“Cheesy Girl”, it seems an Indonesian in Jakarta who lives and works among expatriates, and once had a westerner boyfriend who had a rash on his stomach and stank of fish, writes in her blog about bules or westerners/expats in Indonesia, that they

• are not experts in anything
• are stupid
• are incredibly pampered in Indonesia
• are nobodies back home
• don’t clean themselves properly after going to the toilet
• rarely wash their hands
• rarely bathe
• stink of fish
• have spotted skin
• act as if they own Jakarta
• are ill mannered
• bring disease because they are filthy
• are barbarians with big mouths
• are only allowed to come to Indonesia because the government needs tax revenue

She would like to list more of their faults but

There would not be enough pages to bad mouth of those fouls [fools? foul people?].

Expat workers are not needed:

We, Jakartans, are the experts of our own country. We do not need any bule, I underline, ANY BULE, to come here and take all the credit for being stupid and bule. We know the know-how of Indonesian system (If there is any, but it is still a system anyhow), we understand how the society demands, we could talk to our fellow country men.

A la the Achmad Sudarsono of old she states her mission: [1]

My fingers are as unleashed as my tongue and I will do what I have to bring in knowledge and truth to my fellow countrymen.

Hello Misterrrr

Some westerners in Jakarta, possibly with skin or other diseases, playing up for the camera in “Hello Misterrr”.

This is a post from the Indonesia Matters website.

• ↑1 cheesychunk.blogspot

Tags: Blog, Blogs, Bule, Bules, Disease, Expatriates, Expats, Hate Speech, Jakarta, post templates, sample template, Western, Westerners

Megawati is determined to run once again for president in 2009, and her chances of success largely seem to depend on forming the best coalition, and having an appealing running-mate, or at least one more appealing than her 2004 partner, dull Hasyim Muzadi. These are the names which are usually mentioned in this respect:

• Akbar Tandjung
• Wiranto
• Sultan Hamengkubuwono X
• Hidayat Nur Wahid
• Sutiyoso

Other figures who have been mentioned in the past:

• Agung Laksono
• Jusuf Kalla
• Din Syamsuddin

Megawati’s best chance of success is thought to lie in an alliance with Hidayat Nurwahid of the PKS (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera), with Maruarar Sirait of the PDIP suggesting the two would be an unbeatable team, with the PKS strong in the towns, the PDIP strong in the villages.

Hidayat Nur Wahid

However Mohamad Nabil of the Centre for Religion and Culture at UIN says the PKS in joining up with Megawati would ruin its reputation for consistency, given that it has in the past rejected the idea that women can lead (see Khofifah Indar Parawansa), it’s most loyal supporters would lose faith in it, and see it as a “sell out”, a mean power grab.

Yudi Latif from the Reform Institute says the secular nationalism of the PDIP and the Islamism of the PKS cannot be reconciled. [1]

A recent poll by Indo Barometer, in the wake of fuel price increases, puts Megawati’s support at 30%, as opposed to president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on 20%. [2]

1. ↑1 inilah
2. ↑2 jakartapost

Tags: Agung Laksono, Akbar Tandjung, Din Syamsuddin, Elections, Hasyim Muzadi, Hidayat Nurwahid, Islamism, Jusuf Kalla, Megawati, Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, PDI Perjuangan, PDIP, Pemilu 2009, PKS, Political Parties, Politics, Sultan Hamengkubuwono, Sutiyoso, Wiranto

The Indonesian film industry has tried many different genres, from comedy to religious to drama to teen romances, but currently have decided that horror films are their best bet to draw in audiences, says one Tasha Hadifitri. This is not entirely a problem by itself, the appalling standard of the films is however.

The main point of the films, says Tasha, is just to show as much gore and violence as possible, without bothering whether the story makes sense, and the producers keep re-using the same figures of horror in each film, like the dreaded hopping/floating pocong ghost, or the kuntilanak vampire.

A Pocong.

Tasha goes on to complain that such films make the people who watch them, well, stupid, too inclined to believe in mysticism, and over-fearful. People even try to act out scenes they’ve watched, get in touch with spirits, or visit dukun, or shaman.

The “other world” does exist, she says, but it is better if that world and this world keep their distance from each other, the beings in either world each have their own purpose and they should not disturb one another. [1]

Here are some samples of recent pocong fare:

Largely incoherent trailer for “40 Hari Bangkitnya Pocong”.

Lots of kissing in this one, “Tali Pocong Perawan”.

1. ↑1 kabarindonesia

Tags: Dukun, Films, Ghosts, Kissing, Kuntilanak, Movies, Pocong, Shaman, Tali Pocong Perawan, Violence

Engagement

On 16th April PKS leader Hidayat Nurwahid became engaged to a 42 year old woman of Arab descent, Diana Abbas Thalib.

Proposing.

Widow & Widower

Diana Abbas Thalib is the director of a maternity hospital in Jakarta and lives in swanky Kemang. She has one child from a previous marriage (her husband died) and on May 10th, the wedding day, will come into possession of four more, from Hidayat’s marriage to Kastrian Indrawati.

Kastrian Indrawati died on January 22nd 2008 and Hidayat says:

From the day she died it was proper that people made suggestions [for a replacement].

Diana was introduced to Hidayat by another Justice Party politician Yoyoh Yusroh, who is her religious instructor, a month ago. Diana and Hidayat then met each other two times, never alone, and thereafter decided to end their mutual loneliness and marry.

Yoyoh Yusroh, matchmaker.

When Hidayat proposed to Diana he had some solid male support behind him, including politicians Aksa Mahmud, AM Fatwa, and Mooryati Soedibyo, while Diana was accompanied by friends and family.

Competitive Arabness

Diana admits that she is actually “beaten” by Hidayat in the being-like-an-Arab stakes. While she is of Arab stock she considers herself fully assimilated into Javanese culture while her fiance spent many years living in Arab countries. [1]

He’s more Arab than me.

Family First

Both say that the most important thing is that they each have a companion in life and are able to provide a family structure for their children.

Big Shots

Hidayat has already asked president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and vice-president Jusuf Kalla to be witnesses at the wedding, while Din Syamsuddin and Hasyim Muzadi will officiate. [2]

1. ↑1 banjarmasinpost
2. ↑2 antara

Related Stories

• January 30, 2008 — Keragaman Budaya (0)
• January 30, 2008 — Cultural Diversity (47)
• January 28, 2008 — Anggota Militer (0)
• December 8, 2007 — Picking Up Girls (42)
• April 14, 2008 — Ahmad Heryawan & Dede Yusuf (13)

Taufiq Kiemas says the PDI Perjuangan no longer wants to be known as a non-Muslim political party, or what was probably worse, a party of street toughs, Christians and communists.

Taufiq Kiemas and other half.

The allegation of the PDI-P being a haven for communists was particularly hurtful, he said

The saddest [accusation] was that all communists congregated in the PDI-P.

The PDIP wanted to prove that not only was it a pluralistic and nationalist party, but was also a part of the Muslim community. And no mention of the word “secular”.

Taufiq Kiemas is the leader of the PDI’s newly formed Muslim religious wing, the Baitul Muslimin Indonesia (BMI), and husband of Megawati. [1]

1. ↑1 tempo

Related Stories

• January 10, 2006 -- Pogroms in East Java 1965-66 (6)
• February 6, 2006 -- Youth Political & Religious Affiliation (6)
• February 4, 2008 -- Communist Victory (29)
• February 25, 2008 -- Barongsai, & Cultural Assimilation (54)
• January 30, 2008 -- Cultural Diversity (46)

Slank, in the jungle.

Slank’s “controversial” ditty “Gossip Jalanan”, which, because of the second last verse, had parliamentarians in Jakarta threatening to sue him for besmirching the good name of the DPR. They dropped their plans after the arrest of Al Amin Nur Nasution.

Listen to the mp3:

The lyrics:

Pernah kah lo denger mafia judi
Katanya banyak uang suap polisi
Tentara jadi pengawal pribadi

Apa lo tau mafia narkoba
Keluar masuk jadi bandar di penjara
Terhukum mati tapi bisa ditunda

Siapa yang tau mafia selangkangan
Tempatnya lendir-lendir berceceran
Uang jutaan bisa dapat perawan
Kacau balau 2X negaraku ini

Ada yang tau mafia peradilan
Tangan kanan hukum di kiri pidana
Dikasih uang habis perkara

Apa bener ada mafia pemilu
Entah gaptek apa manipulasi data
Ujungnya beli suara rakyat

Mau tau gak mafia di senayan
Kerjanya tukang buat peraturan
Bikin UUD ujung-ujungnya duit

Pernahkah gak denger teriakan Allahu Akbar
Pake peci tapi kelakuan barbar
Ngerusakin bar orang ditampar-tampar

Related Stories

• December 21, 2007 — Music Talent (17)
• July 4, 2007 — Eka Deli (12)
• May 29, 2006 — Anggun C Sasmi (38)
• October 24, 2007 — Rasa Sayange (56)
• February 6, 2008 — Neo Colonialism in Bali (42)

Politician Al Amin Nur Nasution was arrested at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta on 9th April by agents of the Anti Corruption Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi, KPK)).

He was in the company of one Azirwan, the Regional Secretary of Bintan island, Riau province, and believed to be about to hand over 71 million rupiah to that man. Also present was a young lady, believed to be a prostitute. [1]

Parliament mugshot.

Nasution is from Jambi and was until his arrest a member of the Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, PPP), but the PPP have since expelled him. He is married to celebrity dangdut singer Kristina Iswandari, and is best known for this fact, until now.

Happier days.

The KPK have been investigating Al Amin Nur Nasution for the past six months, in connection to allegations of attempts to remove the protected status of some forest areas in Riau to make way for a new city.

More

In other corruption news former Bank Indonesia governor Burhanuddin Abdullah was on 10th April arrested and formally charged over long-standing allegations that he had bribed a number of MP’s in Jakarta, involving the misuse of about 100 billion rupiah ($11 million) in BI funds. [2]

And in Jember, East Java two local parliamentarians were arrested on 10th April over another long-running case involving the misappropriation of 450 million rupiah in legal aid funds and 726 million rupiah in local parliament funds. [3]

1. ↑1 republika
2. ↑2 afp
3. ↑3 tempo

Related Stories

• April 2, 2008 -- Khofifah Indar Parawansa (20)
• February 6, 2008 -- Burhanuddin Abdullah (2)
• January 19, 2008 -- Current Minimum Wage (3)
• January 29, 2007 -- PP 37 (11)
• December 2, 2006 -- Maria Eva (143)

The government, through the Information ministry, has required Internet Service Providers to block the following websites, where the anti-Islam short film Fitna can be viewed:

• Youtube.com
• Myspace.com
• Liveleak.com
• Rapidshare.com
• Multiply.com
• Video.Google.com
• Themoviefitna.com

The minister Muhammad Nuh wrote to ISP’s last week asking them to block access to the sites on the grounds that Fitna could [1]

“disturb religious and civil harmony at a global level.”

The parliament recently passed a law on internet blocking, although apparently it has not been signed by the president yet. [2]

Muhammad Nuh met with a number of prominent Indonesian bloggers on 7th April such as Romi Satria Wahono and asked for advice, apparently it seems, on the best way to go about blocking the said sites.

One of the bloggers who attended the meeting, Avianto, blamed the government’s attitude on Indonesian low self-esteem and over-sensitivity:

Indonesian government told YouTube to take down a movie……YouTube didn’t respond because well, it’s YouTube, all of the content is user generated. But instead of following the spirit of the web by flagging the movie as negative or offensive, the government grumpily chose to block the entire YouTube. Yeah, I said grumpily because the government thought that YouTube didn’t respect Indonesian government request. So low self-esteem. So low that the government didn’t have guts to create a creative way to counter the movie on the content level. So low that instead of encouraging its own people to create a counter movie, the government chose to close down the infrastructure. It’s pathetic, really.

That action was also very New Orderly. In the New Order era, if the government did not like one article then the government would ban the newspaper that have the article. The history repeated itself. Welcome to the New Order 2.0.

One of the officials from the Information ministry complained that Indonesians were so often subject to racism and xenophobia in the international community. Avianto spoke up

As if Indonesian were not xenophobic and racist toward others? I always said this and people kept getting angry with my statement: “Indonesians are one of the most xenophobic and racist people in the world”. Do you think it’s not true?

Even worse, Indonesians are just not racist, Indonesian are tribalist.

Putting the blame to the international world for being xenophobic and racist against us was like a childish act. We are racist, we are xenophobic, we are tribalist.

Read the entirety of Avianto’s article: Commanding not Governing.

1. ↑1 afp
2. ↑2 jakartass

Related Stories

• March 31, 2008 — Battle of the Islam Movies (51)
• March 7, 2008 — Fitna by Geert Wilders (232)
• April 7, 2008 — Sexy Dewi Persik (7)
• April 4, 2008 — Ketika Cinta Bertasbih (3)
• March 12, 2008 — Is the Internet for Porn? (2)

Health minister Siti Fadilah Supari spoke at a seminar hosted by the “Forum Kajian Sosial Kemasyarakatan” (FKSK) in Jakarta on 17th March and said that Islamic ideology was the most complete and was best suited for Indonesia.

“Forum Kajian Sosial Kemasyarakatan” (FKSK), is a front organisation for the radical group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which campaigns for a worldwide Islamic caliphate and seems to regard Indonesia as the most promising place to get things moving in that direction.

Siti Fadilah Supari

Westerners & Hegemony

Indonesians usually felt inferior when they met westerners, she said, officials bowed and scraped to them, and westerners were tricky:

We get fooled [by foreigners].

Siti said it was about time that the first world stopped using force against the third world, which was majority Muslim.

Hegemony doesn’t benefit anyone.

Foreigners acted as if they wanted to help Indonesia but what they did was actually dangerous for humanity:

Don’t let us hope for help from others, trust in Allah only.

WHO

Siti Fadilah spoke about how for the last 50 years the advanced countries had forced other countries to send virus samples to the World Health Organisation (WHO), samples (like for bird flu) which were then handed over to the US government and put to use for biological weapons development or for commercial purposes.

Siti said she could not stand the injustice of the WHO policy, and has penned a book on the subject, titled “Time For The World To Change, The Hand Of God In Bird Flu”. She broke into tears and said of the reasons for writing the book:

If it’s useful for Muslims, then why not?

Siti felt confident that the divine was on her side: [1]

When you are carrying out Allah’s work, don’t have any doubts.

Bird Flu

Meanwhile the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warned recently that the avian/bird flu problem in Indonesia showed no signs of improvement, with containment of the epidemic among poultry being very weak.

Dr. Joseph Domenech, the agency’s chief veterinary officer, blamed decentralization in government, a shortage of veterinarians, indifference by commercial producers, a lack of political commitment, and too many backyard chickens. [2]

1. ↑1 elitha-eri.net
2. ↑2 nytimes

In Batu, Malang, East Java the local government has issued an informal ruling requiring women who work in massage parlors to use a kind of chastity padlock on their skirts/pants and underpants, to prevent male guests from making too much headway in that area.

The purpose is to prevent the lovely hillside town of Batu from getting a bad reputation as a place of prostitution, it is said. Later the ruling will become an official regional law and those massage parlor operators who fail to have their staff’s underwear under lock and key will be subject to penalties. [1]

Batu’s trailblazing example seems to have reached Jakarta with the Tourist Office of the city considering a similar rule. Made Karya says Jakarta massage parlours are divided into two groups, those that simply offer health massages, and those that offer extras, and the padlock idea is something that needs serious consideration to deal with the latter. [2]

1. ↑1 kompas
2. ↑2 kompas

Related posts

• Violence Against Women (11)
• Youth Political & Religious Affiliation (6)
• Female Genital Mutilation (98)
• Wahidiyah (8)
• Treason of the Intellectuals (60)