Wednesday 29 October 2008

It's not a massage and there is no happy ending either!

Sometime soon, on a field or a beach in Central Java three men will be tied to stakes, hooded and a sword will fall, the signal to extinguish their hateful existences.

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Despite the fact that the Attorney Generals Office in Jakarta says it will be “in the early part of November, my money is on the fact that the whole affair has been a smoke and mirrors production and they will in fact be “topped” around lunchtime tomorrow or Friday.

Executing the Bali Bombers “early” will ensure that the retaliation attacks that were promised will be caught “left footed” and the police, in a further attempt to maintain civil order can quietly send the bodies by helicopter to the home villages of the three, thus eliminating a martyr’s protest as would have happened if the coffins had been transported by road.

My personal feeling on the death penalty is mixed. Iin the USA, where injustice has been discovered many years after an execution has taken place has left many lawmakers with a guilty conscience and has provoked widespread protest regarding the use of this judicial murder. Accordingly I rarely approve of this ultimate punishment, but, I am prepared to make exceptions. 

In the case of the Bali Bombers, I am of the opinion that it is perhaps correct that they should suffer as they made those involved in the carnage of Bali suffer.

And suffer they will.

This is no lethal injection with the recipient falling asleep quietly on a hospital bed, this is full on retributive justice.  Although authorised to deliver the “coup de grace” with a single shot to the head, it is unlikely that this will take place(if at all) for many minutes after the sound of gunfire and the smell of cordite have drifted away. 
Instead, if the current method is applied, there will be up to seven or ten minutes of gasping and groaning as their blood seeps out - three holes on on each of three punctured hearts - onto the earth or sand on Nusa Kambangan Island.
They will be escorted from their jail cells, given a medical check (the need for which eludes me, is it to prove that they were alive before being shot), chained and asked for any last wishes.
The last wish routine, while honorable is a strange ceremony when applied to these three individuals who did not grant the same offer to any of their 202 victims.
Shortly afterwards, three separate trucks will take the men to the execution site where they will be secured to their “crosses” (ah the irony) where they can choose to die kneeling, sitting or standing on their feet.
It has been reported that at this point, most of the doomed loose the bravado which they may have chosen to display during the time incarcerated leading up to this moment. The last minutes on earth of many is a mixture of apology, screaming, crying, sweating, urinating, shaking in terror and fear.
I somehow hope that the three men in question suffer all of the above. They at least will be aware that they only have minutes to live, their mortality facing them like a runaway train rather than the unexpected last moments which most others endure. 
During this time, the prosecutor will read the formal letter of execution and have official officials place three hoods on the heads of three cowards. Targets shall also be placed over the as yet functioning hearts, presumably not with “Smiley Faces” which say “Aim Here"
Three  Imam’s , one for each of the condemned will be at hand, a doctor, an officer in charge of the execution, the prison and police officials who transported the men and thirty six Kopasus or Brimob members, thirty six rifles, twenty seven blank rounds of ammunition, nine live rounds.........
And a sword!
It will be comforting for the three to know that each will have a team of twelve marksmen to aid them on their way to the hereafter, within these teams only three in each team will have live rounds in their rifles, these guns being selected at random by each individual from a selection laid out at the killing field or beach.
Behind their hoods, standing between fifteen to thirty feet away, they will here the soft crunch of military footwear on grass and shrubs or sand and seashells, moment’s of quiet punctuated only by the commanders instructions to the squads, various clicks as the weapons are moved from the safety position to the armed position and presumably, the only other sounds will be the wind in the tree’s or the swell of the sea on the beach and whatever prayers the three are chanting.Strangely different from the ruptured eardrums and ultimate ending of life that their victims experienced!
There is no shouted signal to fire, the commanders sword is raised in silence and dropped in silence. Indonesian law states that if the prisoners do not succumb to the initial volley, the commander is required to deliver what is known as an Amnesty Shot to the head, but, again, according to recent reports this is now uncommon.
It is my honest hope that this action, despite the extinguishing of three less than honourable lifes, brings closure to many and offers those who wish to emulate the Bali Bombers food for thought.
Oh, and by the way, there will be virgins waiting for you guys!


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Footnote: As the Bali bombers approach the end of their lives their angry rhetoric has increased with a letter from all three urging their Muslim brotherhood to "claim war and kill" everyone involved in their executions, including the Indonesian President. 

It says that if Allah destines them to die from the bullets of police then it will be a savage action. 

"To all Islamic people, especially Mujahidin wherever they are, it is your obligation to claim war and kill the persons involved in the execution, like Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, (the President) Jusuf Kalla,(vice-president) Andi Mattalatta (Justice Minister), Hendarman Supandji (AG), AH Ritonga (special crimes prosecutor), all the Judges and prosecutors, Hindus, Kaffir and hypocrite Christians and all the execution team, American's slaves etc," the letter says. 

They further call for all supporters of their execution to also be killed. 

And they say that for Mujahidin everywhere, including Osama bin Laden, to "get revenge, blood with blood, life with life". 

They ask their supporters to pray that their deaths will be as martyrs. 

As I mentioned before, I pray (to the non existent god that I do not worship) that the execution of these individuals will somehow diminish this level of hatred within Indonesia!

Friday 24 October 2008

The KPK targets bloggers!

It appears that Treespotter and myself may be under investigation.

This popped up on my StatCounter and amused me. The KPK are Indonesia's Anti Corruption Agency, more normally investigating Bank Presidents, Politicians and Pertamina Officials than internet smut peddlers.

202.127.108.153 (Komisi Pemberantas Korupsi (kpk)) [Label IP Address]

Jakarta Raya, Jakarta, Indonesia, 
0 returning visit

DateTimeWebPage
24th October 200809:40:57treespotter.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-why-bule-bloggers-are-useless.html
viewsfromtheeast.blogspot.com/
24th October 200809:54:51treespotter.blogspot.com/2008/10/on-why-bule-bloggers-are-useless.html
viewsfromtheeast.blogspot.com/

Why would the KPK be checking blogs on a Friday morning........just as well I got my Mutli Entry Permit renewed this week so I can do a runner if need be! 

Tangeranging at it's best!

The Orang Tangerangi’s surpassed themselves again this week with yet another display of fuckwittery.

On this occasion a scene straight out of “The Exorcist” was played out in the streets, with, it appears, no-one noticing that something was amiss.

During a protest rally, twelve of the group started

“writhing, shrilling and staring blankly as if possessed by spirits, locally know as kesurupan.”

As the Jakarta Post further explained…

One of the 12 allegedly possessed workers from PT Satia Liprindo claimed to be the Queen of the South Sea, or Nyi Roro Kidul as she is known in Javanese legend.

"I am Nyi Roro Kidul, you all leave now," she said, walking slowly and speaking in a deep voice.

Later some workers reportedly lost consciousness at the factory compound in Batu Ceper, Tangerang municipality.

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The drama did not stop about 300 other workers from continuing the rally and voicing their demands.

The reason for the rally….

The company's labor union chairman Budi Haryanto said the workers also demanded the company's president director take action against the directors and human resources division for allowing a rift to develop between the management and workers. They claimed management had banned workers from establishing a labor union at the company.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against labour unions, but, when the shop stewards start doing a King Canute and kesurupanning around, one wonders what their next set of demands will be.

PS: I’ll let you know how Tera Patrick is when she “comes” around!

It's only Rock & Roll

I have been working for a while on getting a “working” studio in my “office” at home. I finally got all the pieces linked together this morning and have no excuses for laziness. Now the only problem is what to do with it all…..

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On composing, something will spark the process and I tend to mess about with either the bass or acoustic, trying things out, until I get a melody, be it a few notes or a riff, that “work”.

This phrase has that “I can do something with this” feel to it. Expanding on the theme is more difficult that the creation of the original phrase itself as there are many ways to destroy a good thing. Bits and pieces are tried, added, discarded until there is the hint of a composition arranged.

With the theme developed, there is a question of “where within the structure of this piece” will the theme sit, is it at the beginning, the middle or the end? Once established , developing the “missing bits” tales place and the bones of a tune start becoming evident.

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This is the box of tricks that I recently bought which now simplifies the whole process!

As to the music itself, I cheat. The original tunes and structures are mine, but due to an injury to my left hand many years ago I no longer have the strength to play the guitar for any extended length of time. Thus, phrases are played into the computer in slow time and recorded as a track. Once in the computer I have a collection off effects which can be applied, some of which speed the track up, others apply effects like flange, phase, distortion, echo, delays etc which give the track its unique sound.

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Drum beats and patterns are programmed through a drum computer, or commercial samples (recordings from other artists) are used to create the rhythm components and the song develops a more formalised structure. These are added as a collection of tracks with the drum patterns possibly taking up to twenty unique tracks off the recording.

At this point, the flesh of the song is added to the bones. For this, there are many options available and the track can be enhanced by use of commercial samples, these can be downloaded from the net or bought on CD (yes, pirated from Ratu Plaza as there is no legitimate source in Jakarta).

These samples include keyboards, sound effects, wind or brass instruments etc which are added track by track to the composition. It is then when I review the original track which was the source of the song and if there is a commercial sample available which sounds more professional, I will insert the sample and remove my playing from the track altogether.

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When the composition is theoretically complete in a musical sense, it is time to mix volumes of each track (possibly 50-70 individual tracks) and decide where they sit in the soundscape ie, do they stay on the left / right side, do they move from channel to channel, will they sneak up within the song and fade away, and more until what sounds like a professional mix is achieved.

Much of what I am doing, is what is being done in professional studios worldwide by even the biggest of performers. These days, the finished piece is more cut and paste than “live recordings”.

The average length of time (for me anyway) from start to finish can be up to three months, and even then, the piece may evolve further after I consider it finished as I feel that additional elements can a be added or existing elements removed.

Having said that, this technique allows people like myself who can no longer play live or who do not have the necessary skills to play every instrument known to man to express themselves and create “pieces” which are, for the most part for their own satisfaction rather than seeking adulation.

Now where did I leave that plectrum……..



All the fun off the fair - on wheels

I see these guys all the time, basically a mobile fun-fair with the bicycle powering the ride....Indonesian inventiveness never stops amazing me!

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These guys ride around al day, traversing the kampung's looking for business from mothers who are stuck in the house all day.

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It may not seem much of a ride to westerners, but, having seen the look on the kids faces when the funfair guy arrives, Indonesian kids love it.

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If anyone knows what these guys are called and why, let me know!

How do they do it...two in one day

First there was this one


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Then there were two.....

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Both within a kilometre off each other...

A little something for the weekend Pak?

Now I know that Indonesia is very conservative, but, it apppears there is a market for some "unconservative products" 

Surprisingly not banned



Thursday 23 October 2008

Balinese Bestiality (and how to cure it)

Once again the Jakarta Post never fails to thrill.

In today's edition, this little gem unveiled itself, both amusing and sad at the same time (Sad for the cow) and shed a little more light on the belief's and cultures in Bali.

Villagers from Julah in Tejakula, Buleleng, towed a pregnant cow behind a boat into open sea as part of a local traditional ritual.

The cow, which was five months pregnant, was thrown out into the sea about 3 kilometers from land on Monday. The villagers believed the animal was impregnated by a village elder.

During the ritual the man, who was caught red-handed having sexual intercourse with the cow two months ago, joined the boat trip in order to throw away his clothes to to symbolize him discarding his sins.

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Julah customary village head Ketut Sidemen said the ritual, called gamya gamana, or freak weeding, had been conducted there for generations. The decision to perform the ritual was agreed at a local residents meeting.

In line with customary regulations, the perpetrator, identified only as PS, 70, was sanctioned to fund the expensive ceremony, which aimed to cleanse him of any bad influences.

Luh Ketut Suryani, a professor and activist, deplored the sancation against PS.

She said drowning a cow was baseless because sexual intercourse between a human being and an animal could not cause pregnancy due to the different chromosomes and genes of the two.

"The cow is not guilty, why should it be drowned? Why don't just use a symbol like what was done by the perpetrator?" she said.

Suryani said she was concerned with the financial situation of the owner, who lives below the poverty line.

"The cow, which has a high price, had to be thrown away. It will be a pity for the owner, who is already poor and is now forced to lose his priceless belonging."

What gets me about the whole sordid affair was:

a) They have a ceremony for people who have been caught and found guilty of bestiality.

b) What happened to all the beautiful women that Bali is supposed to have?

Certainly one of the stranger ones this year!

Ever wonder what is in the food you eat?

I spotted this in the Hero Supermarket flyer which announces the weekly specials.

I do not know about you, but I think there is something fundamentally wrong in the choice of brand name here!

Sausages will never be the same!

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Wednesday 22 October 2008

Bustin' Out (Bekasi version)

In my Inbox this morning I found a message which went thus:

rima fauzi has left a new comment
I have tagged you to do a boobs post.


The original subject matter arose from Rima’s Post on this very topic here…

I do not normally react to “being tagged” but, when the subject matter is one off fascination for ½ the planet (I have not taken account of gay ambivalence in this figure) I though I’d better investigate and deal with it.
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In order to first understand the male predilection with “mammalian protuberances” I decided to research what was considered the Determinants on Female Attractiveness and found quite an unusual comparison between the number off factors between males and females.

These were listed as below:
1 Determinants of male physical attractiveness
1.1 Build
1.2 Height
1.3 Variability in preferences

2 Determinants of female physical attractiveness
2.1 Signals of youth
2.2 Breast size
2.3 Proportion of body mass to body structure
2.4 Waist-hip ratio
2.5 Height
2.6 Prototypicality as beauty
2.7 Skin tone


I always knew that women were far more complex than males, but I had never seen the definitive list of physical measurements before. Interestingly, to get back on topic “breasts” were the second most important factor.

To further research, I took it upon myself to check out Desmond Morris, the author of “The Naked Ape” for a bit off “history” on the subject. Desmond obviously has run a check on the whole affair and came up with this.

"Other anatomical features also evolved to entice mates, they all appear on the front of the body--as if to encourage frontal copulation. Fleshy earlobes, protruding noses, red lips (which Morris says were designed to mimic the genitals), and swelling breasts evolved as sexual signals to invite copulation from the front."

"These have no physiological use whatsoever and biologists agree that their original function was sexual invitation. These sensitive, fleshy, delicate areas expand by one-third during intercourse. The nipples harden at the slightest touch, and for most women fondling of their breasts stimulates their desire for intercourse."

Perhaps the breasts mimic the fleshy, rounded buttocks that attracted males during rear-entry intercourse. Whatever the case, protohominid males liked them in yesteryear. Those with larger breasts had more young than those less endowed.

So, our reason for this fascination came from our hairy arsed ancestors who based a woman’s shaggability and thus the survival off the species by the size of her breast’s …Coool!

However, thanks to evolution and science, this need not necessarily be the case anymore and, to be honest, I am surprised that South east Asia became the most populous area in the world as the Asian boobage factor is not necessarily the highest in the world.

The Asian physique, generally petite does not happily accommodate significant “breastal regions” and off late, there has been in increase in the “Augmentation Industry” targeted at the South East Asian market in both the surgical and enhancement product area’s.

My particular favourite is the Yokoyama Corporation’s F-Cup Pudding snacks.

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These products, widely sold in Japan have e magic ingredient called pueraria mirifica, a plant containing phytoestrogens that is being marketed as a natural breast enhancer. The mango-flavoured pudding snacks also contain soy protein and red clover, other products with phytoestrogens that, it should be noted, are used for treating menopause.

Moving along, here in Indonesia the whole subject is a bit risqué, especially with the possible implementation of the new “Pornography Bill” which has been much discussed in other parts of the blogosphere,

This bill will however probably not stop Djarum, one of the countries largest tobacco giants working on the principle that “Tits Sell”

Djarum had discovered that there was a potential market in Hungary for their clove flavoured cigarettes and embarked on a marketing campaign to break into the product within the country. Problem was, how to market the trade mark smell of Indonesia within Eastern Europe using traditional Indonesian values and advertising skills.

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In Indonesian campaigns, the Djarum marketing executives have traditionally used hostesses who display a wholesome image, slightly taller than the norm, more décolletage than the lady next door and, if possible, fairer of face.

For Hungary, it was clear this would not work so, screw the traditional values, bare breasts and body paint were the order of the day. Want to make your average Boris start smoking kretek, easy, get him fair and square between the sights of two larger than normal breasts (or four may be better) and he will succumb.

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Not allowed here but perfectly acceptable within Europe….. they even do the "Hitam" (dark) version of this popular cigarette!

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So, there it is, as usual, even on the Breast Subject, double standards exist within Indonesia.


I must however admit that my personal preference is for the more delicate design in this department and, I will prove this by posting a picture of (in my opinion) the nicest pair of tits I have ever seen.

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Interesting Statistics
Google Statistics:
Google can find approximately 30 million websites that have used the standard word tits. This is far greater than the number it finds for either the word 'boobs' or 'breasts'

Google can find nearly half a million images based on the word tits. This is approximately 4 times as many as it will find with the word 'breasts' and 2 times as many as it will find with the word 'boobs'

Edit: 25th October 2008 

Nearly forgot...
Q: Whats the similarity between Tits and Trainsets?

A: They are both for kids but Dad's like playing with them as well!

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Friday 17 October 2008

In Memorium - Ray White

Sadly a very good friend of mine died in Dubai on Thursday. Ray was one of a kind, gentle hearted, always laughing and always willing to help anyone in whatever way he could.

Even though I have not seen him in four years, he always lurked in the back of my mind as the kind of guy you thought was always just around the corner, ready to have a beer and a laugh.

My condolences to his family and to "wee Hazel"


Ray, you were probably the happiest bastard I ever met!

RIP

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The above picture was taken @ 1990 where Ray proudly displays a T shirt he stole from me, I'm not very sure if I ever got it back. Not a bad lad for a Geordie!

Sunday 12 October 2008

The Tattooed Fuckwit Fraternity

In an awesome display of fuckwittery, two men underwent a significant amount of tattooing in order to qualify for government work in Jakarta. This pair of idiots from Bojonegoro district of East Java were correctly assumed by the perpetrator as being “a few sandwiches short of a picnic” and I imagine a certain amount of celebration is going on in the pranksters house since the story hit the worlds press.

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The pair had their faces tatooed after village chief Pak Sawftuch told them he had received a text message from a government official offering them work as Jakarta intelligence officers. (Great, I read this as being the only mobile phone in the village and the chief goes from door to door dispensing text messages which he receives)

The official, who said it was a job requirement to have their faces tattooed with dragons, was later discovered to be a hoaxer — but not before Nanang, 30, and Bambang, 40, had already undergone the painful and disfiguring procedure.

The three men believe the anonymous trickster was a kind of "mystic", as they didn't feel in control of their actions when following his strange instructions.

"I was half conscious when the shop owner tattooed my face, and didn't think it was a con," victim Bambang said.

"I just realized it was a con on Friday night. I was shocked and I cried."

A horrified Sawftuch realised he had been tricked when double-checking the bizarre request with a legitimate government representative.

"I am fully responsible for the mistake and I will do my best to help the men remove their tattoos,'' the village fuckwit was quoted as saying.

"I don’t know why I believe that person.

"I feel half conscious when I follow the man's instructions."

Indonesian police say that the tattoo incident was the third hoax of its kind to have been pulled recently. (I must have missed the other two but one wonders if the crimes are related, and, in addition, when they find out "whodunnit" what will he be charged with?)

The men have filed a police report and are being treated in a local hospital.

Fuckwits, the lot off them!

Thursday 9 October 2008

Politics and Lip Reading

I don't normally get embroiled in politics, but, I think this is a unique opportunity for one to consider the American Election and to brush up on ones Lip reading Skills.

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Saturday 4 October 2008

Tits out in Tangerang

Forget the Blok M for naughty pursuits; even during Ramadan there were alternative sources of nudity to waken even the todger of the most devout.

There are many ways a developer will force people from their land if those residents are unwilling to sell. There is no compulsory purchase law that can be applied and the usual tactics are burning the houses (Electrical Fault said the investigators as they pocketed their brown envelopes) or, as was the case in Tangerang cut the access to the Kampung and force them out that way.

"We can't let this happen. The developer has blocked our kampung with a wall and now they are adding an embankment, leaving no access for us to get in and out," Rosidah, one of the housewives, said.

She said the developer was trying to intimidate some 50 families who still refused to sell their land to the developer at the very low prices offered.

"We just need access in and out of our kampung. Our children need to go to school. The developer cannot confine us here," Sutini, another housewife, said.

What were the locals to do, no politician to back and support them, not enough money to obtain legal advice, their husbands were presumably sleeping the day away and big burly workmen were trying to block them in. Easy, mount a sexual attack on the devout workers who must refrain from sexual activity and impure thoughts during the day.

Sneaking up on their prey, twenty housewives staged a rally at the building site and simultaneously took off their dresses to protest and hopefully shock the workers starting construction of a business complex.

The now naked and angry housewives threw bricks and debris at several excavating machines around the kampong, presumably while the workers averted their eyes from this heaving mass of female flesh (Not, bet they all ran to the nearest toilet block to knock one out)

The subdistrict chief Imafuckwit, who came to the scene during the protest, claimed to be powerless against the developer, but admitted that the ladies should be allowed to protest in this manner whenever they wished..

The saddest thing about the whole issue is that the construction companies public relations manager Lies Arus denied that the developer blocked access to the kampung.

"What we are just trying to protect the site. The area is being developed into a shopping center with a number of stores built near the village. We will hand the stores over to the owners inthe near future, so we need to protect them," she told The Jakarta Post.

To me that say’s that the fifty families are thieves and as soon as the shopping centre opens they will be in to blag all that they can.

The developer claimed that they had offered to relocate the locals to other places within the area , but no agreement had been made.

If someone had called me or suggested that I was a thieving bastard I doubt I would “agree” anything with them.

Better dash, I hear the girls are protesting today at 2pm and again at 4pm, cover charge is 30,000 rupiah…a bargain!

Of Premen & Policemen

Ian Wilson is a research fellow at the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University. He has recently completed a book on gangster politics in Jakarta to be published by Routledge Press.

Knowing only a littl about the preman culture in Jakarta I found this article an excellent read on the thug culture. I have reprinted exactly as I found it as there is nothing that I can do to add or place a "spin" on it. The photographs are Ian's as well


The ‘preman’ – a colloquial term for a thug or gangster – has long been a ubiquitous figure in urban life in Indonesia. In recent years, however, preman have attained a new stature. Fractious local politics, inadequate law enforcement and the driving forces of poverty and unemployment have transformed post-Suharto Indonesia into a ‘preman’s paradise’. Preman now can be found not only in street corner gangs but also in mass organisations with thousands of members. Their leaders often have close connections with political elites.

However, despite their growing influence as social and political actors, preman have remained a largetalk shows such as Kick Andy. However, the lives of most people labellely anonymous social class. There is a handful of ‘celebrity’ gangsters, such as Hercules, the former ‘gangster king’ of the Jakarta market district of Tanah Abang, whose exploits are the regular subject of tabloid press exposés and TV d as preman are usually reflected only through the distorted lens of popular crime reportage and police statistics. The image that emerges in the popular imagination is a dehumanising caricature of ‘brutal thugs’ and ‘society’s garbage’ who deserve no understanding and have no possibility of transformation. The following account attempts to portray some of the contradictions and complexities of the world of preman by focusing upon the story of a Jakarta gangster known as Bang Aa (a pseudonym).

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Harsh beginnings
Bang Aa was born in Jakarta in 1970. The son of a bajai taxi driver, he was forced by poverty to leave school at the age of 12. Heading into his teens he found himself without work and with few prospects. Bang Aa eked out a living providing ‘security’ for the numerous vendors and stalls surrounding the Pasar Minggu market in South Jakarta, especially its ‘warung remang-remang’, shady stalls where cheap alcohol and prostitutes are readily available. He became a heavy drinker and gained a reputation as a vicious fighter with a short temper, regularly dishing out beatings to troublesome patrons. Seeing his potential, Bang Marta, a senior preman in Pasar Minggu, took Bang Aa under his wing. Bang Marta emphasised to him the importance of building a reputation for being ‘not just hard, but also fair’, if he wanted to survive.

Fear may help you get food for today, but in the long term it will become your undoing
Bang Aa took his advice. After marrying, he resolved to curb his drinking and reduce his links to prostitution. He promised to ‘straighten himself out’: He recalls, ‘I realised that while I was feared, I was not respected. Fear may help you get food for today, but in the long term it will become your undoing. I had to figure out a way of gaining respect.’

He entered a local pesantren religious school in order to study the Quran and seek ‘inspiration’. There he met a member of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR), an ethnic paramilitary group which since its establishment in 2002 has exerted increasing influence over Jakarta’s gang landscape. Impressed by his fellow students’ description of the FBR’s claimed mission of combating crime and improving the social and economic welfare of Jakarta’s indigenous population, Bang Aa, an ethnic Betawi himself, decided to open his own branch of the organisation in Pasar Minggu.

Making the most out of nothing

As Bang Aa explained, ‘I was determined to take the few skills I possessed, namely an ability to persuade people either through my words or fists, and use this to create a sustainable livelihood for myself and others like me’. His decision to set up a new gang in Pasar Minggu was politically dangerous. The area was already home to a number of well-entrenched gangs and paramilitary organisations, and there were frequent outbreaks of violence over territorial boundaries and protection rackets.

The trick is to manipulate the process of consensus so that others accept your views whilst believing them to be their own. In that way you can achieve dominance without having to resort to physical conflict
In order to negotiate this tangle of inter-gang rivalries, Bang Aa helped establish the Pasar Minggu Youth Communication Forum, ostensibly meant to provide a medium through which gangs could peacefully negotiate territorial disputes. Gaining the trust of the gangs’ leaders and a reputation as something of a preman diplomat, Bang Aa used his position as a unifying figure to gain a following.

In 2004, when he felt confident his support base was sufficient he announced his intention to set up an FBR branch. The rival leaders were initially outraged. But they were neutered in their response by Bang Aa’s skilful exploitation of tensions within the forum, Bang Marta’s support among rank and file preman, as well as the conspicuous backing of the FBR leadership. Bang Aa described his political strategy as follows: ‘the trick was to manipulate the process of consensus so that others accepted your views whilst believing them to be their own. In that way you can achieve dominance without having to resort to physical conflict.’

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A command post of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum, Pasar Minggu, Jakarta. The gang uses these posts to establish protection rackets

Within a few months, membership of Bang Aa’s FBR branch (named the ‘Crime Destroyer Team’) had grown to over 400, making it the largest gang in Pasar Minggu. Many new members were defectors from rival gangs, attracted by the high profile of the FBR and the reputations of Bang Aa and Bang Marta. ‘Donations’ from local businesses funded the construction of an impressive guard post at the entrance to the Pasar Minggu bus terminal, from where the group monitored comings and goings at the market and extracted fees from inter-province cargo trucks.

Making the most of his growing power and influence, Bang Aa instigated a new regime in Pasar Minggu. He continued with the preman staple of providing protection, by which stallholders are forced to pay daily ‘security fees’, with the threat of violent reprisal if they refuse. He also set up a roster system whereby Crime Destroyer members were paid a regular fee by vendors to sweep the markets of leftover food scraps. The scheme was a huge success. The Crime Destroyers further consolidated their legitimacy in the eyes of the local population by sponsoring mass circumcisions and making regular contributions to an orphanage. Rivals gangs were appeased by being allocated ‘hunting grounds’ on the margins of the market district, even though they were less lucrative than the market proper.

The attitude of the Crime Destroyers towards challenges to its authority within its territory was uncompromising. As Bang Aa explained, ‘We are from the street, so we know who the trouble-makers are. We say to pickpockets and petty thieves, if you want to make trouble here you will have to deal with us. If you want to work do honest work, even better… join us! Usually that’s enough as they are scared of us. But if they still go and make trouble… we wipe them out.’ A local bus company was so impressed by their effectiveness in ridding the terminal of thieves that it contracted the group to provide security on all its major routes.

The success of the Crime Destroyers provided enough capital to buy the support of the local police. The gang became ‘community sponsors’ of the under-resourced police station, supplying it with drinking water and stationery. In return, the police turned a blind eye to the Crime Destroyers occasional ‘excesses’, such as hospitalising a truck driver who refused to pay them dues and breaking the arms of a youth wrongfully accused of stealing a motorbike. In short, the police effectively outsourced many daily policing tasks to the gang. As Bang Aa stated, ‘If you don’t pay the cops they won’t do anything. As the saying goes, you lose a chicken and report it to the police, you end up losing a goat! Its cheaper for people to come to us to resolve a problem, and the police are content to let us handle most minor issues and petty crime as long as we pass them some money and keep them informed of what we’re doing.’

A crisis of conscience
The success of Bang Aa’s mini-empire however was soon disrupted, not by a rival gang, but by an ethical dilemma. In May 2007 a branch of the FBR in a different part of Jakarta attacked the Kemayoran Lama market that was controlled by a rival group, the Betawi Family Association (IKB), in an abortive take-over bid of the area’s lucrative parking business. The attack resulted in the deaths of two FBR members. This defeat at the hands of a smaller group was a significant loss of face for the FBR, which responded with a ‘call to arms’ to all its branches to launch a counter assault. To Bang Aa the attack was both a tactical and ethical mistake. The FBR had no presence in the area and consequently no local support, almost guaranteeing that any takeover bid would fail. It had also breached an unwritten rule amongst preman: rival gangs should not physically encroach on the turf of established gangs without due provocation or requests from the local population.

If you don’t pay the cops they won’t do anything. As the saying goes, you lose a chicken and report it to the police, you end up losing a goat
Bang Aa’s superiors were less concerned with these ethical constraints. One insisted, ‘This is a war, and in a war you have to maintain face at all costs. If we lose a few troops in the process then so be it!’ After much consideration, Bang Aa refused to sacrifice any of his Crime Destroyers as part of the counter-assault. This was taken as an act of gross insubordination by the FBR’s leadership and Bang Aa was forced to tender his resignation. He did so reluctantly but in his words, ‘with a clear conscience’: ‘I realised that ultimately our welfare was of no real concern for the leadership… to them we were just expendable pawns in their political games.’

Backed into a corner
Bang Aa soon understood that leaving the FBR had consequences. The man who replaced him as leader of the Crime Destroyers was keen to stamp his authority over what was one of the organisation’s most lucrative branches. Bang Aa was now verbally and physically harassed whenever he ventured into his former domain. The one-time ‘King of the Market’ became a shadow of his former self, spending much of his time smoking cigarettes and watching TV inside his cramped two-bedroom home with his wife and children. His sources of income began to dry up.

While on my way to visit Bang Aa soon after his resignation, I was accosted by his successor. Angry that a foreigner was visiting Bang Aa rather than him, he aggressively poked at my chest whilst outlining the new pecking order: ‘You have to understand Bang Aa is a nobody here now. You are welcome to keep coming to Pasar Minggu, but you have to do it through me.’ The response from some of his ‘lads’ was even more forthright: ‘Bang Aa is a traitor, and if he or his boys show their faces around here we will kick their arses! If you are sensible you won’t contact him again.’

Despite still having a band of several dozen loyal followers, Bang Aa found life in Pasar Minggu increasingly untenable. ‘I can’t be bothered going into the market these days’, he moaned, ‘there could easily be a misunderstanding.’ Within the world of preman, deposed or former leaders are expected to keep a low profile lest their presence in the streets be considered a challenge. Bang Aa was all too aware of the possible consequences of not doing so. Several months earlier a preman associate of his who returned to his neighbourhood after a stint in prison had been hacked to pieces by rivals who had taken his absence as an opportunity to take over his turf.

After two months of enduring what effectively amounted to house arrest, the reality that his days in Pasar Minggu were numbered finally sunk in. ‘There is no future here now for me and my family. The best I can do is try to save enough money so that we can move and make a new life somewhere else.’

Putting aside moral judgements about his preman’s reliance upon violence and intimidation, in many ways Bang Aa’s story reflects the dilemmas facing many of Indonesia’s poor and disenfranchised: how best to negotiate the complex and often unforgiving web of contradictions in which the poor live and how best to create, with the limited social and economic resources at their disposal, a sustainable and ‘legitimate’ livelihood.

Superb Stuff. I look forward to the book when it is published

Friday 3 October 2008

That Quiet Time Again

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As Lebaran rolls to an end I cannot help thinking about going back to work and the same tedious commute with all the attendant miseries.

I know I should not keep harping on about it but, here, in Jakarta it’s not whether you will be injured in a traffic accident but rather – when.

Ramadan brings out the worst in drivers, awake all night, pissed off because they have to go to work and waiting ultimately for Id Ul Fitri and Lebaran to get back to the village and party, party, party.

Combine these aspects with the usual Indonesian lack of care and attention to driving and you have the ultimate disaster movie waiting to happen.

I remember the car crash scenes in the Blues Brothers movie were billed at the time as the most expensive motoring stunts in Hollywood history. I’ve got news for Hollywood; they could have done it all a lot cheaper and a lot more realistically here on the Cikampek Toll Road. First take was not good enough, no problem, just go and film the same mayhem the next morning.

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It seems if there is a space the size of a fag packet between two cars it is mandatory for some fuckwit in a Kijang to barrel across three lanes of traffic to squeeze into it, usually with the window open and waving their right arm limp wristedly demanding right of way.

The hard shoulder lends itself well as an additional “Faster Lane”, the police cannot be arsed doing anything other than driving with their lights flashing while squeaking siren noises in their vehicle (presumably the real siren was stolen), trucks laden with empty chicken crates race back to Central Java for re-fills and buses packed to the gunwales with early holidaymakers race each other to be first to arrive in butt fuck no-where with their passengers.

Bearing in mind the sheer volume of traffic at this time of year, the police and military are placing snipers around 22 critically strategic spots to “give the public a sense of security when they travel.” I don’t know about you but snipers anywhere would generally make me feel less secure.

There is an estimate that over the next few days around 16 million people will be travelling to spend Id Ul Fitri with their families

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”Head of Police Headquarters for Operational Affairs, Brig Gen Edhi Susilo said police in the efforts to secure the Lebaran festivities would launch an operation code-named "Operasi Ketupat 2008" which would be reinforced with about 43,700 personnel.

As the number of two-wheel vehicle travellers is expected to reach 2.5 million, police have made anticipatory preparations to escort them.”

Well they all fucked off and Jakarta for the past week has been ace. Me, I was the ultimate lazy bastard and did ZERO…….

No apologies for not posting either!
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