Indonesia Expat - Issue 153 by Indonesia Expat

! EE FR I S S U E N O . 1 5 3 | 4 – 17 N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5

J A K A R TA • J AVA • B A L I • L O M B O K • K A L I M A N TA N • S U M AT R A • S U L AW E S I • W E S T PA P U A

W W W . I N D O N E S I A E X P A T. B I Z

GILI TRAWANGAN: A HOTSPOT FOR DRUGS TIM HANNIGAN'S BRIEF HISTORY OF INDONESIA REVIEWED

RECENT CHANGES ON FOREIGN WORKING REGULATIONS THE CLANDESTINE CRITIC: AKIRA BACK

CHINA WINS INDONESIAN HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY BID. EXPERTS REMAIN CAUTIOUS

TALKING SPORTS WITH

NICOLE ASGAR

issue 153 Indonesia expat

Indonesia expat issue 153

issue 153 Indonesia expat

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Readers,

Editor in Chief

Angela Richardson angela@indonesiaexpat.biz

Management

Edo Frese edo@indonesiaexpat.biz

It’s certainly been an exciting year for those working in the law in Indonesia, with so many new regulations for foreign workers and amendments on existing laws being churned out by the Ministry of Manpower. It would seem that some of these regulations have changed yet again, as we discover on page 15, where The Permit House discusses a recent ease on foreign working regulations, including the abolishment of the 1:10 ratio of foreign to Indonesian worker rule.

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Caranissa Djatmiko letters@indonesiaexpat.biz

Sales

Dian Mardianingsih ads@indonesiaexpat.biz

Distribution & Admin

Juni Setiawan admin@indonesiaexpat.biz

Graphics

Frederick Ng

On the cover we feature Nicole Asgar, a TV sports presenter on an all-new English news channel, MNC World News. A former Fox Sports Australia presenter, she discusses her story of taking the plunge and moving to Indonesia to gain international media experience, and shares with whom she’d like to be stuck on a desert island.

Finance

Lini Verawaty finance@indonesiaexpat.biz

Contributors

Dachlan Cartwright Terry Collins Karen Davis Annali Hayward Lina Natalia Dr. Jorge Nelson Simon Pitchforth Eamonn Sadler Kenneth Yeung

We meet another very interesting lady, Princess Jero Asro Kerhyasa, a former Australian who married into the Ubud Royal Family and had her life turned upside-down. Discover her

Circulation Enquiries info@indonesiaexpat.biz

personal story of living in the Ubud Palace in the 1970s, before electricity and running water and her successful venture into the food and beverage industry with Biku in Seminyak. An interesting topic of discussion in our Scams in the City column this issue is one that raises much interest and concern: censorship. Indonesia’s largest writer’s festival has been forced to cancel a series of events marking the 1965 massacre of alleged communists after threats from authorities of revoking the festival’s operating permit. Why can't Indonesians speak of and deal with this very important and harrowing event in history? Find out more on page 20.

In our Feature Story, we discuss how Gili Trawangan, a tiny island between Bali and Lombok, has become a hotspot for illegal narcotics. Despite evidence that shows Gili Trawangan is a hub for crystal meth and ecstasy, the Government remains mildly concerned with its role in regional drug trafficking. Enjoy this issue’s good reads!

Angela Little-Richardson Editor in Chief

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Dear George,

Dear Indonesia Expat, I’m a relatively new expat living in Bali and I’m looking to buy a set of used golf clubs. The golf courses that I’ve seen in this country so far have been second to none! Do you have any advice as to how I could track a set down?

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PS. I was very happy to see that you started Clean Up Jakarta Day. I’m from Australia and we have a day dedicated to picking up trash that was started around 30 years ago which has done wonders for the rubbish problem we once had. Hopefully the masses can learn from the efforts of a few in your case.

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Keep up the good work!

Thank you for getting in touch. Firstly, you can place non-commercial classifieds with us for free! Responses from advertisers have been very positive and we only charge for commercial classifieds. Send your ad to ads@indonesiaexpat.biz and we’ll place yours in the next issue! Thank you for your encouraging words regarding Clean Up Jakarta Day. We continue to speak at local and international schools around Jakarta about the impacts of littering and the benefits of separating waste at home – and of course of recycling! We hope future generations will grow up to be respectful of the environment and conscious of the waste they throw away.

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Issue 153

Contents

Feature Story Why is Gili Trawangan a Hotspot for Illegal Drugs in Indonesia?

Expat Business

Featured China to Build Indonesia's High Speed Train, Experts Remain Cautious

Travel The Ancient Ruins of Gunung Padang

Scams in the City Official Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Expat Outreach

Worthy Causes Ikatan Sindroma Down Indonesia Makes Waves with Gigi Art of Dance

Business Profile Hadromi & Partners

Meet the Expat Nicole Asgar, Sports Reporter

Announcements

Expat Lifestyle

Light Entertainment A World of Tradition

Humorous Observations Burnin' Rubber Time

Events

Business Directory

Classifieds

Food & Driink Clandestine Critic: Bringing Sushi Back

Expat Law & Order Manpower Expresses Regrets; Extends Expats a Warm Welcome

Book Review A Brief History of Indonesia by Tim Hannigan

Education Advanced Placement vs. International Baccalaureate

issue 153 Indonesia expat

FEATURE STORY

Why is Gili Trawangan a Hotspot for Illegal Drugs in Indonesia? Despite evidence that shows Gili Trawangan is a hub for meth and ecstasy, the Government remains mildly concerned with its role in regional drug trafficking. By Annali Hayward

our longboat pulls up in crystalclear, impossibly-turquoise blue waters, and you walk the few feet across white sand to a beach-front bar. Mountain views lie across the sea, and palm trees sway behind you – you’re truly in your own Robinson-Crusoe paradise. You order a milkshake, and the friendly waiter smiles. Attempting to sell you psychoactive mushrooms in your shake, he asks, “Magic?” No, you haven’t crossed international waters. This is Gili Trawangan.

Tourists and Locals

It is almost too easy to find information about drugs on ‘Gili T,’ the largest of the Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) islands situated between Bali and Lombok. A brief online search finds countless travel bloggers happy to reveal what you can buy, where you can buy it, and for how much on the quaint tourist-laden island. The substance scene here rivals drug hubs like Ibiza, Ko Pha Ngan, and Boracay. As we saw in April this year with the Bali Nine executions, Indonesia’s drug death penalty is not just a scare tactic, but a harsh reality. So, why is the nation’s tiniest party island so rife with drugs?

According to the BNN, NTB province is only 19th in Indonesia for drug abusers, and just 1.5 percent of the population uses drugs, far below the 12.8 percent 2012 national average found by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). But, as Sriyanto further confirms, drug abusers on Gili Trawangan are not only foreign tourists, but local citizens too.

Indonesia expat issue 153

“To be fair, all tourism destinations have the same probability for drug abuse to happen,” says Sriyanto, Chief Representative of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) for NTB. “Drug dealers make use of crowds and traffic around tourism destinations as potential markets.” Indeed, BNN research, shared by Sriyanto with Indonesia Expat, shows that the main drugs available on Gili Trawangan are crystal methamphetamine (known to the locals as shabu), ecstasy, and mushrooms; all Class 1 Narcotics.

Economic Evil

The Support for Economic Analysis Development in Indonesia project found that the gross regional domestic product per capita for the NTB province was less

than half the national average in 2011. Crystal meth, the UNODC’s number-one drug of concern for Indonesia, is known to ensnare people with less disposable income. A picture begins to appear of the island’s drug problem dichotomy: on one hand, drugs are purchased on the beach by rich tourists for enjoyment as part of a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience. Meanwhile, further inland, poor locals often live with addictions to harder substances. These two sides of island life are clearly interdependent, and at this stage it’s unclear whether resolving one would affect the other at all. “It is just like the laws of commerce,” says Sriyanto. “There will always be supply as long as there is demand.”

are many trafficking organisations, sources and market destinations for drugs in Southeast Asia,” says Douglas. “Indonesia needs to prioritise collaboration with neighbouring states on a balanced mix of supply and demand reduction efforts.”

Economics play a bigger, international role with Gili Trawangan’s drug problem. Although Sriyanto insists the island does not serve as a port for the global drug trade, there is a regional dimension to be aware of. According to Jeremy Douglas, regional representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific at the UNODC, it is important to consider Indonesia in the context of the regional drug market and situation. “There

Enforcement and Education

Despite this, the number of foreigners staying in classified NTB hotels almost doubled in 2013-2014, according to Statistics Agency of Indonesia. It seems the province’s tourism industry is not yet suffering the consequences of illicit drug-related activity. Sriyanto nonetheless expresses a legitimate fear that “drugs abuse and drug dealing is going to be a bad advertisement for NTB tourism, and generally for tourism in Indonesia.”

As with many issues facing the archipelago, laws are one thing, but enforcement is another. Recent media reports claim car-free Gili Trawangan is unofficially ruled by a self-appointed local task force, the SATGAS, whose methods are often provincial. Who holds the real power is the pertinent question, and there is no clear answer: on this issue, Sriyanto would

Annali Hayward an English freelance writer and editor based in Asia. You can get in touch at annali.s.hayward@gmail.com.

not mention the mafia, commenting only that “this matter is still on comprehensive probing [sic] by our field agents and analysts.” There is no doubt complex hierarchies exist on Gili Trawangan, in which mutually beneficial relationships span the tourism industry, the drug trade, and local authorities. Despite a high-profile death in 2013 caused by methanol traced to one of the island’s most notorious drugs bars, Rudy’s, Gili Trawangan has so far flown under the radar in terms of a national spotlight on drugs. The result? There’s been no call to action to change interdependent relationships at work on the island. Business as usual, some say. On a national level, Indonesia Expat reported last February that President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo declared a “state of emergency” on drugs in Indonesia. The Government has not weakened its resolve that it doles out appropriate punishments to traffickers, smugglers, and dealers; as Sriyanto says, these “should be severely punished to the death penalty.” At the same time, Indonesia is also making strides in targeting the sources of supply. Douglas confirms Indonesia has made major drug seizures recently, namely large

quantities of meth. A report from the UNODC’s shows a 75 percent increase in meth seizures.

As Sriyanto affirms, however, strict national laws will not be enough. “We do not only need to eradicate the drugs trading, but also we need to send the drug abusers to rehab facilities.” To that end, he explains, the BNN in NTB has four main agenda items to tackle the issue. They include spreading awareness and prevention knowledge, empowering citizens (somehow), and working together with the BNN NTB on the overall drug problem. Finally, the agency hopes to carry out supply and demand reduction efforts by targeting dealers and promoting rehabilitation. The representative did not elaborate further on details. Domestic education programmes may contribute to a reduction in local drug users. Only time will tell if this materialises, though for the local residents of Gili Trawangan, it’s to be hoped for. What is required is a concerted and cohesive effort from all parties, including industry, police, and governments, to tackle the regional and global drug markets. Crucially, any initiative must be reliably enforced on the ground, before Gili Trawangan declines from a once-idyllic attraction to a source of national shame.

issue 153 Indonesia expat

EXPAT BUSINESS FEATURED

China to Build Indonesia’s High-Speed Train, Experts Remain Cautious China won the bid over Japan to build the first high-speed rail line in West Java. The Government hopes for an economics boost. Experts weigh in on the project. By Lina Natalia

resident Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s ambitious plan to improve Indonesia's infrastructure could boost manufacturing and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the archipelago. Now, Indonesia is embarking on a new path for infrastructure development by signing an agreement with China last month to build the nation’s first high-speed railway. The Chairman of state-owned China Railway International, Yang Zhongmin, inked the deal with the President Director of a consortium of Indonesian state companies, PT Pilar Sinergi, to form a joint venture and get construction underway. The joint venture consists of local construction company PT Wijaya Karya, railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia, toll road builder PT Jasa Marga, and plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII.

Ground is scheduled to break on November 9. The high-speed train is set to reach eight stations across 150 kilometres between Jakarta and Bandung. The train will travel at 250 kilometres per hour, and the ticket fare will be around Rp.200,000 (US$16) when the project is complete in 2019. A regular trip by train from Jakarta to Bandung costs around US$8, and takes more than three hours. The railway is set to be part of 750 kilometres of new rail planned tracks in Jokowi’s infrastructure plan. “The train will be the first of its kind, not just in Indonesia, but in all of Southeast Asia. It will help ease the traffic congestion, advance commercial development and socio-economic growth, as well as facilitate the formation of a JakartaBandung economic corridor,” says Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia, Xie Feng. “As for China, this is its first overseas highspeed railway project that uses Chinese technology, standards, and equipment. It is the first project to be jointly designed, built, operated, and managed by China and its partners." 8

Indonesia expat issue 153

Indonesia holds a 60 percent stake in the project, while China holds the other 40 percent. State-owned China Development Bank will provide 75 percent of the funding at an estimated cost of US$5.5 billion, with the rest coming from the Chinese railway company and the Indonesian consortium. The rail line will not need any financing from the Indonesian Government, nor a government guarantee. One reason Indonesian officials gave for rejecting Japan’s bid was that it would require government funding. “The Government will not give any guarantee for the project. We don't think this agreement [will] go to default, but if it happens, the bank will take the mitigation action, not the Government,” says PT Pilar Sinergi BUMN Indonesia Chairman, Sahala Lumban Gaol.

The consortium will exist for 40 years so that China’s corporation will not depart, even if the project defaults before the due date. “China will not leave before all debts are paid. We haven’t put any collateral in this project,” says Gaol. During the construction phase, the joint venture will use as many Indonesian materials, machines, and equipment as possible. It will also hire as many local managers, technicians, and workers as possible. “Furthermore, the two sides have signed cooperation agreements on personnel training, local production, and technology transfer. Both of us have agreed to jointly explore other markets, especially in Southeast Asia. Now, in this golden autumn of October, they can finally harvest the fruits of their hard labour,” says Ambassador Xie.

To get more specific, the project will use up to 50 percent local materials, says consortium Minister Rini Soemarno. She adds, "The project will also hire 39,000 new local workers, while most of the aluminium will be from local production.” With heavy involvement of Indonesia’s state-owned companies, the project will be able to buy land for the route using a new law that sets timeframes for land acquisition. Until now, land acquisition has been a major obstacle for most infrastructure projects in the country, and has scuppered previous plans to build railways on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The project can also use land from an existing toll road to Bandung.

For Indonesia, projects like this are muchneeded as the country suffers from a lack of adequate infrastructure – both in quantity and quality – often causing logistics spending to rise steeply. As Indonesia requires about US$416.5 billion worth of funds for infrastructure development over the next four years, the Government will rely heavily on private sector involvement. According to PT Wijaya Karya president director Bintang Perbowo, development of the high-speed railway could create new residences around transit areas with a plan that would integrate with the railway. “With these new areas being opened, people will choose to live there. There will also be development of new cities, such as Walini,” Perbowo says, adding that towns situated near the train should be reachable in a more timely manner after it opens.

Walini is a hillside town near Bandung, and used to be a tea-producing area. However, in recent years it has become unproductive. The area is expected to be utilised as a business centre and residential area in the future. Some parts of Walini implicated in the project belong to PT Perkebunan Nusantara VIII. The state-owned enterprise also pins hopes on accelerated development in Karawang, which is already known as an industrial area. While the Government believes that the planned fast train will bring much benefit to the public, some experts have expressed concerns and doubts about the project.

Nico Harjanto, Executive Director of Jakarta-based pollster Populi Center, says the project clearly stands against Jokowi’s promise to focus on developing muchneeded infrastructure in regions outside Java, an island which already has railways from east to west. “Where will this high-speed train be built? From the Gambir Station in Jakarta? Why does the project still focus on the capital? In fact, this project is needed for political reasons so that for the next election in 2019, there’s something new [from Jokowi],” says Harjanto.

Lina Natalia is a Jakarta-based freelance journalist, covering a variety of issues related to corruption and politics.

Jokowi (left) shaking hands with President of China, Xi Jinping. Image courtesy of Feng Li (Reuters)

High-speed train from Ankara–Istanbul in turkey (2014). Construction by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC). Image courtesy of Picture Alliance

...the project clearly stands against Jokowi’s promise to focus on developing much-needed infrastructure in regions outside Java, an island which already has railways from east to west.

Ilham Malik, a public policy expert from the University of Bandar Lampung’s centre for regional policy studies, meanwhile, expresses scepticism on the effectiveness of the railway due to a lack of public transport in both Jakarta and Bandung. "Perhaps this railway will only attract tourists. Today, people wanting to travel

from Jakarta to Bandung and vice versa are served by airplanes, trains, [...] buses, and private vehicles,” he says. “If Indonesia wants to build this high-speed train, the administration has to build interconnected public transportation [also]. If the train only depends on private vehicles, it won’t thrive.”

issue 153 Indonesia expat

EXPAT BUSINESS BUSINESS PROFILE

The Law in These Parts

Hadromi & Partners

Hadromi & Partners is a general practice law firm, established in 1999 during the Indonesian financial crisis. We discuss Indonesia’s ever-changing legal landscape and advice for expatriates living and working in Indonesia with the company’s managing partner, M. Iqbal Hadromi. By Angela Richardson

Is it true that in March 2016, there will be a new law that requires foreigners wishing to obtain a KITAP to pay a [refundable] deposit of 500 million rupiah? As you know, Indonesian legislation frequently changes, so at this point there is no certainty on such a new law in the future. When setting up a new company in Indonesia, what is often the biggest hurdle that clients face? One of the biggest challenges is facing the government’s bureaucratic system, which can be time-consuming when processing approvals and licenses. However, recently we are seeing positive improvements in the system, and hopefully these improvements will continue.

What is your firm’s area of expertise? We are a general practice law firm but with much experience on foreign direct investment, setting up of businesses, manpower law, litigation, property, immigration, tax, as well as mixed marriage family matters. What interested you to study and practice law? When I was young I always had a deep interest in law and that is why I studied law at University. After graduating and working several years in a prominent Indonesian law firm, opportunities in the legal business bloomed in Indonesia around 1998. It was then I decided to set up my own law firm. With dedication, consistent hard work and focus, the firm was able to grow into one of the prominent law firms in Indonesia.

Have you ever worked on any high profile cases that you can share with us? For corporate work, we have acted as legal counsel for a financing project involving a multinational company and its various subsidiaries around the world with transaction value almost reaching US$1 billion. For litigation work, we are currently acting on behalf of a PMA company in the oil and gas business against one of Indonesia’s largest state-owned banks in a civil claim valuing almost US$20 million. What is it like being a lawyer in a country with an ever-changing legal landscape? It must be good for business! The ever changing legal landscape makes is sometimes difficult, but also challenging and exciting for us lawyers. This also presents opportunities for us to help our clients in dealing with their legal issues.

Many foreigners would agree that the president is saying one thing by asking them to invest in the country, while the legalities involved make it much too difficult to do so, thus many interested parties look elsewhere. Where do you think the problem stems from and what can be done to reassure interested investors to invest in Indonesia? The president, we believe, has genuinely good intentions and has laid out a good vision and programmes for reform, however, implementing them through the existing government civil servants is a challenge and would need time to be realized. However, we have seen some new positive breakthroughs since the instalment of the new president and cabinet. We believe the best way to reassure interested investors would be to continue to show progress and improvement in government policies and its implementation. You also work with expatriate work permits. Do you know what has caused such a tightening on expat working regulations in 2015? Yes, we frequently assist expats on work and stay permit matters. The tightening on

expats is basically the policy of the Ministry of Manpower to give more opportunities for locals to be employed. The tightening is also due to cases where certain expatriates have misused their work and visas. Do you advise expatriates married to Indonesian men/women to obtain a pre-nuptial agreement, and if so, why? We advise expats intending to marry Indonesians to put in place a pre-nuptial agreement prior to the marriage. One important reason for this is that Indonesian marriage law stipulates joint property ownership in all marriages registered in Indonesia, whereas Indonesian land law stipulates that foreigners are not allowed to own property in Indonesia. Consequently, if an Indonesian marries a foreigner, he/ she will not be able to legally own property in Indonesia. The pre-nuptial agreement will then provide a legal basis for property separation in the mixed marriage and as a result maintains the rights of the Indonesian spouse to own property in Indonesia. Have the current tax laws changed for expatriates? What is the average percentage at now? The tax laws for expatriates have not changed, and the applicable tax rates are: Taxable Income

Rupiah Rate

Rp.1-50 million

5 percent

Rp.50-250 million

15 percent

Rp.250 -500 million

25 percent

over Rp.500 million

30 percent

What advice would you give to foreign companies wishing to set up in Indonesia? The Indonesian legal system is complex. Particularly with foreign investment, Indonesian laws and regulations differ from one business field to the other. It is highly

BUSINESS SNIPPETS

Indonesia to join Trans-Pacific Partnership, says Jokowi President Joko Widodo, speaking after a meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. last week, said his country intends to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal the United States has forged with 11 other nations. "We are the largest economy in Southeast Asia," Widodo said through a translator. "And Indonesia intends to join the TPP."

Courtesy of Indonesian Embassy Washington DC

Indonesia expat issue 153

The TPP will set common standards on issues ranging from workers' rights to intellectual property protection.

"As we have said from the beginning, TPP is intended to be an open platform to which other countries who are able and willing to meet the standards can potentially accede," said US Trade Representative Michael Froman at a business summit hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce. More broadly, Indonesia had work to do on cutting red tape, addressing barriers such as local content and local packaging requirements, eliminating import and export restrictions and protecting intellectual property rights, Froman said.

The president, we believe, has genuinely good intentions and has laid out a good vision and programmes for reform, however, implementing them through the existing government civil servants is a challenge and would need time to be realized.

recommended that foreign companies seek good legal advice and assistance to set up their companies in Indonesia. The processing of the various government approvals and licenses must also be done properly and correctly, so as to not create future problems. The revision from Permenakertrans No. 16 year 2015 released by the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower dated 23 October 2015 states the following changes: foreign visitors who will visit Indonesia do not have to process the RPTKA and IMTA and there is no longer the 1:10 ratio of foreign to local employees. Is this information correct? Please be advised that basically such permits are still required for foreign employees who will work and stay in Indonesia. In this matter, the new Regulation of the Minister of Manpower Number: 35 Year 2015 (“New Regulation”) regarding the Amendment of Ministry of Manpower Regulation Number: 16 Year 2015 concerning the Procedure on Utilization of Foreign Employees, eliminated the following works and positions which were obliged to apply for RPTKA and IMTA previously: 1. Providing guidance, counseling, and training for the application of industrial and technological innovation to improve the quality and design of products, as well as marketing the industrial cooperation overseas for Indonesia 2. Prelecting (lecturer) 3. Attending a meeting held with principal or representative office in Indonesia

4. Conducting audits, quality control and inspections of Indonesian branches (for a period of less than one month) 5. Other works which are finished in one period of time 6. Foreign employee in work training 7. Foreign Directors and/or Commissioners who are domiciled overseas By such New Regulation, the temporary RPTKA and IMTA are only required for the following temporary works: 1. Making commercial films with a permit from the authorized institution 2. Conducting audits, quality control and inspections of Indonesian branches (for a period of more than one month) 3. Work related to machinery and electric power installations, after sales service, products in test markets As for the 1:10 ratio of foreign employees to local employees, we confirm that such provision has been deleted by the New Regulation. Is there a particular aspect working in law that excites you the most? From the very start, we have been very much involved in matters pertaining to foreign direct investment in Indonesia and have assisted many foreign clients on this. In recent years, there have been many changes on regulations pertaining to foreign direct investment, and we continue to be passionate in this subject and assisting foreign clients on such issues. Thank you, Bapak Iqbal.

To get in touch, please e-mail: iqbal@hadromi.com or visit www.hadromi.com

President Widodo finalized more than US$20 billion worth of US deals during his trip, including a US$500 million infrastructure investment from Coca-Cola and up to US$1 billion from General Electric for Indonesia's energy and healthcare sectors, according to the Indonesian Embassy in Washington. Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina, and Corpus Christie Liquefaction, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, also finalized a shale gas deal valued at US$13 billion. Widodo and Obama discussed climate change, strengthening Indonesia's maritime security powers and forest fires in Indonesia.

President Widodo also addressed the dual citizenship bill for foreign diaspora. He said, “I would like to push for [the bill] so that it can be resolved quickly.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno L. P. Marsudi added that the Government has been discussing the bill and that there was some progress made in August during a meeting of Indonesian diaspora in Jakarta. President Widodo cut short his trip to the United States in order to address the “haze crisis” caused by forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

issue 153 Indonesia expat

EXPAT BUSINESS MEET THE EXPAT

How can we watch your show? Score Board is on at 10am and 4.30pm. You can watch us on Indovision on channel 85 and we will have a YouTube channel and live streaming on our website soon.

What made you come back to your birth land? Working as a sports reporter in Australia, I found that we would sometimes ignore news from the world, due to the fact that we’re quite secluded in Australia and show only what we want to show. I felt that if I wanted to progress into being a serious anchor or sports journalist, I would need to travel and gain worldly experience to expand my network, so I took the risk and came to Indonesia as my stepping stone.

What other shows can we watch on your channel? We have World Hour, which is hard news with some light entertainment at the end; Marketplace, which is all about the stock market; Showbiz Central, which focuses in on showbiz news; Screenshot, which has feature stories mainly from Asia; and my show, Score Board. We are looking to do a Russia Today show, due to the high number of Russians in Indonesia and our ties with the Russian diplomats.

How long have you been in the media? I studied Communications and Journalism at University and I did internships during my studies. I worked at Fox Sports for three and a half years before coming here. Have you ever done other types of media other than television? I used to write for various sports magazines such as the Australian Times and Rugby League Magazine with regular sports columns. I only got into TV because my lecturer at University persuaded me to try it. I was actually really hesitant about working in TV because I didn’t want to be judged and criticized all the time – I preferred to be behind the scenes with my work being based on my writing. Eventually I did try TV and I actually liked it! I feel that even though you’re presenting and reading off a teleprompter, we have a lot of influence doing what we do. Why sports? My dad treated me like a son growing up. Since I was close to my dad and my brother, I watched a lot of sports, dressed like a boy and I was even in a football team from the age of six. I only started to develop my feminine side when I was put in all girls’ school at 12 years of age.

Have you ever met a sports person that left you awestruck? And which personalities would you like to meet? I don’t get fazed by athletes. People see them as gods – I see them as normal people with talent. I would like to meet Rhonda Rousey, Mohammad Ali or Mike Tyson because I want to pick their brains!

Meet Nicole Asgar

Talking Sports Nicole Asgar is a 24-year-old sports presenter and producer of mixed Iranian and Indonesian heritage, who was raised in Australia. Spending her childhood travelling between Australia and Indonesia, she took the plunge and moved to Jakarta six months ago to gain international media experience. A former Fox Sports reporter, Nicole shares her story and her passion for sports with us. By Angela Richardson

In Australia, it’s engrained into us that we have to follow a sport – it’s our bread and butter. Growing up, if you didn’t watch the National Rugby League (NRL), you weren’t part of the 'cool group'. I always knew I wanted to do the news (Sandra Sully was my idol growing up) and one of my goals from a young age was to work in sports. Tell us about the new channel, MNC World News. What’s the brand’s vision and mission? The whole channel is dedicated in English and we’re really targeting an international audience. We want people to know that Indonesians keep up with the rest of the world; we’re putting Indonesia on the map. We have to come across as suitable for international audiences, therefore our content focuses mainly on the international world. The owner, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, has plans to branch out from Indonesia to Southeast Asia, Australia, the Middle East and eventually the world. What about your show, Score Board – what makes it special? This is the first time I feel there is a presenter, producer and sports show in Indonesia suitable for international audiences. The way I present and package sports is completely different to other shows 12

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here. I also think viewers enjoy watching someone with an Australian accent because it feels more international. My show is probably one of the first shows in Indonesia that covers NRL stories. We will also be covering the Rugby World Cup, which other channels do not. What’s your broadcasting style? My audience is majority male, which means I have to grab their attention quickly with a fun and down-to-earth style. Sometimes I get a bit more serious when we cover scandals or corruption topics like the PSSI (Persatuan Sepakbola Seluruh Indonesia), but the majority of the time, I’m engaging with the audience. Who is your target audience and what’s the reaction been so far to your show? We are targeting the international audience, expatriates and English-speaking Indonesians. I’m really surprised to know that people actually watch our show because we haven’t done any advertising and our website isn’t live yet. We have some well-known presenters like Tommy Tjokro from Bloomberg who brings a lot of fans.

What challenges have you faced coming back to Jakarta? Yes, things take a lot longer to do here. I took a lot of criticism showing international sports in Indonesia, but apparently Score Board is now the number one show on our channel! Do you speak Bahasa? I can get by, but I’m still learning – even though people still laugh at me! What do you hope to achieve in your time working in Indonesia? I'd like to gain as much experience as possible in my field of work, as well a travel all over Indonesia - there's so much to see and learn. I really want to expand my fan base. There are only 20 million people in Australia, but in Indonesia there are 20 million people who could potentially watch MNC World News. I would like to set up a charitable organization for children where donators can access the kids they donate to or sponsor, so you know where your money goes. I’d like to focus on children because they’re the next generation. I’m also writing a book about the differences between the two worlds I’m from, but this is still a work in progress! What sports do you play? Boxing mainly, but I also play tennis, soccer, and even rugby. If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you have with you? I’m Gen-Y, so definitely my phone. And chocolate – I have to have chocolate every day. I would also need someone to talk to or I’d go insane, so I’d bring either Kevin Hart or Ron Burgundy, the character.

Thanks, Nicole! To get in touch, e-mail putri. asgar@mncgroup.com or follow her on Twitter: @nicole_hash

issue 153 Indonesia expat

EXPAT LIFESTYLE

FOOD & DRINK Our Clandestine Critic has dined all over the world, everywhere from threeMichelin starred restaurants in Monaco to street stalls in Shanghai – so this discerning palate has pedigree. The quest for truth and the elimination of mediocrity in Indonesia’s emerging dining scene is finally here!

The Clandestine Critic

Bringing Sushi Back Our expert epicure continues an undercover operation to bring you the truth about Jakarta’s dining scene. No spoon is left unturned in the quest for honest, balanced reviews, from long-established favourites to the hottest new tables in town.

This month, north-Asian naughty, Akira Back. By The Cladenstine Critic

Tuna pizza (Rp.235,000). What?! Yes. A seeded wafer base was smothered with ponzu mayonnaise and slivers of red onion, then layered with beautifully cut, thin, fresh tuna sashimi. On top were ‘micro’ shiso leaves and liberal dribbles of truffle oil. Two things here. One: if it’s not ‘micro’ or ‘foraged’ these days, forget about it; and two: I’ve noticed something of a geographical, culinary phenomenon in these parts. The further north you go in Jakarta, the more truffles appear on the menu. By the time you get to the top of Rasuna Said, you might as well bathe in the stuff. In the mysterious case of the tuna pizza, this is an incredibly good thing. It was – to my surprise – not at all a train wreck of a dish, but absolutely delicious, even though I couldn’t quite pick out the ponzu. Light, delicate, and extremely moreish.

itting pretty in southern Setiabudi is an eye-catching building, MD Place, owned by the illustrious MD Corp of soap-opera fame. It’s not particularly highrise, but is a pleasant purple colour, and has the faint whiff, courtesy of its tessellated window structures, of being inside Spiderman’s armpit. In this slightly surreal setting is a slightly surreal, semi-celebritychef restaurant, Akira Back.

akira back

Chef Back is Korean but grew up partly in Colorado, with an affinity to Japan. One professional snowboarding career later, Back found himself studying culinary arts, competing on Iron Chef and doing sushi stints at Nobu (see what I mean about surreal?). His Las Vegas location, Yellowtail, opened in 2008 and is highly praised. Similarly, since opening in 2014, the Jakarta operation has enjoyed plenty of success. I can partly see why. Firstly – and this is worth mentioning up front – the service is actually good: friendly, knowledgeable, proactive and not too inyour-face.

ab tacos

AB Tacos (Rp.185,000) used Wagyu beef, stuffed neatly inside mini hard-shell corn encasements, atop finely diced red onion, with spicy tomato ponzu sauce and a fried jalapeno slice on top. This dish was a real Tokyo-meets-Tijuana taster, and good for bar snacks or as a little appetiser. Despite all those zippy flavours though, I was starting to find they slightly merged into one, and admittedly had hoped for something a bit more from the tacos.

There is great variety on the menu, which depends on fresh seafood and top-quality meats. You can choose from larger sharing portions, sushi and sashimi platters, and main courses too. Edamame (Rp.45,000) are a good, simple start while you peruse the list and sip a sake or Sapporo (Rp.100,000) – I’m always pleased to find the dry, refreshing Japanese beer on offer. When faced with a mammoth menu, a good place to start is to try whatever it is the chef seems to be famous for. In Back’s case, it’s a Japanese backbone funked up with Korean and Latin elements. Signature dishes are helpfully denoted on the menu, and we started with one of the most famous. 14

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Another sharing portion, Grilled Octopus (Rp.195,000), was very well cooked: soft and nicely charred on the outside; fresh and plentiful. The sauces were two: salsa verde, which was not bad, and chipotle, which packed a punch. The dish was adorned with Chicken Chorizo Gyoza (little fried dumplings), which were unusual but not unsuccessful. Overall this was a spicy little mama.

tuna pizza

Cheque Please Food Drinks Service Total

Rp.1,815,000 Rp.270,000 10% Rp.2,196,150 (inc. taxes) for two

So far, the chef’s fusion overtures left little room for straight-up Japanese, so with that in mind we ordered some sushi rolls. But these were not your average Californians. Pop Rockin’ Rolls (Rp.165,000) were very interesting indeed. I have never – and probably will never again – come across sweets inside food, let alone sushi. Popping candy, for those poor souls unaware, are

Back it up

the naughtiest of sweets. Only if you had been extra-specially good (or her day had been extra-specially bad and it wasn’t yet bed and G&T time) would your mum let you buy them on a Friday afternoon from the corner shop. Yes, it is a bit gimmicky but something about the sweet, lemony, pop-inyour-mouth morsels tasted good with the spicy crab inside. A big portion too, expertly rolled by the guys in the open kitchen. The main course of Wagyu Rib Eye (Rp.490,000) was fabulous. The little slivers of meat were cut into sashimisize bites; very soft but nicely chargrilled on the outside. The wasabi butter sauce turned out to be a very delicate flavour; in fact the wasabi was tricky to pick out, but this wasn’t a problem. Alongside was – all together now – truffle potato puree (Rp.90,000) with real pieces of black truffle. Here Chef Back is flexing his culinary muscle, showing off more classic mains against his Vegas-showgirl starters and sharers. Desserts were surprisingly Westernised but nothing if not inventive. ‘30 Second Tiramisu’ (Rp.75,000) was a deconstructed version of the old favourite. There were spherical chocolate balls and quick-cooked pieces of sponge, with a Kahlua sauce pour over at the table. I have to say I didn’t quite get it, and it was ever so slightly a case of style over substance, but not enough to complain about. Honey-Yoghurt Panna Cotta (Rp.65,000) was a little more straightforward but also had that Backesque zing courtesy of raspberry-flavoured pop rock candy. Maybe he caught me in a rare good mood, as I usually find fusion for the sake of fusion irritating – but not here. This kitchen applies Japanese rigour and uncompromising emphasis on quality to all its ingredients. This may be why, like most Japanese joints, it’s expensive. But don’t worry about that. Wherever Akira Back swerves to avoid any sense of normalcy in his menu, he makes a hairpin turn and delivers on taste, class and that sense of the surreal that permeates this successful restaurant.

Akira Back MD Place Lt. 12, Jl. Setiabudi Selatan No. 7, Setiabudi, Jakarta 12910 Phone: +62 (0) 21 7196160 Web: www.akirabackindonesia.com

EXPAT LAW & ORDER

Manpower Expresses Regrets; Extends Expats a Warm Welcome President Jokowi’s gift surrounding his USA visit, 24–30 October 2015 To be complete and in an attempt to take away the fear from many companies, below is a general overview of the documents needed for a normal company and the requirements needed by the expatriate to be sure he/she can work legally in Indonesia. ◊ The COMPANY needs a Foreign Workers Employment Plan (RPTKA) These are the common requirements or documents needed to obtain a normal RPTKA for a job position that is open for expats: 1)A letter mentioning the reasons to hire expats and for which specific position 2) RPTKA application form 3) The companies Deed of Establishment, Ministerial Approval and adjustments 4) Company (paid up) capital must be at least Rp.1,000,000,000 5) The standard company papers: LOD, NPWP, TDP and SIUP (or IUT for a PT PMA) 6) Company Organization chart 7) A letter of recommendation from a technical Ministry (e.g. Education, Transportation, Oil 7 Gas, Mining) (Not needed for a normal trading or consultancy company) 8) One Indonesian counterpart employee (not needed for directors and commissioners) 9) An education and training plan for the Indonesian counterpart 10) The WLK, a yearly report stating the numbers of expats and local employees

The Indonesian Ministry of Manpower recently caused panic and demoralization among companies hiring expats. All of this was following the drastic change of rules laid out in the Ministerial Regulation, PP no. 16 of 2015 from 29 June 2015.

Be advised that • Positions like HR Managers, agriculture workers, fabric workers, bus drivers, tour guides and jobs alike are not allowed for expats. More technical, financial, commercial and research and development positions are usually granted • Positions for directors and commissioners are almost always accepted • A service company will get only six months where a construction business or an international school will get a one or two year valid RPTKA Once the RPTKA is granted the next giant step must be made:

A brand new regulation, enforced immediately and without proper pre-announcements. The most widely felt implication was the ‘ten to one’ rule, stating that companies must hire ten Indonesian counterparts for every expatriate employee. As painful was the new situation that every single visitor to the company, besides the normal business visa, needed to have a work permit. Very disturbing was that all nonresident directors and commissioners needed a work permit, even if they didn’t plan to come to Indonesia. The expat community was flabbergasted and couldn’t accept this new ruling, which was quite the opposite of the policy of the Government under President Joko Widodo, to make Indonesia more attractive for foreign investors. As befits an expat in a foreign country, the complaints were made quietly and without any rumour. Remarkably fast, the Indonesian Government listened to these sounds of silence and came up with a quick revision of PP no. 16 of 2015.

Breaking news In accordance with Ministerial Regulation PP no. 35 of 2015 released by the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower on 23 October 2015, the following main changes have been enacted: • For foreign visitors on a business trip, the company does not need to process a work permit anymore, so no RPTKA and no IMTA. The business visa is back in power • Non-resident commissioners (BOC) and directors (BOD) of the company do not need a work permit, so no RPTKA and no IMTA • Only one Indonesian counterpart is needed per expat employee. This means a cancellation of the 1:10 ratio of foreign to local employees; • Conversion from Dollar to Rupiah has been deleted for DPKK payment, so the payment can still be done in USD currency • Foreign workers do not need to speak Bahasa Indonesia, despite recent articles in many newspapers saying differently However, a temporary IMTA and RPTKA are required for some types of temporary work like conducting audits, producing a commercial movie that has received a permit from the relevant agencies and work related to machinery installation, electrical, after-sales services, or products which are under business exploration stage.

◊ The EXPAT needs a Work Permit or IMTA To obtain an IMTA, the expat must submit the following requirements and documents: 1) An education relevant to the position he/she wants to hold 2) A certificate of competence or work experience of at least five years relevant to the position 3) A statement to transfer his/her knowledge to the Indonesian counterpart 4) A copy of the employment agreement of the Indonesian colleague 5) A Taxpayer Identification card (NPWP) (if working longer than six months) 6) An insurance policy issued by an insurance company incorporated in Indonesia 7) A National Social Security policy (if working longer than six months) 8) The receipt of DKP-TKA payment (a kind of tax of US$1,200 a year) 9) The RPTKA approval (see above) 10) A copy of the passport, showing he/she is 25 years or older and not older than 55 (for oil and gas) and 60 (for teachers) 11) Two colour photographs in 4x6 size 12) A letter of recommendation from a technical Ministry (if applicable) 13) Directors and the commissioners don’t need to fulfil requirements 1 till 4 Be advised that • Only if these documents are complete and submitted, the IMTA application will (almost automatically) be approved What can be said or concluded is that indeed a lot of documents are needed but the process is clear and transparent. If the company and the expat have all the right documents, they can try to do the whole process for the RPTKA and IMTA themselves following all the steps mentioned on the website of the Ministry of Manpower http://naker.go.id If this doesn’t work, go to a formalities agent. Considering the ever-changing requirements due to varying policies, this article means no guarantees for the near future.

ABOUT THE PERMIT HOUSE The Permit House commenced operations providing the KITAP and has expanded into a full authorized formalities agency, handling all visas, permits and other documentation required by expats to stay, live and work in Indonesia. The Company founders are expats and have endured the processes first hand.

Graha Tunas Buidling Unit D, Floor 4 Jl. Warung Jati Barat 63 Jakarta 12740

Phone : 021-79195805 / 7987589 Email : info@thepermithouse.com Website : www.thepermithouse.com

issue 153 Indonesia expat

EXPAT LIFESTYLE BOOK REVIEW Terry Collins, writer of the Jakartass blog, is currently researching A History of Jazz in Indonesia

A Brief History of Indonesia

The sub-title is far from brief: Sultans, Spices and Tsunamis - The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation. By Terry Collins

A Brief History of Indonesia Tim Hannigan pub. Tuttle 2015 pp.288 ISBN 978-0-8048-4476-5 (pbk) ISBN 978-0-4629-1716-7(ebook)

©elia locardi | blamethemonkey.com

©periplus

hen Tim Hannigan first arrived in Indonesia “as an earnest young backpacker with a passion for history”, he was unable to find anything with a general overview; just academic tomes and guides to tourist ‘obyeks’ of interest. These guides, phrase books and beautiful coffee table books portraying landscapes, flora and fauna, and meals, are still the main stock of nonfiction reading to be found on the shelves of book stores situated in malls and airport departure lounges. But now Periplus stocks two paperback volumes of narrative history, both by Tim: Raffles and the British Invasion of Java, and now this one, the result of far less intensive scholarship, albeit with an extensive bibliography and index. This book is less concerned with dates than with context. In our interconnected and interdependent world, the importance of what is now known as the Indonesian archipelago in the shaping of the world geopolitical map we know today is barely recognised by Indonesians themselves, let alone visitors. The archipelago was formed as Asian and Australian land masses separated, so its early history was determined by geology and is unwritten except by archaeologists. Climate changes lead to migrations of early hominids; a great Ice Age had lowered sea levels, and what is now a nation was land-linked to Asia and sea journeys were shorter. The Java Man dates back some million years, and the recently discovered metre high Homo florensiensis in Flores proved that sea journeys were made at least 100,000 years ago. The ‘Hobbits’ were followed much later by the Melanesians, who still predominate in the easternmost regions of the archipelago. Then some 7,000 years ago the Austronesians, “the greatest tribe of maritime travellers the world has ever known”, set forth from “the damp interior of southern China”. It took a further two and a half millennia for them to reach Sulawesi, and that's when Indonesia's 16

Indonesia expat issue 153

In our interconnected and interdependent world, the importance of what is now known as the Indonesian archipelago in the shaping of the world geopolitical map we know today is barely recognised by Indonesians themselves, let alone visitors.

history began: c.2,500BC.  There are no barriers to trade along the coastlines between the Red Sea and Africa in the westerly direction and to Japan and China in the other. The seasonal monsoon winds provided easy sailing through the Malacca Strait. During the equatorial dry season (summer), the winds carried ships with their cargoes to the north-west and to the north-east during the wet season (winter). Lying midway along the trade route there was the incentive for traders to settle. Here it must be noted that until 1867 when the Straits Settlements on the Malay Peninsula were declared a British crown colony, their affairs were intertwined with those of South Sumatra and West Java in terms of trading and piracy. The volcanic activity and tropical climate provided the fertility suitable for agricultural settlements, particularly in Java. As well as goods to sell or barter, traders brought their religions - Hinduism and Buddhism, and later Islam – and languages. These traders also sought the riches found here: tin from Palembang in south Sumatra which also provided pepper, and the spices, nutmeg and cloves, from the far Moluccas. Before then, there were “Empires of Imagination”: Here and there some pretender prince, with ideas too big for the traditional role of village chief, might have seized control of a federation of hamlets or a

growing port. Once he had done so he would have found himself in need of a political concept to bolster his new position as head of a proto-state. The Indian idea of kingship was perfect for the task. Situated at the junction of the sea lanes in South Sumatra, from the 7th to 12th centuries the Buddhist trading ‘empire’ of Srivijaya (aka Sriwijaya) was able to dominate the surrounding states, including those across the Straits of Malaka. By the time its influence had waned some six centuries later, kingdoms in Java had already sought permanence through the construction of stone temples, such as the earliest on the Dieng plateau which were built by Shiva worshippers. The Sailendra Dynasty in central Java, a trading rather than a maritime kingdom, possibly had ties with Srivijaya because of the religious connection, Mahayana Buddhism, as portrayed in their monument Borobodur, built during the 8th and 9th centuries. They were supplanted by the Sanyaya dynasty who took Shiva, the Hindu god as their key deity and erected Prambanan Temple and lots of smaller temples in the surrounding countryside. In East Java, at the end of the 13th century, the Mongols, who were then ruling China, sent a number of fleets to extract tribute from the traders. In 1293, the final one was repelled by Raden Wijaya, who had invited them in the first place. He then “went back to his little village … and turned it into an empire called Majapahit. … Later Javanese

kings, nineteenth century European orientalists and strident Indonesian nationalists have all retooled its reputation to fit their own prejudices and purposes.” The introduction of Islam is less well documented. By the early thirteenth century there would almost certainly have been Muslim communities living in ports around the Straits of Malaka. Hannigan suggests that the creeping conversion could well have been a matter of “kingly pragmatism”, the need to work with the increasing number Muslim traders passing through or settled with local wives; the first converts. It is in relatively recent times, the past 400 plus years that European powers – the Dutch, English, Portuguese, Spanish and French – named the “Spice Invaders” by Hannigan, came in search of the source and tried with varying success to monopolise the trade. However, events ‘back home’ were to lead to what is now an independent Indonesia. The storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the start of the French Revolution lead in political and economic terms to what has been termed the ‘Age of Enlightenment’. Out of this came the idea of European intellectual and moral superiority and the spurious moral imperative – the idea that “we know what's best for them” and the contemptuous notions of the 'ignorant native' and the ‘Asiatic despot’. One may surmise that the ‘inferiority complex’ engendered remains in the national psyche, and is the fundamental reason for the current rise in nationalism. Sukarno once said: “Never forget your history.” To which I would add “especially that not written by the ‘winners’.” At the book launch in Jakarta I suggested that this ‘Brief History’ be translated into Indonesian as an all-purpose supplement to the shallow versions of national history ‘approved’ by successive governments. Tim Hannigan’s Raffles book has recently been translated into Indonesian and is available in Gramedia.

EXPAT LIFESTYLE

EDUCATION Dr. Jorge Nelson, Head of North Jakarta Intercultural School, has worked in accredited schools in 10 countries over the past 30 years. On October 1, he presented research findings on the five core competencies (e.g., WE ACT) at the GESS educational conference in Jakarta.

Advanced Placement vs. International Baccalaureate

A Parent’s Dilemma

By Dr. Jorge Nelson

AP Capstone is an innovative diploma programme that provides students with an opportunity to engage in rigorous scholarly practice of the core academic skills necessary for successful college completion. AP Capstone is built on the foundation of two courses — AP Seminar and AP Research — and is designed to complement and enhance the in-depth, disciplinespecific study provided through AP courses. It cultivates curious, independent, and collaborative scholars and prepares them to make logical, evidence-based decisions. apstudent.collegeboard.org I was honoured to have worked with Head of School, Ted Hill and the faculty at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes, California. They are one of the first 10 schools authorised to pilot this programme, and, from what I have heard, it is very compelling.

arents want a non-biased review of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) from the International Baccalaureate Organisation, Genève, Switzerland, and the Advanced Placement (AP) International Diploma Programme from The College Board, New York, NY, USA. According to educational consultants and journalists in the US, the IB and/or the AP are both acceptable programmes to get students into great universities. Dr. Mark Montgomery, instructor at Harvard University, stated the following: In my opinion, both the AP and IB programmes are equally valuable, in that the exams associated with those courses provide an external measure of quality. Any student who does well on the end-ofcourse assessments associated with either program can genuinely claim to have done college work in a high school setting. The structures of the two programs are very different, however. Think of AP and IB this way: AP is a smorgasbord: pick the courses you want, leave behind those that tempt you less. IB, by contrast, is a ‘prix fixe’ menu: you get all or nothing. There is a range of choice within IB, but the entire high school curriculum is dictated by those initial choices. I agree with Dr. Montgomery as I have been involved in international schools for 30 years and have worked in both AP and

IB programmes around the world. There are a number of differences that parents and high school students might be interested in besides the smorgasbord vs. prix fixe mentioned above. The College Board, founded in 1900, not only offers the Advanced Placement International Diploma, it also offers the SAT®, SAT Subject Tests™, AP®, PSAT/ NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, PSAT™ 8/9, ACCUPLACER®, CLEP®, SpringBoard®, Services for Students with Disabilities and CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® programmes. The IB offers the PYP, MYP, DP and CP programs. Over the years, the IB has added good co-curricular components to the curriculum, but the rigidity and rigor can be too difficult for many students and less than desirable to students who need more flexibility and creativity. Thinking of creativity, what I find very interesting about the AP programme is that The College Board has recently added new offerings besides the honours collegelevel courses being taught in AP schools around the world. The traditional collegelevel courses include Arts; AP Art History; AP Music Theory; AP Studio Art: 2-D Design; AP Studio Art: 3-D Design; AP Studio Art: Drawing; AP English Language and Composition; AP English Literature and Composition; AP History & Social Science; AP Comparative Government and Politics; AP European History; AP Human Geography; AP Macroeconomics;

AP Microeconomics; AP Psychology; AP United States Government and Politics; AP United States History; AP World History; AP Calculus AB; AP Calculus BC; AP Computer Science A; AP Computer Science Principles; AP Statistics; AP Biology; AP Chemistry; AP Environmental Science; AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism; AP Physics C: Mechanics; AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based; AP Physics 2: AlgebraBased; AP Chinese Language and Culture; AP French Language and Culture; AP German Language and Culture; AP Italian Language and Culture; AP Japanese Language and Culture; AP Latin; and finally, AP Spanish Language and Culture. What is new and creative to AP is the AP Capstone Diploma Programme, including AP Seminar and AP Research. This is very exciting as it finally brings project-based Socratic methodology, with student-led real world problem-solving into the high school experience.

There are other, less comprehensive diploma programmes available for parents and students to consider such as IGCSE and A-levels, yet these are mostly test-based, quite rigidly-structured and, I believe, not increasingly irrelevant. The owner, Cambridge, has seemingly weakened the brand by allowing for non-standard, non-accredited ‘international schools’ to pop up all over the world, watering down the exclusivity while making the learning process really a test-taking process. This philosophy, arguably, does not actively support creativity nor support the joy of learning for the sake of good test scores. They are an OK alternative for students who do not have sufficient resources to afford a well-rounded, liberal arts educational programme, including the fine and applied arts and sciences like the AP or IB, but are less than ideal for the 21st century needs for core competencies, such as world view, emotional intelligence, academics in balance, creativity and technology (WE ACT). To ensure that the school is of high quality no matter which diploma programme chosen, colleges and universities look for external accreditation by five regional accreditation agencies as reported by the US Department of Education. In East Asia and the western states of the USA, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accredits only the finest international schools, colleges, and major universities (UCLA, Stanford, etc.). Only WASC-accredited international schools are allowed membership into the East Asia Regional Conference of Schools (EARCOS). Any school that has EARCOS membership also has WASC accreditation and offers AP or IB as a choice. You can’t go wrong attending any of the hundreds of EARCOS schools. Look for the EARCOS/WASC logos, and you can be sure that the school has the proper programme for entrance into colleges and universities world-wide. issue 153 Indonesia expat

EXPAT LIFESTYLE

TRAVEL Dachlan is a retired librarian and teacher, and occasional poet, who first visited Indonesia for the Subud World Congress in 1971. His first collection of poetry Ours is a God-Given Peace: Verse from the Mersey Beat Era is available from Amazon.

The Ancient Ruins of Gunung Padang

The recent revelation that Gunung Padang, a megalithic site south of Cianjur in West Java, almost certainly conceals a step pyramid dating back to beyond the Ice Age, is attracting a substantial amount of interest in the form of articles, books, videos and visits. By Dachlan Cartwright

hese columns are actually millions to tens of millions of years old, having been formed naturally from cooling lava by a process known as columnar jointing. The site itself is well worth a visit for its hauntingly remote beauty, its green surface strewn with hundreds of basaltic columns, as if a giant had opened and scattered a box of dark grey matches. Fortunately the road to the site is now well signposted, and it has also been entered on GPS. I visited Gunung Padang with my daughter Rianti, her husband Cas, and our driver Pak Setu, driving an SUV. We planned a round trip, outward via Cianjur, inbound via Sukabumi. Our morning start was delayed, so, leaving at 9am, we arrived for lunch at the Puncak Pass Hotel at about 1pm. This is a convenient stopping point for the trip, with its memorable south-east view over the Cipanas area, and Gunung Gede looming above to the west. We continued through Cipanas-Sindanglaya down to Cianjur. Here it is time to activate your GPS – if you have one. In Cianjur, you need to turn right (west) and get on the road to Sukabumi. Once you get on the CianjurSukabumi road (a busy one as it connects Bandung and Sukabumi) keep going for about 7km, using the GPS, until you come to the village of Warungkondang (be careful to avoid a prior left turn to Cibeber). Just after the village you will see a road junction, with a left (south) turn and a green sign saying ‘Gunung Padang’. Now you are on a narrow but well-surfaced road heading up into the hills, with the local minibuses coated in an intriguing silver and puce. The road is typical West Java rural, through bamboo and teak plantations, still well surfaced but with many curves. Signs for Gunung Padang are visible at road junctions. Then you come across something unexpected, a remote railway station, Lampegan. From Lampegan, the road winds up into the midst of glorious tea plantations. This kind of landscape with its sweeping green tea carpets will be familiar to those who know, for example, the Malabar tea plantation area south of Bandung. In fine weather it produces a stimulating feeling, as you are climbing up to the watershed which separates north- and south-flowing rivers in Java. Just beyond the horizon are those long deep valleys, which lead down to the still relatively remote South Coast. We sensed our destination was not too far away (7km from Lampegan), as we dropped down into a small pocket of a valley and then up through a village. We swept up into a carpark, with, of all things, a large electronic digital clock informing us in red digits that it was 15:06:47, and four locked portable toilets in bright blue colours.

Indonesia expat issue 153

These columns are actually millions to tens of millions of years old, having been formed naturally from cooling lava by a process known as columnar jointing.

Fortunately, a more conventional toilet with plenty of clean water was available. There were two smiling guides and a handful of village people outside a row of about ten warung. We were assigned a youngish guide, Pak Yusuf, immaculately dressed in black traditional Sundanese clothes with a blue turban. He first introduced us to a small spring of water, where bathing your face is supposed to guarantee long life. And then the bottom entrances to two flights of stairs. We could choose between the older more direct one, 400 rugged andesite steps on a very steep gradient, or an easier but longer and more circuitous one.

• Go on a weekday, avoiding the hideous Friday-Sunday Puncak traffic. If on weekends, via Sukabumi is probably a better option. • When travelling from Sukabumi, take the Cianjur road, and turn right (it’s signposted) just before Warungkondang. • From Bandung, head for Cianjur, then take the Sukabumi road. • If driving, 4WD is best, SUV is OK, and a sedan is inadvisable. • Several visitors hired minbuses from Sukabumi or Cianjur. • By train, it may be preferable to get an early bus as far as Bogor to catch the 7.55am train from there, avoiding the crowded Jakarta commuter train, or stay the previous night in Bogor.

The choice seemed to been have made for me, and, at 72, no longer a Welsh mountain goat, I found myself being cajoled, pushed and pulled by my four companions up the most cardio-vascular of the two. It didn’t help to have Pak Yusuf regale us with stories of students who had collapsed, vomiting, tourists who had been rushed to hospital, and army officers who had flunked the course. Well, obviously I made it, but, seriously, if you have a heart condition or similar, take the longer way round. It was well worth the ascent though, to be resting up among the green grass and grey columns. The light was clear, the mountains gracious, and the breezes playful. The summit of Gunung Padang is a kind of wind catchment, and a scrap of poetry floated through my head, “an old man among windy spaces”, although my feeling couldn’t have been more opposite to the pessimism of TS Eliot’s Gerontion.

The scale of the site was smaller than we expected, and less crowded. True, it was lateish and the site closes at 4.30pm. There were a few village people, some workers, probably from Pak Danny Hilman’s geological team, up on the highest (fifth) level, and a character in full traditional Sundanese threads and bling who introduced himself as “Eric”. But all I wanted to do was enjoy the brightness, clarity and spirituality of the place. Never mind any chthonic forces and relics way down under my feet. Pak Yusuf indicated some specific arrangements of the columns intended for devotions in the form of samadhi and prayer, which have taken place continually since the West Javanese hero, Prabu Siliwangi, dedicated this site in the early 16th century. The musician in Cas was intrigued by a hollow column, which emits musical notes. It was also fascinating to see how the alignment of Gunung Padang points directly at Gunung Gede, the highest mountain in the region. We descended by the easier steps, Rianti had some selfies taken with the villagers, and we hit the road home. The Sukabumi route at night was long and unpleasant, with traffic jams, road repairs and convoys of trucks bringing mineral water down from the mountains. We were able to speed up after hitting the Jagorawi toll road south of Ciawi, arriving home at 9pm.

EXPAT LIFESTYLE MEET THE EXPAT

Meet Jero Asri Kerthyasa

A Princess’ Story

The former Jane Gillespie of Australia met Prince Tjorkoda Raka Kerthyasa of the Ubud Royal Family while on holiday in Bali in the late seventies. The couple were wed and Jane became Princess Jero Asri Kerthyasa. We meet up with her at her café Biku in Seminyak to find out about her experiences of immersion into Balinese royal life in the ‘70s. By Karen Davis

How did you meet Prince Tjorkoda Raka Kerthyasa? I came here on holiday with my mother in 1977. It was my second trip to Bali – the first was in 1972 with friends. I met the prince in Ubud and we were married a year later in 1978.

life. Ubud was a tiny village then and there were very few westerners. It was 1978, so even the palace had no amenities such as electricity or proper facilities. The residence was beautiful but everyday life was very primitive; kerosene lamps lit the palace and there was no running water. There were also no telephones, thus no communication with the outside world.

What was the reaction of the royal family to your marriage? Some of the family members weren’t too keen on the idea, but in general they were quite accepting of me.

Was it difficult to learn high Balinese? No, it’s not that difficult when you are totally immersed in it as I was. My life was in the palace, so I learned the language very quickly.

Do you have an amusing wedding story? Yes! We had tonnes of gifts, of course. I had a good friend who brought me some very precious gifts from Australia. It is the custom here that the family takes all the gifts, which I did not know. So, when my gifts from Australia went missing I was so upset! My husband retrieved them back for me so it all ended well, but looking back that was a funny event!

What were your duties as princess? I had to learn royal protocols, of course. The duties normally consist of being present at temple ceremonies, community and royal events, and traditional ceremonies. How many children do you have? I first gave birth to a son, Tjok Gede. My second son is Tjok Bagus and my daughter is Tjok Maya, so I have two sons, a daughter, and three grandchildren.

Did your new Balinese family choose your name? What does it mean? Jero is a title given to people who marry into a higher caste. They chose Asri, which usually means perfect, but also because to them it sounded like Australia (AS) and Republik Indonesia (RI)! What were some of the initial challenges you faced upon becoming a part of the royal household? It was a radical change in lifestyle and a whole new culture for me to embrace. There was only one way to do things: the Balinese way! I experienced a huge change in every aspect of my day-to-day

Do they all have royal duties? Yes, they have duties to attend to, now more than ever! Weddings, cremations, baby ceremonies – it is more full-on now than before! My husband has the most duties and is always active in the community and with the government.

jero asri (left) marrying prince tjorkoda raka kerthyasa in 1978

When did you open Biku? Tell us about this popular cafe in Seminyak. I opened Biku seven years ago with my son Tjok Bagus (Max), who is a tea master. We opened as a restaurant, lounge, and

teahouse. In the beginning we never envisioned it to grow into such a big enterprise. It is always full now. We serve a proper English tea and have a large selection of scones and cakes. It is best to reserve for lunch or dinner. People like to come here to relax, have their Tarot cards read, and just enjoy the ambience. I am here every day. This is where I see my friends and where I feel comfortable. What makes Bali unique in the world? I truly believe that all the ceremonies and offerings have an impact on Bali. Every prayer offered has power. There still remains a feeling of magic here and it is because of all the energy that is created by the Balinese people and their daily rituals. What is your future vision for Bali? I don’t really know at this point. I want to be optimistic, but I see the Balinese culture being diminished. Bali is being populated by so many people from other islands and other cultures. Huge projects are being built which do not benefit the Balinese people in any way. I worry what will happen when they have sold their lands and have nothing left. What will the next generation do? Also we do have the problem of infrastructure and the huge impact of tourism. Even if the water shortages and power shortages are addressed, what will become of the culture and traditions which make Bali what it is? We can only hope for the best and support this beautiful culture that is Bali.

Thank you, Jero Asri! To find out more about Biku, visit: www.bikubali.com

issue 153 Indonesia expat

Kenneth Yeung is a Jakarta-based editor

Official Ignorance Is Not Bliss If Indonesia’s greatest crime of the past century remains swept under the carpet – and cannot even be discussed at a book festival – then what hope is there of enforcing laws to protect citizens from the deadly smoke haze engulfing parts of the country? By Kenneth Yeung

Scams, by definition, involve

gangs. Thousands were jailed without trial, including some of the country’s leading intellectuals. Millions of people, including some born after 1965, were stigmatized as communists. President Joko Widodo has refused to issue a state apology for the carnage and stigmatization.

depriving a person or people by means of deceit. Common scams in Indonesia involve online fraud, pyramid schemes and all sorts of charlatans. But a monumental scam taking place is depriving Indonesians of their history and their right to justice. Scammers thrive when people are kept ignorant and law enforcement is weak.

School children should be taught the facts of 1965 and the fact that communism is a failed ideology. Blanket demonization of all leftists and liberals serves only fascists.

A businessman with a stake in an oil palm plantation in a Sumatran province claims his company and others were recently asked by a very senior official to each pay Rp.250 million (US$18,500) to “help combat the haze” – in return for which they would not be prosecuted over illegal land clearing.

After the fall of Suharto in 1998, Indonesia began to discuss the events of 1965-66. Authors started to write works of fiction and non-fiction about the killings. Older academic books about the so-called “attempted coup” have been available in Indonesian bookstores for the past eight years. Many of these titles have been republished, in Indonesia, since 2007 by Equinox Publishing with the blessing of then-attorney general Abdul Rahman Saleh.

Officials would be better off prosecuting, to the full extent of the law, those who start or order forest and peat-land fires, if the government wants to stop devastating pollution and curb potentially fatal respiratory illnesses. The leaders of Riau province in Sumatra do not have a good track record in protecting the environment. The most recent governor, Annas Maamun, was in June sentenced to six years in jail for accepting US$166,100 in bribes from the local chairman of the Indonesian Oil Palm Farmers Association. His predecessor, Rusli Zainal, was last year sentenced to 14 years in jail for bribery and abuse of power involving illegal forestry permits. Such sentences are encouraging, but the Corruption Eradication Commission and Indonesia Corruption Watch say bribery remains common when permits are granted to convert forests into plantations. Linking the current smoke haze disaster to a ban on discussions about the 1965-66 massacres of up to 1 million Indonesians may seem tenuous. But the link is crystal clear. If you can’t deal with problems of the past, you’re not well equipped to deal with problems of the present. When individuals and institutions get away with mass murder and the government refuses to even apologize, there is little hope for establishing a culture of good governance and law enforcement. The Ubud Readers and Writers Festival, which took place over October 28 to November 1, is Indonesia’s leading international literary event. Organizers were forced to cancel sessions discussing the massacres on the grounds that the issue is too sensitive. Next, the festival had to cancel a session involving discussion of the contentious Benoa Bay reclamation project.

Indonesia expat issue 153

If you can’t deal with problems of the past, you’re not well equipped to deal with problems of the present.

It was cowardly of officials to demand the sessions be axed, and it was equally cowardly of the organizers to cave into them. Cancelling the entire festival would have drawn greater attention to the return of repression and censorship. Ironically, Indonesia was Guest of Honour at last month’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Several Indonesian authors and Education Minister Anies Baswedan spoke proudly at the event of Indonesia’s progress and its literary accomplishments. Where are their voices now? Writing articles and posting online are not enough. They have to go to someone at the top of the government and make a strong case for freedom of expression. Debate can foster education, awareness and reconciliation. Repression leads to intellectual stagnation. I recently asked some high school students in Jakarta if they could define communism. “A communist is an evil person,” one student told me. “Why is communism evil?” I pressed. Another student answered: “Because

communists killed people and rejected God. The military had to kill communists to save Indonesia from the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party). The PKI had killed seven generals on September 30, 1965.” And there you have it. The fact that six, not seven, Army generals were murdered by their fellow soldiers in the early hours of October 1, 1965, is perhaps a minor error. It’s an error that is repeated in some of the citizenship textbooks used by high school students. A retired Air Force pilot, now in his 80s, tells me the events of October 1, 1965, were not about the PKI trying to seize power, but were a rift within the military, which the chief of the Army’s Strategic Reserve Command, Suharto, used as a pretext to undermine founding president Sukarno and to vanquish all communists and other enemies of the Army’s right-wing faction.

Equinox founder Mark Hanusz is upset by the cancellations of discussions at the book festival in Ubud. “Without strong and clear instructions from high-level officials, censorship and intimidation will run out of control. It's already starting. And it is up to my Indonesian friends to put all the pressure possible on the people they elected to ensure the genie of freedom of expression isn't jammed back into the bottle,” he commented. Repression reared its ugly head in the Central Java city of Salatiga last month when Satya Wacana Christian University had to destroy copies of its Lentera magazine for publishing stories about the 1965 killings. Too often, ordinary Indonesians are forced to take a back seat to arrogant officials, whether it be provincial politicians allowing deadly haze or just those top government officials who have police close entire lanes of traffic on Jakarta’s main streets to ensure their cars can proceed unimpeded.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla in September responded to criticism from neighbouring countries about the haze by saying, “For 11 months, they enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us. They have suffered because of the haze for one month and they get upset.” Going by his logic, we should be thanking terrorist groups for every day they don’t detonate In the ensuing communal bloodbaths, many a bomb. Repression of free speech only hampers a country from solving its innocent people were killed by the Army, problems. by Muslim groups and by paramilitary

issue 153 Indonesia expat

EXPAT OUTREACH WORTHY CAUSES

Singin’ in the Rain: Ikatan Sindroma Down Indonesia Makes Waves with Gigi Art of Dance Gigi Art of Dance recognizes how dance belongs to anyone, without exception to those with disabilities. The dance school welcomes students with Down syndrome to show that nothing should get in the way of expressing one’s creativity. By Caranissa Djatmiko | Photo Courtesy of Gigi Art of Dance

Down Indonesia, Giadi was eager to collaborate, with a united goal of raising awareness about the disease.

ome people may think that dancing is only for those born with talents of perfectly carrying out a pirouette, split or jeté. Fortunately, such views may not exactly be true. Although it may take serious work to be a professional dancer, expressing one’s self through movements merely relies on his or her drive. As a result, dancing requires no specific ability but willingness. For Gigi Art of Dance, a dance school opened in 2009 by professional dancer Gianti Giadi, dance belongs to all of us and the goal for self expression can be accomplished by anyone. As a platform for dance enthusiasts, the school offers nearly 30 classes including Broadway Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Traditional, K-Pop, and even Mum’s Class. The

Dua Tangan Cukup

school invites students from different backgrounds, ranging from the ages of two to 45 years. Some even hail from different countries, namely the US and Singapore. Such diversity is further embodied in the fact that Gigi Art of Dance welcomes students with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder engendered by error in cell division, which in turn generates an extra chromosome 21, also known as Trimony 21. This consequently deteriorates physical and intellectual development, which many believe to be an obstacle when wishing to be involved in the arts. When Gigi Art of Dance was offered the opportunity of working with a Down syndrome foundation Ikatan Sindroma

On the field we give them the instructions and then we see if there needs to be adjustments, which of course, there will be.”

One of the teachers of the Down syndrome class, Karina Syahna (who is also a student at Gigi Art of Dance), admits that her experience of teaching this class is fun yet challenging. “To teach them, you would have to be extra everything: extra patient, extra hyped, make extra efforts in explaining and approaching them, and you also have to think extra [sic] about the choreography because they are not like usual dancers,” Syahna shares.

But despite shortcomings and the students’ occasional lack of motivation, when it comes to show time, they always manage to deliver their talents. Syahna wonders how regardless of challenges, things normally end up falling into place. “I don’t know why but miracles always happen on the day of the show. Everybody on stage is so focused and united.”

The students with Down syndrome all have very different dancing skills; some of them find it easier to catch the movements while others have to work harder. Syahna also recounts moments where her students at times do not feel like dancing and instead sit in the corner, cry, scream, or simply do nothing. To handle this kind of situation, she has to directly approach the students and figure out ways to comfort them.

Earlier this year, the students of Ikatan Sindroma Down Indonesia had the chance to perform in Dance Prix, where they appeared on stage without any assistance for the very first time, wearing hero-themed costumes. A year ago the students also joined World Dance Alliance in Singapore, where they were praised by the teachers for doing so well. Most of the time, their performances move the audience and it is not uncommon for them to even shed a tear.

As a teacher, Syahna confesses the need for a deeper understanding to encourage her students to dance. They cannot be forced to do things that they don’t feel comfortable with or are not interested in. The key, according to Syahna, is to keep them in a happy mood so that they will be willing to dance.

At the end of the day, what matters is the students enjoy their time on stage. Syahna reveals that she could not possibly ask for more if the students have done their best. “You can see that they really work hard and their faces light up on stage,” she said.

For those reasons, choreography for Down syndrome must be carefully thought out with regards to the students’ varying level of abilities. Even after much consideration, the execution does not always follow, and accordingly, adjustments must be quickly made. As Syahna explains, “First, I discuss the choreography with the other teachers.

The students at Gigi Art of Dance epitomize how everyone, in spite of their own constraints, can find creative ways of expressing themselves. Whether it is through dance or other forms of expression, we should all remember that everybody, including those with disabilities, can find ways to channel their creativity.

For more information about Gigi Art of Dance, visit www.gigiartofdance.com

Causes to Support from Across the Archipelago

Alzheimer’s Indonesia Raises Awareness of Dementia with #MelawanPikun In Indonesia, approximately 1 million people suffer from dementia and the number is predicted to increase to 4 million by 2050. The Alzheimer’s Disease International Report suggested that around US$1.7 billion is required to treat sufferers of this disease.

including providing training and a support system for caregivers and family members of dementia patients; educating people about Alzheimer’s and its prevention; and other activities like workshops and seminars, to accomplish the goal of reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s.

Dementia is a degenerative illness that decelerates the brain’s functions, which in return damages a person’s memory, emotions and decision-making skills. While a definitive cause is yet to be found, a number of factors like age, genetics, lifestyle, environment and health in general might contribute to diagnosis. Patients go through stages of dementia as their ability to think, communicate and understand gradually decreases.

Last September, on World Alzheimer’s Month, the foundation succeeded in holding a sequence of events to support the cause. The Governor of DKI Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaya Purnama (aka Ahok) joined to open ‘Jalan Sehat #MelawanPikun’, an event where thousands of people from different generations took part to educate about the early detection of dementia. Regardless of the huge success, ALZI aims to continue the campaign and raise awareness of the symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s to the masses.

Alzheimer’s Indonesia (ALZI) is working on a campaign called #MelawanPikun to support and raise awareness of dementia. Through the campaign, the foundation plans to raise funds so they can realise a series of plans; 22

Indonesia expat issue 153

Support ALZI by donating to their crowdfunding page: https://kitabisa.com/melawanpikun

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Win a Trip to Paris for Two with Pullman Jakarta! JAKARTA To kick off the end-of-year holiday season, Pullman Jakarta Indonesia presents the ‘SPENDSOME WINSOME’ programme that invites guests to spend at any of the hotel’s food & beverage outlets from 20 October-30 December 2015 while standing the chance to win spectacular prizes, including a trip to Paris for two by Air France, inclusive of a two-night stay at Pullman Paris La Defense. Supported by Air France and HSBC, Pullman Jakarta Indonesia will give out six prizes to their top spenders including a dining voucher worth Rp.500,000 at

Pullman Jakarta Indonesia; staycation at Pullman Hotels & Resorts around Asia, including Pullman Jakarta Indonesia, Pullman Bangkok Grand Sukhumvit, Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside, Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana and the ultimate grand prize of the return trip to Paris inclusive of a Pullman stay. HSBC credit cardholders will enjoy a doubled sum for each transaction made. The hotel’s participating outlets include Sana Sini Restaurant, Kahyangan ShabuShabu & Teppanyaki, Le Chocolat Lounge, Makaron Bakeshop and The Backroom.

PT Maximillian Kesles Indonesia Launches Payment Application

The Sultan Hotel Celebrates Ninth Anniversary by Paying It Forward JAKARTA The Sultan Hotel & Residence Jakarta celebrated its ninth anniversary by holding a series of social activities. Through the ‘Sultan Peduli’ programme and as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives, The Sultan Hotel & Residence Jakarta organized a fundraising activity by donating Rp.2,000 from every guest purchase throughout August and September 2015. The money raised was donated to the hotel’s CSR beneficiary ‘Wahana Visi Indonesia’, which will be used to help children in Halmahera and West Borneo. The Sultan Hotel & Residence Jakarta also collaborated with Palang Merah Indonesia by holding a blood donation drive on 5 October themed ‘Every Blood Donor is Useful’. In this event, many of the hotel’s guests and associates participated in donating their blood. The Management of the hotel hopes that this routine programme will increase the public’s awareness of donating blood.

INDONESIA PT Maximillian Kesles Indonesia has recently launched a mobile payment application called KESLES, a serverbased application that offers convenience for members in transaction processes. With each transaction, not only will KESLES members receive attractive offers from participating merchants, they will also earn reward points that can be redeemed for attractive prizes. KESLES is very easy to use; members simply need to download the application and register. The balance can be topped up at all ATMs in Indonesia. KESLES works with more than 30 leading merchants, such as Liberica Coffee, Bengawan Solo, Negiya, Zahra Turkish Ice Cream, The Hook, California Pizza Kitchen, Lucaffe, Takigawa, Ah Yat Resto, and many more.

Plateno Group Debuts Zmax Hotel in Lombok LOMBOK Zmax Hotel, part of Plateno Group, will debut in Indonesia with the highly anticipated opening of Zmax D Hotel Praya Lombok, set to open in mid-December 2015. Zmax Hotel is Planeto Group’s socially oriented brand, designed for a growing generation of excitement-seeking travellers. Located on Jalan Raya Bypass, three minutes from Lombok international airport, Zmax D Hotel Praya Lombok will offer guests the ‘Z-life’, a modern trendy hotel experience that mixes the latest technologies with great design and social fun. The hotel features 138 trendy guest rooms and suites with free Wi-Fi access provided in each room. The Hotel’s amenities include a swimming pool, Zolo Restaurant, meeting rooms that accommodate private executive board meetings to large-scale social events hosting up to 600 guests.

Go-Jek Launches New Delivery Service, Go-Mart JAKARTA Established in 2010, Go-Jek is a socially-minded company which has revolutionized the ojek in Indonesia. Go-Mart is the latest feature to be released by the Go-Jek brand. With this new feature, users can order products or goods from the supermarket, minimarket, pharmacy or many other available stores. With traffic becoming a major problem in Jakarta and the surrounding areas, Go-Mart has certainly changed the way people do things. From buying household necessities to pursuing hobbies and going to and from the office, everyone is looking for ways to avoid the roads’ ever-increasing congestion.

With just a touch of a finger on a smartphone, users of Go-Mart are able to direct more than 50,000 types of products from 40 different store brands. A Go-Jek driver and a personal shopper are ready to help users make their purchases with the current flat service rate of Rp.10,000 during the promotion period. According to CEO and Co-Founder of Go-Jek, Nadiem Makarim, “We want to simulate the experience that comes closest to actually going to the supermarket or to the store through the features of Go-Mart.” Supported by more than 100,000 Go-Jek drivers spread across the Greater Jakarta area, orders will be received in no more than 60 minutes. issue 153 Indonesia expat

LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

Tradition

* Answers in the next edition!

A World of

CROSSWORD

By Eamonn Sadler

I love traditions. Family traditions, national traditions, anything that is traditional in the true sense of the word. I guess it’s because they give me a sense of continuity in a rapidly changing world; a sense of my roots, an idea of who I really am and where I really came from. For example, in my family, as in many other close-knit English families, it is traditional for us to speak to each other every Christmas, at another family member’s birthday, or during a family wedding or funeral. Call us soft and sentimental if you like, but that’s just the way it is. Many national traditions have been passed down through generations for hundreds and even thousands of years. A few have remained more or less the same as they were back in the day, while others have changed dramatically over time. Weddings, rites of passage and death among other human milestones are marked with ceremony in almost all cultures around the world – and some are cute while others are downright painful. There’s a wedding tradition in Indonesia which, while not exactly painful, must surely involve a great deal of discomfort. After a man and woman of the Tidung people of north-eastern Borneo get married, they are not allowed to use the bathroom for three days and three nights following the ceremony. It is believed that to do so might risk bad luck, divorce and the death of offspring at a young age. I’m guessing the wedding festivities are modified accordingly because I know for a fact that if this tradition were introduced into English weddings, no marriage would make it past the reception. Probably the most well-known tradition at English weddings is one in which all the unmarried adult females present gather behind the bride and she throws her wedding bouquet over her head. According to folklore, the woman who catches the bouquet will be the next to marry. In the ‘80s, somebody tried to introduce a male equivalent of this tradition into weddings, wherein the single men present were expected to form a group behind the groom and he would throw the bride’s wedding garter over his head in their direction.

The pain of this exercise was said to be representative of the grief they felt at the loss of their loved one.

Unfortunately this never caught on because all the single men were either too drunk to catch anything, too busy chatting up the newly identified single females, or hiding in the toilet unwilling to demonstrate even this basic level of commitment to a relationship. The Chambri tribe of Papua New Guinea turns young boys into men through a scarification ceremony which involves using a piece of sharpened bamboo to carve elaborate patterns into their chests, backs and buttocks to leave scars which make their skin resemble that of the brave and fierce crocodile. It is believed that this process enables a reptilian divinity to consume the boy’s youth and leave in its place the spirit of the man/crocodile that every Chambri boy should become. We have a similar rite of passage in England: teenage boys are forced by their peers to consume large quantities of alcohol causing considerable damage to their livers and greatly increasing the risk of liver disease in later life. They are then considered to be real men in their local pub until they get married. The Dani tribe of Papua also used to have a rather bizarre funeral ritual. When a family member dies, other members of the family, generally women, used to have one of their fingers cut off at the second knuckle, and the trimmings would be burned and buried near the corpse. The pain of this exercise was said to be representative of the grief they felt at the loss of their loved one. Again, we have a similar ritual in England. At funerals, it is customary to drink as much alcohol as possible in order to induce a serious hangover, the pain of which is also representative of the grief we feel at the loss of a loved one.

Indonesia expat issue 153

ANSWERS OF ISSUE 152

Sandpit 22. Telling 23. Drizzle 24. Respect DOWN — 1. Times 2. Ernie 3. Flying trapeze 4. Huddle 5. German measles 6. Crease 7. Chalet 12. King 14. Lear 15. Inside 16. Nuncio 17. Nutter 19. Opine 20. Night

Oh, it's just a bath thing Spotted by Suzi in Bandung. Send your funny pictures to letters@indonesiaexpat.biz

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IS MADE POSSIBLE BY:

DOWN 1. Characters in the play (8,8) 2. Mowing implement (6) 3. Scottish castle, once Macbeth (6) 4. Soon – nameless (4) 6. Period of time (9) 7. It takes about 3 to 4 minutes (6,3) 12. See 1 14. Arrangement of electrical connections (6) 15. Move slowly and lazily (6) 17. (Take) quick drink from bottle (4)

ACROSS — 1. Twelfth 8. Unearth 9. Moneyed 10. Damn all 11. Skein 13. Green belt 15. Ignorance 18. Adorn 21.

I think it’s safe to say I would not enjoy ‘tradition’ so much if I were Papuan.

Eamonn has lived and worked in Indonesia for over 20 years but doesn’t understand the country at all and now realises that he never will. He is an entrepreneur, businessman and writer, lead singer with expat band Xhibit A and the owner and operator of The Jakarta Comedy Club and The Bali Comedy Club.

Across 5. Crisp skin of pork joint (9) 8. Move swiftly and noisily (4) 9. Play unpopular with feminists (6,2,3,5) 10. Sculpture of a person (6) 11. Provide (6) 13. Puzzle with pieces to assemble (6) 15. Laugh at (6) 16. See (9) 18. Wild, self-indulgent party (4) 19. Railway worker (9)

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HUMOROUS OBSERVATIONS Mr. P represents a statistically insignificant sample size of one.

Burnin’ Rubber Time By Simon Pitchforth

Jakarta isn’t looking so hot at the moment, what with streets being torn up left, right and centre in a bid to ease its transportation woes.

friend of mine recently remarked that, "Jakarta could well be a nice city when it's finished," to which I replied, "Oh, it's finished all right." The citywide building site that currently sprawls out unpleasantly across the city’s banjaxed boulevards like the sagging crack of a bricklayer's jeans certainly ain’t pretty. Either, like my chum, you believe that the current inconvenience and ugliness is worth putting up with in order to bring about a shining, utopian, Singapore-esque future (although I believe my friend may have been employing the lowest form of wit in his initial thesis). Or, like me, you feel that all is vanity and that the multifarious flyovers, subway systems and smooth new concrete abutments currently being tamped into place will amount to nought and ultimately prove as futile as the abandoned monorail pillars that still stud Jl. H.R Rasuna Said, a truly fitting monument to graft and general incompetence. Looking on the bright side however, the country's crumbling infrastructure is being taken very seriously by the political movers and shakers that matter. For example, only last week it was reported that former model and legislator, Arzetty Bilbina Setyawan from the PKB party and a Lt. Col. Rizky Indra Wijaya from Sidoarjo Military Command were discovered together in a hotel room rapping about vital infrastructure issues of the day. When questioned, Lt. Col. Rizky insisted that the pair were discussing donations for a mosque that he was planning to build. Possibly he was attempting to show Mrs. Arzetty some preliminary etchings of the house of worship in question when the pair was rudely interrupted by a phalanx of architecturally illiterate arbiters of public morality, but who knows? Back to the matter in hand, though, and the city's new MRT subway system, which is currently under construction. You may have to wait a while until you can enjoy a subterranean train ride, although artists’ impressions of what the stations will eventually look like can be viewed on the MRT hoardings that mask workmen smoking cigarettes and accidentally spearing their pneumatic drills into water mains behind them. The pictures are indeed impressive: all brilliant white, sterile station concourses; smiling, welldressed passengers; and flat-screen technology.

Seductive imagery for sure then that portends a Batavian future in which the city isn't subsiding, sea levels aren't rising and any subway tunnels that eventually open will thus not be filled with the valedictory scent of ocean spray and mackerel trawlers. Sceptical I may be, but I'd sure like to ride on one of those babies, which represents a yawning gulf of an advance over the traditional, orange Metro Mini tin cans on wheels almost as wide as that which exists between a space shuttle and a horse and cart. Time will tell, although with an estimated 4 million souls making their way to and from the city centre each day in search of an honest crust, things could get awfully sweaty down in the 13 stations that will eventually comprise the MRT system’s first line, as it runs between Hotel Indonesia and Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta.

The Transjakarta busway, now a decade old, was always a half-hearted, investment-light solution to the city's transportation woes. It was never going to be up to the job, given that its exclusive lanes were carved off existing roads. Indeed the system is looking increasingly ragged these days and many of the buses are so poorly maintained that they seem to be held together by Sellotape and glue, and, moreover, also appear to be bursting into flames with alarming frequency. Meanwhile, the busway lanes are often encroached upon by Jakarta's private cars and motorcycle drivers, who generally exhibit all of the publicspirited discipline and self restraint of a laboratory rat repeatedly pushing a lever that delivers an electrical jolt straight to the pleasure centre of its meagre brain. Indeed, I fielded a lovely text message last week from a fellow scribbler, which read: "What is the [Anglo-Saxon swearword]-ing point of a [Anglo-Saxon swearword]-ing busway Lane if it’s crammed with private cars? Even opposite POLDA! [The city's police headquarters]. Sledgehammer and gun approach required as shock therapy when cops can't do [slang word for faecal matter]."

“Some ¥50 billion has already been shovelled into the gaping maw of Jakarta's terra firma.” Some ¥50 billion has already been shovelled into the gaping maw of Jakarta's terra firma. Let's hope that it actually results in trains as opposed to BMWs. God knows that the capital could use a subway system, as it remains the largest city in the world in terms of population not to have one. Jakarta's public transportation system currently encompasses a dizzying array of bemos, mikrolets, Metro Minis, Kopajas, Transjakarta buses, taxis, ojek and an already existing overground commuter railway. Alas, the fact remains that a mere 56 percent of trips are made via these variously wheeled beasties. This is a very low publictransport tally for the kind of modern, low-calorie, Wi-Fi friendly urban conurbation that Jakarta aspires to be (sadly deluded fantasist that it is). Even worse is the fact that the annual growth rate in the number of motor vehicles dawdling along in the rush-hour traffic at an average speed of around 7km/h is a staggering 9.5 percent. This doesn’t stack up particularly well against a 0.01 percent increase in the capital’s total road length in recent years.

I should confess here, however, that I have myself sinned, Father. Indeed, my own office commute between Mampang and the top end of Jl. H.R Rasuna Said involves a spirited bicycle ride at full pelt along the busway lane. In my defence, your honour, I would like to state before the court of public opinion that I do not hold up any buses, as I can actually steam along faster than they do, as I don't have to stop at the Busway shelters in order to pick up passengers. Although I did try this once, just to amuse myself (oh, I get so bored). Alas nobody fancied a go on my crossbar. Story of my life really. I can now do this trip in 15 minutes on a good day’s Lance Armstrong-ing along the city's thoroughfares. This is faster than by motorcycle, as the cops, very obliging to big-nosed whiteys on pushbikes, are more likely to put you in an iron coffin with spikes on the inside if they catch you on the hallowed busway asphalt on a Honda. Anyway, good luck out there folks, and do check in next time when I’ll be taking a look at the city’s new app-based transportation services.

issue 153 Indonesia expat

If you want your event to be posted here, please contact +62 (0) 21 719 5908 or e-mail: events@indonesiaexpat.biz

EVENTS

JAKARTA Theatre

Naked Molerats in the World of Darkness 13 – 15 November 2015 The Jakarta Players will perform Mike Folie’s adult comedy, Naked Mole Rats in the World of Darkness at the Pav ilion Apar tments’ Clubhouse. Mike Folie’s play is a fast-paced, savvy, sometimes bawdy and always hilar ious romp through the dynamics of male-female relationships, with short scenes and monologues that range from hysterical to absurd to bittersweet. From a cop busting the man who once stood her up at senior prom to a fading movie star meeting up with her ex-husband at the airport, this show offers something for ever yone. The play will close Jakarta Players’ successful 2015 season. For more information and tickets visit www.jakartaplayers.org Arts & Culture

Indonesia Comic Con 14 – 15 November 2015 Indonesia is marking its debut of the most anticipated pop culture exhibition around the globe: Comic Con. With this year’s theme of ‘We Are Pop Culture’, fans of comics, TV, and entertainment will be transported into the world of their favourite characters and will rejoice in the ultimate pop culture experience by joining exhibitions and cosplay. For tickets and more information visit www.indonesiacomiccon.com E-Motions 2015: Heroes of the Year Dance Convention 20 – 29 November 2015 Gigi Art of Dance is back with their annual show, E-Motions. T h i s y e a r, t h e s h o w w i l l

Indonesia expat issue 153

celebrate heroes around the world, from Thomas Edison, M a r g a r e t T h at c her, A d a m Smith to Titiek Puspa. This year, students will partake in a three-part convention, starting with Indonesia’s first mega team competition, ‘Tell Your Tale’, which features international dance teams telling stories of their lives in glorious motions. For more information on tickets and reservations visit http://qaved. com or www.gigiartofdance.com

Fashion and Art Collaboration: Eko Nugroho x MAJORMINOR 21 November 2015 O n e o f I n d o n e s i a ’s m o s t prominent contemporary artists and fashion brands join forces to create a breathtaking collection. Fashion brand MAJORMINOR, known for its eclectic design, often highlighted by asymmetric lines, will collaborate with artist Eko Nugroho, who will bring his own spin to the collection through wayang patterns and mythological creatures. This November, they will be coming to Salihara for a private show along with Nugroho’s solo exhibition at Gallery Salihara. The fashion show w ill be held at Teater Salihara. For more information visit www.salihara.org Exhibition

Indonesia Toys and Games Fair 19 – 21 November 2015 Indonesia Toys and Games Fair will see a number of brands and

market players in the toys and games industry exhibiting their latest products. This exhibition will include outdoor and sporting toys, digital games, educational, baby and toddler toys, hobbyist and mechanical toys, as well as high-tech and even traditional ga me s. The e x h ibit ion w i l l take place at Assembly Hall, Jakarta Convention Center. For more information visit w w w. indotagfair.com

more information, please visit www.prasvana.com

Music

Clean Bandit Live

High Hill’s Jazz 14 November 2015 Marking its debut as an annual music festival, High Hill’s Jazz takes to the stage this November to g ive us the ultimate jazz ex per ience. Ja z z musicia ns performing at this event include The Groove, Dira Sugandi, and Maliq n D’Essentials. The event takes place at Sentul City – a perfect location that marries music with nature as audiences can enjoy the views of Mount Pancar while ‘jazzing out’ to their favorite tunes. For more infomation visit www.kiostix.com

EAST NUSA TENGGARA Sports

8 December 2015 English electronic group Clean Bandit will be saying hello to Jakarta for the very first time this December. Known for their hit single ‘Rather Be’, the pop band will be taking over the stage at Gandaria City Mall. Originating from Cambridge, Grace Chatto, Milan Neil Amin-Smith, Jack Patterson, and Luke Patterson formed the band in 2009. In February they took home the prestigious Grammy award for Best Dance Record. This event is presented by Marygops Studios a nd 7K ings Enter t a inment . Ticket price: Rp.785,000. www. marygops.com

Jakarta Dekade

Neon Indian Live 24 November 2015 American electronic music band, Neon Indian, will be coming to Jakarta this November. Alan Palomo and his band will bring their magical tunes to life at the Rolling Stone Café. Neon Indian’s debut Indonesian performance is set before taking over Meredith Music Festival, Australia. The ba nd ha s prev iously played in numerous music festivals including South by Southwest and one of the most internationally renow ned indie festiva ls, Coachella. Early bird tickets are on sale from Rp.200,000 while standard presale tickets will be available for Rp.300,000. For

bohemian ‘White Par ty’ and ‘Jungle Party’. For reservations and more information, visit www. nihiwatu.com

11 December 2015 Reminisce the ‘60s and ‘90s in the most spectacular conclusion to our year. Through this year’s theme of ‘Exclusive Concert: From the Old Time Best’, Jakarta Dekade 2015 will feature local musicians and artists such as Vina Pnaduwinata, Titi DJ, Koes Plus, Harvey Malaihollo, Reza Artamevia, and Rick Price. The event will take place at Kartika Expo, Balai Kartini. For more information visit www.jakarta. dekadeconcert.com/2015 Djakarta Warehouse Project 2015 11 – 12 December 2015 One of the most anticipated music festivals is finally arriving, as Djakar ta Warehouse Project br i ng s s ome of t he big ge s t international names in dance

music. The two-day event will feature artists such as Axwell & Ingrosso, DJ Snake, James Jones, Kaskade, Major Lazer, Oliver Heldens, Porter Robinson (Live), Rehab, and also Tiesto. The event w ill take place at JIEXPO Kemayoran, Jakarta. For more information visit www. djakartawarehouse.com/tickets Networking

Jakarta Business Networkers Make the right connections to help develop and grow your business over bre a k fa st . At Ja k a r t a Business Networkers (JBN), all attendees are encouraged to help other attendees by exchanging referrals and introducing them to their target audience. JBN is all about helping you grow your business. Promote your business, personal brand or portfolio each week to the rest of the attendees and explain to the group the type of referrals you would like to receive. JBN professional networking sessions are from 07-09am every Tuesday at Mamma Rosy, Kemang and every Thursday at Mercantile Athletic Club, WTC, Sudirman. RSVP: info@jbnetworkers.com

EAST NUSA TENGGARA Sports British Polo Day, Sumba Island 3 – 10 November 2015 This month, Nihiwatu (Nihi) resort is hosting British Polo Day’s first ‘Global Gathering’. Set in the island of Sumba, the inaugural event embraces local customs. On the days leading up to the main event, guests will have the chance to explore Nihi in a f ive-day itinerary, including trekking and swimming in the Blue Waterfall and a trip to the Sumban Jungle. When night falls, guests will dance the night away in Nihi’s

Bali & Borneo Photography Adventure 20 – 27 November 2015 Join experienced adventurous professional travel photographer Mark Rayner and Masterclass photographer Dav id Metcalf on a photographic adventure of a lifetime. You will have the opportunity to photograph a variety of wildlife in Borneo, including a visit to a private island to see the orangutans by special arrangement. There will also be a three-day houseboat tr ip and cr uise up the r iver visiting Dayak villages. Enjoy a special performance of Dayak music and dance and photograph the stunning sunsets in the wetlands as the native hornbills sweep across the sky. For more information, please visit www. davidmetcalfphotography.com

BALI Arts & Culture

Human Roots Exhibition by Michael Obrenovitch 4 September – 4 December 2015 Presented by Indonesian French C ha mber of C ommerce a nd Industry (IFCCI), the ‘Human Roots’ exhibition will feature 15 magnificent organic sculptures made from 200-year-old teak tree roots from Java by the French contemporary artist, Mickael Obrenovitch. The exhibition, which also supports and raises awareness to preserve Indonesian ra inforest s, w ill spread the message of the relationship between nature and civilization. The exhibition will take place in Sofitel Nusa Dua Beach Resort. For more information, visit www. obrenovitch.com

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issue 153 Indonesia expat

HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL? Looking for something to buy? Looking for staff? Selling property? Or need a place to live? Why not place your classified ad with Indonesia Expat! Your classified will be placed once for 2 weeks online and once in our printed version which has a circulation of 16.500 copies bi-weekly. Next deadline: 11 November

CONDITIONS Personal classifieds Commercial classifieds

Free of Charge (50 words max) Rp. 100,000 (0–50 words) Rp. 200,000 (50–100 words)

Property listings are considered as Commercial. Adding an image incurs an extra charge of Rp.150,000. Business Listings can only be placed on the Business Listings page (p.30) Send in your classifieds to ads@indonesiaexpat.biz

Jobs Available Tutor/Teacher Wanted: Tutor/ Teacher with at least five years work i ng ex per ienc e wa nt ed urgently to either works a private home Tutor/Teacher or work in a School. Payment terms will be discussed so kindly email your CV and references to: galina.wenzl@ gmail.com Therapist wanted to work in Cyprus, Europe. Work permit arranged by us. Good working conditions. Send email w ith experience and qualifications to Chari: cvassiliades@cytanet. com.cy We are looking for a kind and caring nanny for our 22 month old son. Live-out. Mostly Monday - Friday, 10am start and some Saturday mornings. Must be able to speak English. We would prefer someone with references or some previous work experience with an expat family. We live in Menteng. Immediate start. Please contact Eliza on eliza.harvey83@gmail. com or +628118002029 Property

swimming pool view. garage and carpot for 5 car lots. Picture say for itself. Open price: IDR 17 Billion. Motivated seller will consider all reasonable offers. Contact: GoHouse proper ty +628111111699 For rent: a two storey house, Jl. Brawijaya x/4, Kebayoran Baru land: 650 sqm; building: 850 sqm, 3 bedrooms, 1 study room, 3 bathrooms, unfurnished, PAM, swimming pool, min. 2 years rental. Please contact: +622129306794, +622172793510 (office hours), +628161907110 / +6287878113688

For rent: commercia l r uko Melawa i V I no. 21. 2 (t wo) storeys. size: 8 x 25m (each floor). Suitable for office, restaurant, karaoke. min. 2 years rental. Please contact: +6229306794, +6272793510 (off ice hours). +62816 1 907 110 / +62878 78113688

Jakarta Looking for work Chauffeured driven by english speaking driver and have local knowledge, familiar with the best routes, automatic vehicles, defensive driving skill. Works w it h hone s t y, r e s p on si ble , polite, and can be hired on daily basis. Available soon. Please c o n t a c t : + 6 2 8 5 7 14 2 2 1 6 7 9 /+6285945021377 (Mr. Budi) My name is Indah , 36 years old. Looking for a part time job as maid ( can do laundry , ironing & cooking ) at evening (mon , wed, & friday). Live in or live out. Can start working at 7 pm - 10 pm. Preferably if you are Single and live in an

Indonesia expat issue 153

apartment in Sudirman or Mega Kuningan. Please WhatsApp me at +6287887736996 I ’m lo ok i ng f or a jo b a s a d r i v e r, I h a v e s o m e w o r k experiences in the companies a nd persona l dr iver. plea se contact me +6281388775588 or +6285946061400 ( Pak Jajang Dulyamin). My name is Ibu Djiawaliyah, I’m looking for a job as a housekeeping, I have experience to work with British Family. Please contact me +6285782235729 I a m look ing for a job a s a houskeeping, live out and i can speak english. Please contact me Rumiyatin +6285694652856

Unique Apartment for a Bachelor! • very strategic location (Central Business District / SCBD), close to Sudirman and Thamrin offices • on f loor 25, with a stunning view to the south through a 7x8m window • one spa c e , 7 m h ig h , w it h mezzanine • can be used as of f ice or as residence • swimming pool on floor 7 • next to the Intercontinental Hotel • mall with restaurants, café’s and convenience stores on the ground floor • rented out semi-furnished • available end of December 2015 / january 2016 rental price: US$2,200 / IDR 32,000,000 per month selling price: US$ 345,000 / IDR 5,000,000,000 (nego) contact: HANS VAN OS / +62811 993 4659 / essenburg.hans@ gmail.com

House for rent in Pasar Minggu area close to JORR and offices on Simatupang. 4 bedrooms (2 ensuite), dining, upstairs and downstairs living, media, modern kitchen, study, 2-car garage, outdoor covered terrace, swimming pool, gardens front and back. $2,800 per month (nego) and available from January 2016. Please contact: +62817721122 Wanted: 2/3 bedroom furnished villa in South Jakarta. US$2,0003,000 per month. We are moving to Jakarta and require a 2-3 bedroom furnished villa in South Jakarta. Pet friendly as we have a small dog. Would be willing to take over current lease. Please contact c.callcott@outlook.com

ads@indonesiaexpat.biz for competitive advertising rates and get noticed through our printed publication, e-newsletter and on our website.

For rent 300 houses at Kemang, Cipete, Cilandak, Jeruk Purut, Pondok Indah. Big gardens, swimming pools, USD 2,000 5,000. Phone: +62816859551 or +62 8170093366

Automotives For rent: two storey luxury house plus basement. Jl. Daksa 1 no. 85 Kebayoran Baru. Building: 750 sqm, 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms unf ur nished, pa m, genset , big pa rk i ng spa c e . M i n. 2 years rental. Please contact: +6229306794, +6272793510 (office hours), +628161907110 / +6287878113688

South Jakarta 1139sqm luxury jewel, 10mins from toll and major street. 5 bedrooms with fully equipped bathroom, fitness r o om , eleg a nt l iv i ng r o om with breathtaking garden and

For Sale: 2006 Toyota Corolla Altis VVTI. Diplomatic Plates Australian Embassy Registered. Approx. 120,000km. 5 speed manual. 1.8litre 4 cylinder VVTI eng i ne. Delu xe model: Fu l l electrics – windows, mirrors and climate control. Alloy wheels. T i nt e d w i ndow s. Re ver si ng sensors. Fog lights. Roof racks. CD stacker and player. Tape deck and radio. Very reliable and fuel efficient car. Regularly serviced and well maintained. Cheap to run and service. Available mid-December. $AU5,000 ono. Contact Tom Harvey on +62813 25332784 or thomasjharvey@gmail.com I n o v a 2 0 0 5 : S i l v e r c o l o r. Automatic. 210,000 km. Asking

for IDR 90 mil (nett). Please contact: tinneke_agustina@ yahoo.com Car for sale! Toyota Avanza US@7,000. Champagne colour, excellent condition. 97,000km. Contact me only via SMS or email: 081299042415 beclespi@gmail. com Services

I have 15 years experience of teaching jazz, classical, pop, rock and blues piano for children,teens and adults as well. I am also a w r iter w ith 7 instr uc tiona l books published by Indonesian major publishers. Students are encouraged to take ABRSM and Trinity College exams. Please contact me at +6283876769735/ www.aquilastudio.weebly.com Ready for teaching English/ Bahasa in group/private for Sat/ Sun. Contact: +6281388770110 (Shin Bernard). Hi! I am teacher for bahasa Indonesia for Foreign Speaker. Do you need a tutor to learn Indonesia language? I will help you to get the comprehension on the language. You can contact me at tedy.aries@gmail.com and/or phone number +6281808383342 Freelance nanny in central / South Jakarta please contact me at: deedee.lidia@gmail.com or +6281808008207 Spanish Tutor: Learn Spanish at your place with a DELE-certified examiner from Spain. Most of my students come from International Schools (JIS and BSJ). Please call me (Raúl) +62 (0) 821 1050 2786 E-mail: unascartas@yahoo.com Experienced Writer, Marketer & Researcher. A re you still competitive in a falling market? Get a sharper image and the intelligence you need to stand out and shake up your competitors – permanently! Copywriting: Company profiles and Personal Bios. Annual reports, Corporate v ideos Marketing: Strateg y,

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N05/sets/72157656545871141 If you are interested in one or more items you can send me an e-mail: sarah.mekerba@gmail. com

Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. English & Bahasa Speaking. Highly confidential. Appointment based. +6281286739918

Items for Sale in Cilandak, South Jakarta (near Citos): **All prices quoted in USD • 40 Can Eski brand cooler - $20 • LG 106cm (42 inch) LED Smart TV - $450 • LG 3D Blu-ray/DVD Home Theater System - $200 or $100 if bought with TV above. The television and Blu-Ray setup are barely used with the plastic still on them and the original packaging.. Just a touch of dust from lack of use, but I'll clean that off for you • Royal hot/cold water dispenser - $80 • 3 seater leather recliner (I love this thing, one of the best purchases I've ever made!!) - $900 • HP 17 " Laptop w ith: 16GB RAM, 698GB internal memory, quad-core processor, comes with original copy of Windows 8 & Speakers with sub-woofer - $250 To see photos check out: https://www.flickr.com/ photos/78075941@N03/ albums/72157657494243414/ with/22168755171/ You can contact me (Luke) via sms/ whatsapp on: +6281310394924

Others DESIGN ER BAGS, SHOES, CL OT HI NG - CHE A P! I'm leaving Jakarta and clearing out my overstuffed closet. I have designer bags, shoes and clothing that must be gone in the next 2 weeks. Some brand new, some slightly used, some well loved. Celine, Chanel, Hugo Boss, Sass & Bide plus many up and coming designers as well as some top chain items from stores such as Zara, Massimo Dutti and Max & Co. I have boots, heels, flats, jackets, cocktail dresses, casual clothes, office attire, jeans, streetwear and more. Everything is going way below value price. Grab a designer bargain fast! Sizes USA 2 -4, Australia 8 -12, Shoe sizes 8/39 Looking for a left handed set g ol f c lu b s . Pl e a s e c ont a c t jakartalinks@gmail.com Moving furniture sale Jakarta. As we are moving very soon from Jakarta, please find in the link below the list of our furniture. If you want to see more details about an item, please click on the single picture. https://www. flickr.com/photos/134842825@

For sale: Piano. Pearl R iver upright piano is for sale for IDR 18 million. Photo of the piano is available at https://w w w. flickr.com/photos/94127943@ N0 0/s h a r e s/ V2 31VC . I f interested, contact Jonathan at +6281219569447 or e-mail to jonathan_hahn@yahoo.com

Master bedroom furniture for immediate sale. 1. King size divan and matching headboard 2. 3 door sliding wardrobe 3. Dresser with spacious cabinets Pick-up location Bintaro. Pictures and details of sizes and prices at https://w w w.f lickr. com/photos/125632160@N02/ w it h/21025075660/. Ple a se contact Ms Rini at r_astrini@ hotmail.com or +6281218724738 (S M S/ W h a t s a p p o n l y) , i f interested.

Bali Property

For sale: two beautiful ocean front (free hold) villas in North B a l i , B ond a le m (2 8 5 0 m 2), d irec tly f rom ow ner. w w w. bondalembeachhouse.com. At the Northern shores of Bali you can get away from mass tourism and still find the original Bali. In Bondalem you can experience the magic of the Hindu culture with its many ceremonies, enjoy the beautiful landscapes with its volcanoes, meet with the friendly Balinese people and relax with the sound of the breaking waves. Characteristically living here is relaxed, healthy and quiet with time for yourself! Have a look, contact is directly with owner!

issue 153 Indonesia expat

Indonesia expat issue 153

issue 153 Indonesia expat

Indonesia expat issue 153