonesia's transportation industry can no longer be counted as accidents. The frequency with which they are happening suggests a much deeper problem in the way Indonesia runs its public transportation. Bear in mind, that as the people are so poor and the country is so vast, much of the populace demands “cheap” public transport, and it appears, that is exactly what they are getting!

The term "accident" suggests randomness, something that is unexpected. There is almost nothing random about these recent disasters. They are happening all the time, in an almost consistent manner. No-one can know the "what" and "where" for the next disaster, but we do know that it will happen again soon. So, the element of unexpectedness that makes them random events is also almost gone.

If this series of unfortunate disasters going back to the New Year -- one plane going missing and two more crash-landing, two ships sinking around the same time and one catching fire and then sinking -- are not accidents, then what are they?

By definition, then they must have happened by some design.

Some people in their search for answers attribute this to the Supreme Being. God is angry with Indonesia and has thus cursed us with endless calamities-- natural disasters, man-made disasters, including those in the transportation industry, and outbreaks of disease. But doing so would only relieve people of their responsibilities, as we are shifting the blame on to natural phenomena and eventually on to God.

This “inshallah” mentality exists everywhere and accordingly, no-one appears to give a fuck about these disasters.

The disasters in the transportation industry happened almost by design. They reflect the failings in the way the country runs its transportation industry.

Here, the blame must lie squarely on the government's door step. It's the job of the government, in this case the Transportation Ministry, and nobody else, to ensure that operators (of planes, ships, trains, buses and so on) comply with some standards of public safety.

The operators have an obligation to meet these standards, and in this era of stiff competition and slim margins they are bound to try to cut costs here and there as far as they can to maximize their profits, probably to the point of compromising public safety aspects.
It is thus left to the government to make sure that these operators comply by instilling mechanisms such as regular airworthiness (or sea or road) inspections and checking the credibility and reliability of the maintenance. Their first concern should be the safety of the public.

In the case of the recent disasters, the only logical explanation is that the operators may have failed to comply with the standard safety measures, but it is the government's fault for failing to ensure full compliance with safety rules and regulations.

And, just as predicted, rather than taking responsibility for its failures, the government resorted to scapegoating after each and every disaster. In the case of the airline industry, last week the government announced that from now on, airlines can only buy or lease plane not older than 10 years at the time of registration with the government.

Whatever this new ruling means -- the industry itself is confused -- the message from the Transportation Ministry is that the series mishaps were caused by the ages of the planes, thus relieving the ministry of responsibility for the failure of its inspection mechanism.
A Transportation Ministry official, Ima Fuckwit also announced last week the replacement of two senior bureaucrats in his ministry in the wake of the sea and air disasters, and then added: "I would step down if the President instructed me to."

Accountability, meaning taking full responsibility for one's failures, seems like an alien concept to the Indonesian government.

In Japan, tradition dictates that a minister tenders his resignation without waiting to be told to by the prime minister in the wake of any big disaster or scandal in his jurisdiction. The minister is not only taking responsibility for the failure of his ministry, but he is also telling the public that politically, the buck stops with him.

He is thus shielding the honor of the prime minister. And the prime minister will go on to appoint a new minister more capable of dealing with the problem, and he or she in turn will make sure that no disasters happen on his or her watch.

In Indonesia, how many times have we heard failing ministers say that he or she would only resign if asked to by the president. Doing so in public, that minister is essentially saying two things at the same time: to the public he is saying that it's really "the President's fault and not mine" that these disasters happened; to the President, he is really saying "fire me if you dare."

So now it's really down to the President. Will he step down?

I would not hold my breath!

Personal Possesions

Getting on with the task in hand, this was a familiar site throughout the city!
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Some took it better than others


The main thorughfares in Jakarta varied between ankle deep & knee deep. being used to it, most people really did not appear that bothered.
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Quenching ones thirst!


It got tougher and tougher getting to the bar for a beer! This is Kemang Raya en route to the Eastern Promise!
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Discounts

Despite being in an area which is commonly flooded, the Eastern promise in Kemang new how to keep its customers!
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Lazy Bastard

I know I've been a lazy bastard and have been told repeatedly to get off my arse and post again! I can make any number off excuses but I know none off them will wash!

As usual, Indonesia has had its fair share of crap, floods, landslides, air crashes, earthquakes etc, all apparently normal for here but I'll try to recap over the next few days about 13 weeks worth of activity here!

Better get a move on!