Indonesia Expat - Issue 199

I S S U E N O . 19 9 | 11 – 2 4 O C T O B E R 2 0 17

J A K A R TA • J A V A • 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 A W 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 PAT. B I Z

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THE PROMINENCE

WORKING IN AN INDEPENDENT CITY ONE OF ALAM SUTERA’S MOST RENOWNED OFFICE TOWERS; THE PROMINENCE, PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OF WORKING IN A CITY THAT IS FREE FROM TRAFFIC, POLLUTION AND STRESS. JAKARTANS SHOULD DEFINITELY TAKE NOTE. We have all been there. Getting stuck in traffic the moment we step out of the house for work and then reliving the cycle day after day. The people who slog through the streets of Jakarta can definitely relate to this scenario. The amount of time wasted to travel to the office can be extremely frustrating; but for those who live at Alam Sutera, the long commutes in uncomfortable cars are a distant memory.

Alam Sutera is a city that was built on the concept of independence, and going to work can be a pleasant experience. Located in the Tangerang regency of Banten province, just southwest of the capital city, Alam Sutera allows people to experience a healthful lifestyle and to live in a community surrounded by convenience. Thanks to an abundance of green space and a host of entertainment and business facilities, residents will experience an immediate improvement to their quality of life.

Having good work-life balance at Alam Sutera allows people to travel to their offices in peace, focus on tasks at hand and leave with a feeling of satisfaction after the day is finished. As one of Alam Sutera’s most renowned office towers, The Prominence aims to give companies the opportunity to experience the ultimate working environment. With thirty floors, two basements and 6-storey car park, there is plenty of office space for large companies dedicated to providing their employees with the best ambience.

The Prominence is well-positioned with roughly 20 minutes to Soekarno Hatta International Airport and surrounded by Alam Sutera’s shopping, education and commercial districts. At The Prominence, companies are supported by all modern-day necessities including a coffee shop, a banking hall, a convenience store, smoking areas, high security details and friendly reception staff. It is also equipped with a sophisticated fire alarm system, CCTV and visitor management system. The Prominence also supports a helipad, which may be helpful for distinguished upper management or VIP visits.

Those who enjoy an evening out with friends and colleagues are steps away from the Mall @ Alam Sutera. However, Suteraloop can come to the rescue if one is feeling a little lackluster late in the day. The shuttle bus service is designed to help people reach their destinations with as little travel time as possible. The Prominence is also planning to build its very own sky-dining restaurant, with lovely views.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED TO RENT AND PURCHASE AN OFFICE SPACE IN THE PROMINENCE, PLEASE VISIT WWW.ALAM-SUTERA.COM OR CALL (021) 29-779-779.

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issue 199 WELCOME BACK Readers!

Chief Editorial Advisor Bernhard Eduard Frese editor@indonesiaexpat.biz

Marketing Consultant Edo Frese edo@indonesiaexpat.biz

Editorial Assistant Christabel Sasabone letters@indonesiaexpat.biz

Sales & Advertising Dian Mardianingsih (Jakarta) Dipa Siagian (Jakarta) Wahyu Atmaja (Bali) ads@indonesiaexpat.biz

Distribution & Admin Juni Setiawan admin@indonesiaexpat.biz

Finance Lini Verawaty finance@indonesiaexpat.biz

Contributors Asyifa Putri Artie Smith Ani Suswantoro May Tien Kenneth Yeung

With the vast array of new technology in the digital era, it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of all the latest and greatest on our devices. There are apps for everything from finding your lost keys to finding a suitable date on Friday night. I am old enough to remember handwritten letters, rotary phones, fax machines and vinyl records; and there is a nostalgic stylistic return to that in much of the youth culture. However, our daily consumption of information, goods and devices is so beyond what we could have ever dreamed of even two decades ago. So where does that all leave us? Everything moves faster, responds ‘smarter,’ operates cleaner; giving humans the time and opening opportunities for what? In this issue, we discuss technology with a popular expat tech entrepreneur, Rob Davies, and his new company Appsolute Digital. We also examine what ancient technologies were used in the creation of some of Indonesia’s most enchanting temples in a piece by Ani Suswantoro. Kenneth Yeung explores the world of online virgin auctions and the seedy side of politics in Indonesia. Caranissa Djatmiko explores how technology has affected Indonesian Millennials in Indonesia in two thought-provoking pieces.

Finally, if you’re all ‘tech-ed’ out and need some advice on where to go for dinner next, our Clandestine Critic goes undercover once again to popular eatery, Pokenbir.

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FEATURED Can Millenials Really Create Change?

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OUTREACH Clean Up Jakarta Day 2017: Five Years of Tackling The Capital City's Rubbish Problem

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BUSINESS PROFILE Rob Davies: The Entrepreneur Behind APPsolute Digital

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FOOD AND DRINK Back to the Basics with Pokenbir

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SCAMS IN THE CITY The Online Virginity Auctioneer

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NEWS FROM THE ARCHIPELAGO The Voices of Young Photographers in Indonesia

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TRAVEL What the Temples of Indonesia Tell Us

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SPOTLIGHT Confronting New Innovations

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WORTHY CAUSES Helping the Evacuees from Bali's Mount Agung

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DUA TANGAN CUKUP A Home for a Forgotten Veteran

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EXPAT CONCERNS Will Indonesia Run Dry?

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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EVENTS

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CLASSIFIEDS

Until next time, Edo Frese

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Featured

Can Millennials Really Create Change?

Caranissa Djatmiko discusses why Millennials are more than just a group of smartphone zombies and how technology provides the necessary tools to help guide this particular generation to foster change on a larger scale.

BY CARANISSA DJATMIKO

“T

echnology is something that I could not live without. Having grown up with technology feels like magic to me. Reaching my friend in the US with just a touch of a button in our pocket, we can ask Siri everything, even knowing what’s happening right now in Spain; if that’s not magic what else?

Technology lets us do that kind of stuff, instantly,” exclaims 22-year-old Mirsa Sadikin.

Mirsa is a recent college graduate from a local prestigious university, the Institute of Technology in Bandung.

Throughout his college years, Mirsa dreamed of building his own technology company. While that dream has yet to materialize, Mirsa and a few of his friends decided to team up and create their own startup venture.

Like many of his fellow Millennials, he believes that technology is a unique characteristic that sets them apart from their predecessors.

Millennials are known as the generation that grew up in the digital era, ultimately allowing them to have more access to data and information and to experience the world with a few presses of the thumb. Instead of physically travelling to foreign countries to explore different cultures, millennials could just turn to videos or images found on YouTube. In contrast to traditional styles of research like locating specific textbooks in libraries or hunting down experts in universities, Millennials need only to browse for relevant references on Google Scholar.

Updates via social media platforms make finding and digesting news instantaneous.

Having said that, this generation should not be singularly defined by technology.

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Rather than finding their digital routines to be a trivial form of tech immersion, we should acknowledge them as part of a major cultural shift. Millennials are more than a group of smartphone zombies and technology provides the tools that help and guide this particular generation to foster change on a larger scale.

from those of their parents due in large part to technological advancements. In 2001, for example, American education consultant Marc Prensky invented the terms “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” to differentiate the young from the older generation within the education setting based on their use of technology.

Millennials, Technology and Generational Differences

In this new era of digital civilization, Prensky highlighted that students or “digital natives” had a better grasp of technology; and school teachers, the digital immigrants, were struggling to cope with that. “The ‘digital immigrant accent’ can be seen in such things as turning to the Internet for information second rather than first, or in reading the manual for a program rather than assuming that the program itself will teach us to use it. Today’s older folk were ‘socialized’ differently from their kids, and are now in the process of learning a new language,” Prensky said in his journal Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.

Called everything from Generation Y, the Next Great Generation, to what Joel Stein sneeringly wrote in Time as the Me Me Me Generation, Millennials are generally identified by their coming of age at the turn of the new millennium.

Coincidentally, the digital revolution was well underway during this period as Web 2.0 came in the mid 2000’s.

As such, academics began to study Millennials’ lives as entirely different

“Millennials are known as the generation that grew up in the digital era, ultimately allowing them to have more access to data and information and to experience the world with a few presses of the thumb.”

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In the years that followed, multiple media reports and books continued to promote the digital revolution as not only a crucial aspect of the youth culture, but also a clear distinguishing factor between the young and the older generation. Where Millennials or young

people were often seen as tech addicts who couldn’t imagine a world without the Internet; the older generations were still getting used to this change.

But is the older generation really that incapable of keeping up with the digital revolution? Well, not exactly. Recent studies have found that Generation X in the United States, aged 35 to 49, is actually more obsessed with social media than Millennials – proving that technology may no longer be a valid distinguishing factor between Millennials and their predecessors.

Most of these heavy users spend their time on Facebook via smartphones, while watching primetime television on Sundays. The finding was revealed by Nielsen in its 2016 Social Media Report.

“Surprisingly, the heavy social media user group isn’t Millennials. In fact, Generation X (ages 35–49) spends the most time on social media: almost seven hours per week versus Millennials, who come in second, spending just over six hours per week,” Nielsen’s President of Social Division Sean Casey said in the report’s foreword. This even came as a surprise for Casey himself who initially expected Millennials to be in command of the social media world.

As technology becomes increasingly more relevant with every generation, researchers also began studying its relationship with the generation that comes after the Millennials. Results may indicate that the digital revolution should not only be associated with Millennials as every generation has its own experiences with technological advancement.

American professor and psychologist Jean M. Twenge recently wrote in The Atlantic that “post-Millennials” are, in fact, much worse than millennials when it comes to technology saturation. And the one thing that she notices throughout her 25 years of researching generational differences is that the arrival of smartphones and social media have greatly affected every aspect of life to the point that they are damaging this generation’s social and mental state.

Twenge identifies the generation following the Millennials as that exist after the millennials as ‘iGen’, born between 1995 and 2012. According to the psychologist, American iGens today are less interested in going out and partying and prefer staying at home, fully engaged with their phones and becoming even more disconnected than the generation that came before.

“The Millennials grew up with the web as well, but it wasn’t ever-present in their lives, at hand at all times, day and night,” Twenge states in her article Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation.

She adds: ”If you were going to give advice for a happy adolescence based on this survey, it would be straightforward: Put down the phone, turn off the laptop, and do something – anything – that does not involve a screen.”

Millennials, Technology and Purpose But the question remains: How can we better understand the way young adults, in particular, engage with technology?

On the one hand, we must understand the reasons why the digital revolution has transformed the way users engage with technology. The emergence of new media, for one, has allowed the audience to actively participate in the means of production, paving the way for most of the young users to really get involved in virtual activities.

Instead of sitting behind the screen, reading or waiting to hear the latest updates on something, users now get to be in control of the conversations (or at least have the chance to voice out their opinions through comments

and clicks) and create their very own cultural artifacts. This is the reason why we are seeing a generation of bloggers and vloggers. On the other hand, learning how Millennials view the world is also important in helping us better understand their actions and ultimately the way to apply technology.

Their traits are easily observed in our society. To illustrate, young people in Indonesia (and many other countries around the world for that matter) prefer jobs that offer flexibility as opposed to those related with the traditional corporate style. Within the local context, 83 percent of them also plan to open up their own business one day, based on a study conducted in 2015. And with the success of startup companies like Go-Jek and Traveloka, there appears to be a growing trend among Millennials in Indonesia to do the same.

The other day I was asking Mirsa to explain why he thinks this trend is a good sign for Millennials. “This means that young Indonesian people are starting to realize that they’re actually capable of doing great things,” he said. He goes further to describe his generation: “I see that Indonesian Millennials are motivated and ambitious people, living among them sometimes make me feel small but also very grateful because they push me to be a better person every single day.”

These are the kind of traits that eventually encourage Millennials like Mirsa to develop a distinct way of using technology. “Everything is now connected and there are a lot of tools out there that we can use. I think that knowing how to harness them to create something useful and beautiful is something that we should try. In my case, I want to travel cheaply, so I decided to learn how to create something with existing technology, ask my friend to help me, and with the help of technology, we created noompang.com.”

Interestingly, Mirsa’s take on technology above demonstrates a real element of purpose in his use of technology, which is to travel cheaply.

His decision to set up a travel-based website is driven by his own motivation to solve a particular problem that he used to face during his college days.

At that time, travelling from Jakarta to Bandung cost him too much and there were not that many travel options for him to reach his destination.

By creating a platform that gives passengers and drivers the opportunity to share their rides, Mirsa was able to resolve his and likely many other people’s issues with a few clicks of a button.

“Surprisingly, the heavy social media user group isn’t Millennials. In fact, Generation X (ages 35–49) spends the most time on social media: almost seven hours per week versus Millennials, who come in second, spending just over six hours per week.”

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Outreach

Clean Up Jakarta Day 2017: Five Years of Tackling The Capital City’s Rubbish Problem Since 2013, Clean Up Jakarta Day has been galvanizing local and expatriate communities in Jakarta to help solve the capital city’s prolonged waste management crisis. This year, 100,000 volunteers participated to remind Indonesians that the issue is far from over.

Members at this year’s event ranged from school children to office employees, with youth and environmental associations participating as well as individuals determined to fight the local waste issue.

What started out as simple activism transformed into a large platform for people aligned in achieving similar goals.

“Many great organizations run their own cleanups throughout the year and we call on all of them, including schools and companies, to join forces on one day, with one united voice for a cleaner capital,” Richardson said during the event on Sunday, 8 October 2017.

Actors Mike Lewis and Marissa Anita, environmentalist Davina Veronica Hariardi and television host Falentina Cotton were also present at the event. During the post event activities, Vice Governor-elect Sandiaga Uno also came to the stage to greet the crowd and encouraged participants to keep working together in creating a cleaner Jakarta.

One of Indonesia’s most renowned rock bands Slank concluded the celebration by performing a number of their hit singles.

F

rom plastic waste to river pollution, Jakarta has long struggled with the problem of trash. Last year, the capital city reportedly produced as much as 7,000 tonnes of rubbish every day, raising multiple concerns about the government’s waste management ability and most importantly the way people are addressing this issue.

For this reason, various local organizers have come up with different forms of activism to raise the public’s awareness about waste. One organizer who has has taken the city’s tremendous problem into her own hands is Clean Up Jakarta Day’s Angela Richardson.

Founded in 2013, Angela Richardson sought to encourage the local community to directly confront Jakarta’s waste management crisis by literally clearing the rubbish in the city for one day. Years later, Clean Up Jakarta has managed to gather thousands of volunteers to act as sorters; picking through all sorts of trash, ranging from plastics and glass to textiles and metal.

This year, as many as 30,000 volunteers participated in the cleanup act, organized in around 70 different locations across the capital city and the Thousand Islands. Volunteers gathered at their registered site early in the morning and received two separate bags, one for recyclables and the other for nonrecyclable waste materials. After around two hours of collecting waste, volunteers returned to the meeting point to sort and combine all that was retrieved. The recyclables were donated directly to waste banks across Jakarta with the Ministry of Sanitation’s assistance in Jakarta.

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Clean Up Jakarta Day has also inspired many other cities. Cities like Bandung, Tabalong and Banjarmasin collectively aimed to create a cleaner and healthier environment by organizing cleanups on the same day. There were a total of 22 provinces that joined this year’s cleanup with around 100,000 volunteers.

With the addition of these cities, more participants were able to learn about the importance of reusing, reducing and recycling and the detrimental effects of waste on the environment.

For the organizers of Clean Up Jakarta Day, the 2017 cleanup was a huge success. The next step is to educate, instill positivism and apply responsible waste management principles; the general populace should be encouraged to apply the skills they learn on Clean Up Jakarta Day and use these principles on a daily basis. There is no way to reduce the volume of trash in the city without daily vigilance.

Clean Up Jakarta Day is made possible by Risco Energy Group and Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Company (AG&P): a joint venture of AG&P, a global leader in infrastructure solutions and modularized products for the energy, resources and industrial sectors; and Risco Energy Group, an independent, privately owned energy investment company focusing on oil and gas in the Asia region. The event is sponsored by PT Adaro Energy and PT Pinang Coal and is brought to you by Indonesia Expat, a free English language publication in circulation since 2009.

For those who are interested in volunteering for next year’s cleanup please visit www.cleanupjakartaday. org or send an email to cleanupjktday@ indonesiaexpat.biz

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Business Profile

Rob Davies: The Entrepreneur Behind APPsolute Digital Rob Davies, the CEO of APPsolute Digital and Arm Enterprises, shares his views on Indonesia’s technology market and his formula for success.

BY CHRISTABEL SASABONE virtual CV, which is then matched with the employers' requirements. From there, some magical algorithm scores the applicant to those requirements and shows in real time those best suited for the job.

Arm Enterprises and APPsolute Digitial seem like two very different companies; what are the differences and similarities, and what was the motivation for companies in such disparate sectors?

Yes, they are, but they have a common theme in both software and the Indonesian market.

Actually, Arm was the first company set up in Singapore around six years ago with a couple of great Indonesian friends to develop software around the English Premier League. And after some success, it has moved into Telco solutions for the region with different partners.

APPsolute Digital was established two years ago to focus on software and mobile applications for the region and is funded by private investors from mainly Australia.

The hope is that our initial projects, such as ROBS Jobs, could lead to a tech fund in Australia to essentially invest in startups around Southeast Asia that need funding or resources.

The benefits for the employers are that they can review only the best applicants ranked in order of matched requirements digitally, and do not have to look through lots of CV's that are not suited to the position. This process is instant and paperless so is time efficient and good for the environment too.

ROBS Jobs, one of the apps created

by Appsolute Digital, seems like a type of "Tinder" for job applicants and employers. Can you tell us how it works? How do the filters work and what benefits does it have for employers and candidates?

It is exactly the same approach as Tinder for jobs with the difference being that only the company can match with a job seeker.

The candidates fill in their details via a simple drop-down menu and this creates a

Indonesia Plans to Let Foreigners Own Properties

The benefits for the candidates are they do not have to send CV's to apply for vacancies as these are digitally compiled in the app.

They merely swipe right for jobs they are interested in and left for ones they are not.

With huge competition from other job seekers, this means they can apply for more jobs in a shorter space of time and have a better chance of finding work that suits their skills.

In either case, once an employer has matched the applicant, a live chat opens

in the app which allows them to arrange interviews, start times or discuss any other issues easily in real time, so the process to hire someone can be really fast.

What were some of the biggest hurdles you faced when starting your companies? How did you manage them?

The process here in Indonesia for starting up a company has still not improved despite efforts from the government, so you face a long journey between departments which are not connected with endless delays. Luckily (and most importantly) for me, I have a fantastic business partner, Ika Novi, who seems to handle everything in her stride.

Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?

All I can say at this point is don't give up.

As an entrepreneur and expat, how do you find conducting business in Indonesia?

As an entrepreneur, it’s challenging mainly from the endless amount of holidays there seem to be these days; I think a four-day work week seems to be the best you can hope for most of the year. As an expat, I love the holidays as it gives me a chance to travel around the awesome places that make up this wonderful country. I suppose I am a bit conflicted.

Finance Ministry to Issue E-Commerce Tax Regulation Next Week The Director General of Taxation Ken Dwijugiaseteadi recently announced that the government will soon issue a ministerial regulation on the taxation of electronic commerce business. “Hopefully, [the regulation] will be issued next week,” he said.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani believes that the new regulation would include taxes on e-commerce transactions, among other aspects. According to the minister, the government would announce the regulation to the public soon after it is issued.

The Indonesian government is reportedly working to release a new land bill that will allow foreigners to own their own properties under the building-use permits.

This comes as a huge change for foreigners and expatriates in Indonesia who cannot legally own a property or control property and land construction before, based on the building-use permits.

Recently, Agrarian and Spatial Minister Sofyan Djalil said that the government decided to change the regulation. “In the

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bill, the government proposes several changes, including to allow foreigners to have apartments, whose construction licenses are in the form of HGB,” the minister revealed as quoted by The Jakarta Post.

Djalil reminded that the bill is not final and the government will still need to discuss on a few things before submitting the proposal to the House of Representatives for deliberation.

The new regulation is important for the country to keep up with the rapid changes in its business and economy sectors.

The Executive Director for Indonesia Taxation Analysis Yustinus Prastowo revealed that the government needs to be ready for more changes in the e-commerce, especially when it comes to the emergence of social media. He advises the government to come up with a clear and comprehensive regulations that are able to support such a change.

Jakarta’s traffic congestion gas cost the country as many as US$5 billion annually, according to National Development Planning Minister and National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro.

What are the pros and cons of creating a tech startup in Indonesia?

The size of the population in Indonesia is a great reason to launch tech businesses here if you can solve real problems that affect people in some way. Finding solutions to these problems can propel rapid growth and in the process make excellent returns whilst doing some good. I think if there is a downside to creating tech here is that it's likely your ideas will be copied quickly and competition will spring up all around in a very short time; still, it's a massive market and room for lots more players.

“The process here in Indonesia for starting up a company has still not improved despite efforts from the government, so you face a long journey between departments which are not connected with endless delays.”

From your vantage point, do you agree with the forecasts for steady growth in the tech sector in Indonesia? Why or why not?

Yes, I think there are many areas where tech can provide solutions to problems the average Indonesian faces, which will improve their lives with the right solutions.

Companies such as GO-JEK for transport, Supersoccer for online football streaming, Blibli for e-commerce, and many others show there is still huge potential here for growth. With more and more companies looking to Indonesia, it's going to be that way for a long time to come.

What is on your top three words of wisdom for foreign investors or expats who want to start a tech business here?

Be very patient.

including the MRT and LRT, are also responsible for this issue.

“We are 30 years late in building the MRT. We considered the project unfeasible financially, because we only thought about value and investment and revenues from the project,” the head of Bappenas said as reported by The Jakarta Post.

The first stage of the MRT project is currently still way underway, from Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, to the traffic circle in Hotel Indonesia, Central Jakarta. Afterwards, the project will extend this route to Kampung Bandan in North Jakarta.

The minister also explained that limited roadway capacity could not keep up with the increasing number of vehicles in, causing the capital city to suffer from a major traffic congestion. The slow progress on the public transportation infrastructure,

The MRT project is scheduled to finish in 2019. Brodjonegoro thinks that the government needs to carefully consider the potential outcome of this project. The country should think about the damage brought by traffic jams to the people, particularly when it comes to longer travel hours and more fuel purchase.

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Food and Drink

Our Clandestine Critic has dined all over the world, everywhere from three-Michelin 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!

Back to the Basics with Pokenbir Dear Readers, Lately, it seems like Jakarta’s restauranteurs are at a loss for new ideas. The market is saturated with pseudomodern-French-Asian cuisine, with menus and cocktail lists seemingly more and more repetitive as their neighbours and rivals. Word on the street that there is a “hold” on alcohol shipments coming into the country also doesn’t help. Orders backdated to earlier this year have been stopped, with even Bali feeling the heat as consumers steadily drink the current supply dry. Many times, when you enter a high-end bar or restaurant, you’ll find at least a quarter to half the wine and cocktails list either unavailable or habis. That’s a crying shame for an industry already affected by incredibly high tax rates and social stigma. It makes one wonder whether dining out is worth much at all these days.

INDONESIA BIG PORK RICE (COURTESY OF ANAK JAJAN)

For the past couple of months, there has been much soulsearching in terms of how to do this column justice. On the one hand, we can keep reporting on the ultra-hip openings with the celebrity chefs working culinary magic in the galleys of their shiny, stainless steel kitchens. On the other hand, there’s a wealth of local fare that may test an expat’s fortitude even if dining there would be easier on the wallet and invoke proud assimilation to current life circumstances. However, the inclination is to search for something different, neither to be mesmerized by the newest, shiniest restaurant nor to create unnecessary trips to the medical clinic.

Moving forward, there will be more range of restaurants reviewed with an emphasis on those that create local fare safe and delicious enough for even the newly arrived expat family to enjoy. And if not local, then regional cuisine with emphasis on quality of construct as well as those that bring traditional methods of preparation. Indonesia has an amazing history of inclusion and diversity and it would be remiss to dedicate a column solely on the latest restaurant trends. We start here with an unpretentious café aptly named Pokenbir.

– The Clandestine Critic

T

ucked away behind large supporting pillars in the lobby of the Lippo Building, there is a barebones café serving some of the most delicious pork meals in all of Jakarta. Surprisingly scant of pretense or reserve, Pokenbir is fundamentally a place for people to gorge on pork in all of its glory: roasted pork belly with crackling, caramelized bacon, deep fried pork, crispy rinds and stewed pork. To consider ordering anything else would be sacrilege (and there is very little else that is not made from the pig on the menu). It’s safe to say: vegetarians need not apply.

The Roasted Pork Belly comes in two sizes, small or large, and accompanied by potato chips, rice or French fries, and a green salad. We ordered a small portion; which offers five large pieces of juicy, meaty pork belly. The crackling was superb, with a few layers of fat still glistening and unctuous hidden between the lean meat. For many who haven’t grown up with this type of dish, the fat may be offputting as pork belly is usually roasted until the fat melts away completely in Western-style roasts. The difference

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POKENBIR ROASTED PORK BELLY (COURTESY OF THE DELICACIES JOURNAL)

is cultural, though, as most Asian cooking methods allow for a bit of retention of the fatty goodness to their pork – especially when it comes to the belly. The dish arrived with a trio of sauces: sweet soy with fresh chillies, a generic from-the-bottle sambal, and a honey mustard sauce that was surprisingly good. Mustard and pork go hand-in-hand as the acidity cuts through the richness. However, the slight sweetness from the honey transforms the meat (and hides the mustard’s bitterness) into a sweet-sour delight, a combination that is universally enjoyed.

We also ordered the small Mixed Pork Platter with pork saté, caramelized bacon, butter miso grilled pork, even more roasted pork belly and French fries. The saté sticks were juicy and flavourful and the caramelized bacon had a unique molasses-y taste to it. The Fried Pork Bites were outstanding, the kitchen having created the most delicious crust covering every surface of the pork bites and combining it with a spicy, fresh cucumber and red chile sambal that was tortuously more-ish. The Nasi Campur ala Bali was a dish that had two types of pork: the roasted belly and a few pieces of stewed hock in Indonesian spices. It was accompanied by a lemongrass-heavy lawar, a robust red and green chilli sambal, and crispy rinds. For those who are not familiar with lawar, it is a side dish most commonly found by mixing minced meat or even pork blood with various vegetables, spices and herbs. Do not fear, Pokenbir’s lawar does not contain any blood, and is quite a pleasant addition to the dish for those who enjoy medium-spicy heat.

On another occasion, and with a bigger party, we ordered the “Indonesia Big Pork Rice,” which was big enough for four or five people, and served like a traditional rice platter.

They also serve pork bone soup Bak Kut, and various fried rice and pork rice plates. Those who want to gnaw on some knuckle need to call in a day in advance.

What does one drink with that much pork? I find myself personally shocked to say that a large, ice cold Bintang or Erdinger is the perfect foil to the pork-fest. Usually, Bintang tastes rather insipid, but I guess one needs to readjust the palate with large gulps of refreshing, ice-cold beer to counter all of the fatty, gluttonous delights at Pokenbir.

Pokenbir Lippo Building Jalan H.R. Rasuna Said, Setiabudi, Jakarta Telephone: +6221 2911 0145 Business Hours: 10am-10pm daily Dinner for 2 Food: Rp. 280,000 Drinks: Rp. 164,000 Service 10%: Rp. 44,400 Tax 10%: Rp. 48,840 Total: Rp. 537,240

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Scams in the City

The Online Virginity Auctioneer A man who auctioned virgins online claims he merely wanted to fund a sexual revolution to free Indonesia from corruption, poverty and violence. Few people are buying it.

He also wrote a novel, Von Braun Van Java (2011), “based on a true story” of 12 Indonesian high school students who received scholarships from Habibie to study abroad to master space rocket technology.

Armpit Sniffing

BY KENNETH YEUNG

A

ris Wahyudi (49) was arrested on September 24 for running a short-lived prostitution website called nikahsirri.com that auctioned virgins, widows and single people of either gender for unregistered marriage (nikah sirri).

The site was launched on September 19 and within five days had attracted about 5,670 members and 300 “partners” consisting of potential brides and grooms, as well as wedding officiants and witnesses. Members paid Rp.100,000 (US$7.40) to join and could then purchase virtual coins for Rp.100,000 apiece for bidding.

Auctioned partners would receive 80 percent of the proceeds, while Aris would pocket the remaining amount.

Due to the unofficial nature of the marriages, couples could divorce within a day.

Aris asserts that virgin auctions are not only halal, but also an effort to preserve Indonesian culture and show greater appreciation for women. He said virginity would have been proven either via a medical test or by the sumpah pocong – an oath made while wrapped in a burial shroud. He was asking for trouble, not least by including pornographic photos on the site.

He now faces charges under the Electronic and Information Transactions and Pornography laws. He could also be charged under the Child Protection and the Anti-Human Trafficking laws, if police find evidence he offered children for auction.

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How did Aris end up running an online prostitution business? A look at his unusual entrepreneurial career can shed some light.

Rocket Science Born in Majenang district of Cilacap regency in Central Java province on May 12, 1968, Aris completed high school in Yogyakarta. He was sufficiently gifted to study chemical engineering at the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology. Midway through the course in 1986, he received a scholarship from then-technology minister B.J. Habibie to study at England’s Essex University, where he graduated in electrical engineering. He also chaired the local chapter of the Indonesian Students Association.

Upon his return to Indonesia, he worked in radar research for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (LAPAN), but after two years he left without notice. His superiors felt he should have dedicated his career to LAPAN. Aris then worked as a programmer and management consultant, and later wrote two books critiquing the commoditization of religion: Tuhan Tiri (Step-God, 2003) and Perzinahan Suci (Holy Adultery, 2005).

Like many affluent Indonesians aspiring to greater fortune, he tried his hand at politics. In 2008, at the age of 39, he ran for regent of Banyumas in Central Java, as a replacement candidate for Megawati Sukarnoputri’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP).

The party’s preferred candidate had jumped ship at the last minute to the Democrat Party and two Islam-based

parties. PDIP then tried to nominate a popular local politician but he was already on a ticket for the National Awakening Party (PKB), leaving Aris as the only eligible pre-registered candidate.

According to his mandatory wealth report, Aris had total assets of Rp.4.4 billion (then equivalent to US$475,000) ahead of the election.

He ran on the hackneyed platform of “creating economic growth and providing employment”. He tried to attract attention by flying from Jakarta to Purwokerto in a helicopter and also sponsored a local TV talent show.

It wasn’t enough. Although PDIP had previously been the strongest party in Banyumas, Aris came in last with only 10.92 percent of the vote.

The election drained much of his wealth. He then busied himself by writing more books. One of them, Robohnya NKRI Kami (The Collapse of Our Unitary State of Indonesia, 2012), claims that Indonesia operates like the 51st state of the United States of America in order to raise public prosperity.

ARIS WAHYUDI (COURTESY OF DETIKCOM)

In July 2015, Aris jumped on the transport app bandwagon with a business called UberJEK, which he ran from rented premises in Pejaten, South Jakarta. His unusual recruitment process required a body odour test, which involved sniffing the armpits of potential drivers. Applicants had to pay a Rp.100,000 administration fee.

In three months, about 2,000 drivers were recruited but the office was then abandoned. UberJEK was relaunched in May 2016 with the aim of serving areas not covered by Go-Jek, Grab and Uber. Aris had a policy of no uniforms or identifying helmets, purportedly to spare drivers from occupational embarrassment. He told the press his aim was to have the word ojek (motorcycle taxi) included in the Oxford English Dictionary. He also promised a lucky prize draw of millions of mobile phones for new customers.

The business failed, prompting allegations it was just a scam to get registration money from drivers.

Indonesian Cinderella Story Earlier this year, Aris read about Jan Zakobielski, a young German man who operates Cinderella Escorts, a prostitution website that infamously auctioned an 18-year-old Romanian woman's virginity to a Hong Kong businessman for US$2.4 million.

Eager to emulate and achieve financial success, Aris realised he could not operate an online prostitution business in Indonesia so he gave it a veneer of religious respectability by presenting it as a matchmaking service based on Islamic law. He also thought it would be more acceptable if packaged as part of a political party’s effort to combat poverty and adultery.

Kenneth Yeung is a Jakarta-based editor

POLICE WITH CONFISCATED ITEMS AT METRO JAYA POLICE STATION (COURTESY OF KOMPAS.COM)

Obesity Slimming Sex Party On the same day that nikahsirri.com went online, Aris launched his own political party, Partai Ponsel (Cellular Phone Party) at his rented house at an Air Force compound in Bekasi. Some journalists covering the event thought it was a joke when the party’s name was revealed to be an acronym for Partai Pelangsingan Obesitas Negara, Startup Ekonomi Luar Biasa (State Obesity Slimming Party, Extraordinary Startup Economy). It soon became clear the party was just a means of promoting online prostitution.

The party claims it would combat “excessively obese government bureaucracy” by reducing the number of civil servants, institutions and regulations that waste people’s time and tax money. Other aspects of its manifesto are more unusual. “While other parties tackle the nation’s complicated problems using intuition, Partai Ponsel applies chaos theory and quantum mechanics,” declares its website, which also contains references to Star Trek.

Aris said Partai Ponsel was openly doing business through nikahsirri.com to fund its activities without having to resort to corruption. The party promotes polygamy, virgin auctions and “sexual justice” as ways of narrowing the gap between Indonesia’s rich and poor. Aris equated monogamy to communism because both are grounded in the principle of equality, whereas polygamy is closer to human nature and permitted by Allah.

He said a virginity auction would provide a “dowry” of at least Rp.20 million, giving a poor family sufficient capital to set up a food stall or buy a rice field, thereby reducing unemployment and increasing social justice. “At the moment, virginity in Indonesia is priced too cheaply,” he wrote. “Virginity is a valuable asset of a girl … but it is given freely to a boyfriend who is skilled in seduction or has plied her with alcohol. The girl's

family gets nothing, except shame, because their child has committed adultery, and obscene photos often go viral on the internet.”

Such views outraged women’s and children’s rights groups, but Aris said Indonesia is weak because its people have “embraced a hypocritical, puritanical form of Islam towards sexuality”. He claimed “the hegemony of puritanism” has made Indonesians too hypocritical to acknowledge that the nation’s red-and-white flag symbolizes the blood of newborn babies and the sperm of their fathers.

Partai Ponsel even states that racism and religious intolerance would cease if all Indonesians were more willing to practice mixed-race and interfaith marriages. The party calls for a “bonobo revolution” – the bonobo being a rare primate in the Congo that uses sex to resolve conflict – because people will not be interested in fighting if they have enough sex.

Ponsel’s website says the party does not care if it is labelled as brutal, vulgar or disrespectful, as it is better to swallow the bitterness of honesty, rather than the sweetness of hypocrisy.

Insanity Plea Aris’s wife Rani told reporters her husband had become about 10 percent insane as a result of losing his money in the 2008 election, leading to his controversial activities. She publicly apologized for his errors and said she would be unable to support her children if he remains incarcerated. Police said Aris showed no signs of insanity during interrogation.

Offline, nikah sirri has long been part of Indonesian culture, often as a means of allowing philandering men to take extra wives. It has nothing to do with wealth redistribution or prosperity.

Encouraging poor families to sell their daughters for short-term financial gain usually backfires when marriages end in divorce and the money runs out.

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NEWS FROM THE

ARCHIPELAGO The Voices of Young Photographers in Indonesia Three young and influential Indonesian photographers discuss today photography and how the artistic medium has affected their lives.

In Indonesia, digital photography has also provoked the local industry to come up with even more photographic services, which is great. But I also don't think you should underestimate the power of traditional photography in producing beautiful images. The truth is that when it comes to traditional or digital photography, both models allow you to experience much of the world.

BY CARANISSA DJATMIKO

For me photography is like a living creature that works to miraculously translate all the unspoken words into one single image. In a world full of conflicts and terror, photography has really become a safe space for me to remind myself and others that beauty, peace and freedom still exist. I learned this while working for an NGO owned by former Indonesian Ambassador to the United States Dino Patti Djalal, where I was in charge of the visual and media department. Not many people are blessed with the wonderful opportunity to address social issues through doing what they love the most. And in so many ways, I am convinced that photography can really spark positive change.

R

eza Riwandi, Satrio Ramadhan and Dian Rockmad Bayutirto (better known as Bayu), share similar stories. Individually, they share a keen eye for capturing beautiful moments.

Collectively, they are pure visionaries with thousands of Instagram followers. The young men have enjoyed using the art of photography as their medium since high school, where they started out as mere enthusiasts. Over the years, they have matured to significantly influence the industry.

Challenges and competitions arise, but the one thing that remains is their profound love for photography.

I asked the three young artists to share their journey with Indonesia Expat readers: their thoughts on the rise of digital photography, the role photography plays within the local creative industry, and their hopes for the future of Indonesian photography.

REZA RIWANDA

I started to seriously channel my passion for photography in high school; when I finally understood it to be the perfect medium for me to celebrate people, and to express my vulnerable side--something I don’t normally share with others. I used my iPhone back then before buying a digital camera. Now I have a mirrorless camera to call my best friend.

Some people have asked me whether I prefer digital over traditional photography. Personally, I find that digital photography is a major breakthrough in our time.

Everything is simple and instant and you don’t need to mind things like film rolls, shutter speed or manual lenses.

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DIAN ROCKMAD BAYUTIRTO

Identity and Thinking Process

SATRIO RAMADHAN

Memory and Photographic Skills

Beauty and Change

When I was in kindergarten, my dad taught me how to use a film camera. That was the first time I held a camera in my hands, felt the buttons, heard the sound of the click, and learned the basic functions. It was a distinctly fun experience for me, but I was still too young to realize that photography would eventually become an obsession for me growing up.

Most of the time I do fashion photography so I really see it from an aesthetic viewpoint. It’s important for me to capture the emotional and evocative aspects of the subject every time I take a picture. But whether it is fashion, street, war, documentary or even wildlife; photography for me is all about reliving those visual memories that people want to cherish forever. If a person looks at a picture and is immediately taken back to a certain time and place, then you know you’ve done a pretty successful job as a photographer.

I didn’t instantly love photography. To be honest, I’ve only begun my photography journey last year and to this day I am still struggling to describe myself as a photographer.

However, the idea of embarking on this path came to me when I was working in a similar industry. At first, I was involved in graphic design; it was during my high school days. Yet, I had always been in awe with photography, and I always understood it. Perhaps, it extracted my true creative spirit the same way as graphic design. I was nothing more than a casual observer then.

I don’t think I’ve ever completely understood why I fell in love with photography. But I do know what makes a good photo. It is one that will make you stop for a while; you will start thinking about it, question what it is that goes behind the artist’s mind when taking it, how it’s made and can I do the same?

Being a young photographer in Indonesia means having the responsibility to observe and keep up with the changes happening within the creative industry, partly due to technological advancement. The competition does get even tougher with the arrival of new photographers bringing new trends and ideas, but it surely challenges you to constantly offer something new to the table and become better.

What frustrates me the most is when some people easily proclaim themselves as professionals just because they have expensive cameras. Sometimes it can hurt the industry, especially when clients are misled into believing that good photographers simply require fancy cameras and equipment. I hope that in the future Indonesia can learn to not only respect photographic skills but also understand photography as an extraordinary art form.

That changed entirely on the advent of smartphone and social media technology. By the time I had an Android [phone] and set up my own Instagram account, I realized there was nothing else that could stop me from taking and sharing photos. What I did not see coming was a wealth of opportunity for me to exhibit my work, in exchange for a generous amount of reward. I remember the extreme joy I had over winning a few Instagram photo contests, which won me a bunch of free stuff: a getaway trip, an iPhone, and a mirrorless camera that I still use today.

I’m still technically a photographer, yet I also devote myself to different kinds of work. I quite enjoy working as a freelance content writer. And with experience in graphic design and radio broadcasting, it is safe to say that I was meant to take up a career in the creative industry. Like similar kinds of work in the creative industry, photography not only allows you to satisfy your artistic side; but also learn to properly plan, manage your time, and make sure you invest your time and energy to prepare. It requires more thought processes than anyone expects.

While I may not be able to provide a definitive explanation to photography, I do know one thing that’s certain.

Photography comes from the heart. You should not wait for the next tech invention to help you out. Start with what you have today.

ADVERTORIAL

“We don’t mess with your morning coffee”

Roaster Joe quality premium grade tea in our tea bags and put lots more in it.”

Quintino’s Djava: Ten Years of Redefining the Indonesian Coffee Industry, Now it’s Time for Tea. From a decade of researching Indonesian coffee and the best roasting methods for highquality beans, to producing some great innovations in coffee, Quintino’s has gained the trust of a fanatical band of customers both here and abroad. For its tenth anniversary, the company continues to expand its reach by introducing more products, including Indonesia’s first premium tea bag.

I

t takes more than passion and motivation to build a unique world-class coffee business.

Italian head roaster Joe Tarquinio once had a vision of producing the best coffee in Indonesia, one with the finest taste and quality. He and his team spent over six years searching for the best coffee beans from around the archipelago, exploring different roasting methods and researching everything that goes into making a good cup of coffee. During this time, they discovered that the finest Arabica coffee could be sourced directly from local plantations, farmers and traders; the flavours and aromas produced differentiated Quintino’s Djava from their competitors.

Ten years since its inception, Quintino’s Djava and its new ideas have become a major influence in the local and international coffee industry. For Quintino’s Djava, coffee is not just a drink, it is also an invitation for the consumer to learn more about the history and art associated with the beloved beverage. The company has successfully created a number of innovations to capitalize on such subject matter, with its unique packaging and methods of sourcing ingredients.

One such item is the “Qbag” single serve coffee bags, which have already been on sale in supermarkets across Indonesia for ten years. It allows drinkers to brew a single cup of Arabica coffee with a small sachet. Qfresh is another innovation that allows consumers to preserve freshness and aromas.

Quintino’s Djava definitely sees this as the future of coffee packaging around the world. “In-Season Coffee” relies on roasting fresh green beans from the most recent harvests, assuring that the Arabica coffee’s true character shines.

This year, the company is introducing Indonesia’s first premium tea bag known as Quintino’s Qtea.

Tarquinio admits he had been longing for traditional English-Breakfast-style tea; the way tea bags used to taste 30 years ago.

Oftentimes, tea in supermarkets is sold cheaply in Indonesia, but Tarquinio laments the flavours.

He was determined to show customers the true taste of high quality tea, and was inspired to make a premium single-origin tea bag. Tarquinio states, “The point is to go back to the original recipe, the way it is supposed to be done. We use only high

The people at Quintino’s Djava also believe in “pure and natural” tastes. Unlike many coffee or tea brands that offer different kinds of flavors, Quintino’s Djava wants to make sure that the only taste that consumers will get from its products is an unadulterated one. “We only have one flavor of tea as it is the natural flavour of our single plantation, and we strictly forbid adding flavorings, chemicals and colorings,” Tarquinio emphasizes.

Making its products 100 percent traceable is also at the top of Quintino Djava’s priority, which shows the company’s close relationship with the farmers who grow the company’s products. “Not all...but about half of our coffee is done by our own team in the growing region buying the fruit from the farmers.

And we handle the rest of the process ourselves.

So in the world of coffee this is quite unique, there is no one else doing anything like this.”

With exceptional innovations and a strong desire to promote the natural goodness found in exceptionally brewed cups, Quintino’s Djava will continue to lead the way in coffee and tea production for many years to come.

Quintino’s roasthouse is located at Jalan Radio Dalam 99, South Jakarta. Drop in visitors are welcome. Quintino’s coffee and tea products can be purchased at select premium supermarkets, or on-line at their web-shop or simply call on +62 21 7223437, or email to: sales@quintinos-coffee.com.

Our website is www.quintinos-coffee.com.

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Travel

What the Temples of Indonesia Tell Us Hope on the southern tip of Africa? One answer might be provided by reliefs carved at Borobudur Temple.

In the eighth century, ship technology as portrayed on Borobudur’s walls featured a wooden double outrigger, a typical feature of the seafaring Austronesian vessels.

These ships were created for interinsular trade and naval voyages, which meant they needed to be fast, steady and sturdy. More recently, British adventurer Phillip Beale became fascinated by this feature and endeavoured to recreate the journey. After finishing a replica of the outrigger, he and his team sailed it from Jakarta to Madagascar and finally to Ghana thereby confirming ancient intercontinental trade was possible.

THE FRONT VIEW OF PENATARAN TEMPLE IN BLITAR, EAST JAVA ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE CONSTRUCTION OF PENATARAN TEMPLE SPANNED FROM KADIRI KINGDOM TO MAJAPAHIT KINGDOM.

BY ANI SUSWANTORO

W

e live in a vast archipelago nation alongside 129 active volcanoes. Traditional wooden houses in this region have withstood the many massive earthquakes and tremors either triggered by volcanic eruptions or tectonic plate shifts over centuries, even millennia. How then did the early foreign cultures who inhabited this region along with the indigenous people create such long-lasting and majestic structures in the form of temples and sites of worship? What were some of the early technologies that tackled the problems surrounding the formation of these sites? The following article provides some insight into the fascinating world of ancient monument construction.

THE UPPER RELIEF DEPICTS QUEEN MAYA, ON HER WAY TO A PARK TO DELIVER PRINCE SIDDHARTA. PRINCE SIDDHARTA LATER BECAME THE BUDDHA. SUCH A FINE, DELICATE RELIEF MUST REQUIRE SOPHISTICATED EXPERTISE OF CRAFTSMEN.

In the ancient past, strength lay in maritime trade and cities built close to sea to take advantage of commercial or strategic military locations. The most famous of the sea-faring dynasties were the Sriwijaya and Majapahit, two kingdoms that reigned in succession from the seventh to fifteenth centuries. Sriwijaya sovereignty covered whole areas of modern-day Indonesia plus some parts of Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Brunei.

Ships from the Sriwijaya period are believed to have reached the southeastern island nation of Madagascar in Africa, as indicated by DNA tests conducted there.

How was it then that the people of this maritime kingdom managed to sail 4,000 miles of perilous sea even before European ships were able to reach the Cape of Good

A DETAILED DEPICTION OF A SHIP IN A RELIEF OF BOROBUDUR TEMPLE, WHICH PHILLIP BEALE STUDIED.

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During the same dynastic period, candi (Buddhist or Hindu temple) architecture was in full swing. The construction of candi usually employed a sophisticated system of stone piling. To form joints between stones and preventing the stones from shifting they used knobs, indentations, dovetails and protrusion methods to bind stones without mortar; and corbelling to construct the roofs and arched gateways. Borobudur and Prambanan temples are solid examples utilizing these types of construction methods.

The architecture of these grand temples may have been influenced by vastu shastra, a traditional Hindu system of architecture. However, an early twentieth century Dutch historian named Jan Fontein has speculated that although ancient Indonesia was indeed influenced by Indian culture, they only picked elements that aligned with their own culture, instead of absorbing indiscriminately.

The sheer dimension and the number of delicate reliefs carved on Borobudur indicate that the ancient Javanese possessed sophisticated social and political networks to coordinate and organize such a grand project, with plenty of skillful craftsmen and natural resources to support them.

Professor Agus Aris Munandar, an archaeologist from the University of Indonesia explains, “Materials to build East Java temples during Majapahit era as well as Kadiri and Singhasari – the kingdoms which predate Majapahit, consist of andesite stone, red brick, wood, bamboo, fibres, etc. The materials were retrieved from their surroundings.

The temple stones are connected without mortar or glue. Instead, methods such as direct connection, chisel connection, key-stone connection, trench connection and direct-stacking were used to join the stones. With regard to temples made of red bricks, a unique procedure is applied: rubbing the surface of one brick against the other then sprinkling some water on it.”

A LUXURIOUS GETAWAY TO INTERCONTINENTAL BANDUNG DAGO PAKAR Are you looking for upscale accommodations for your getaway from Jakarta to Bandung, “The City of Flowers”? Then head down to the InterContinental Bandung Dago Pakar, one of the most prestigious venues in the city of Bandung; this hotel is the place to be if you are craving a closebut-luxurious getaway.

The five-star international hotel features 225 elegantly designed guest rooms ranging from a standard “Classic Room” to a presidential suite; with mid-range, golf-view rooms as well as 19 kembang villas. All-day dining at the Damai Restaurant and Tian Jing Lou — a specialty Chinese restaurant — is conveniently located on 18th floor.

Surrounded by the famed Mountain View Golf Course, the hotel has many perks, most notably a heated outdoor infinity-pool and one of the city's largest grand ballrooms (which can accommodate up to 4,000 guests). It is also equipped with the largest, built-in, LED screens in Indonesia with a hydraulic stage and a floating gondola mounted on the ballroom ceiling accompanied with spectacular lighting and sound systems.

However, if a semi-outdoor venue is more inline with your style, their newest addition aptly named, "The Diamond," is the perfect choice. From outdoor-themed events to an enchanting wedding venue, it is as versatile as it is functional, with a breathtaking view overlooking the Bandung skyline.

The InterContinental Bandung Dago Pakar is an upscale hotel offering sleek rooms and suites, international restaurants and an outdoor infinity heated pool. The hotel is part of the IHG Group (InterContinental Hotels Group) that houses more than 174 hotels and resorts across the globe. For more information, please visit: www.bandung.intercontinental.com and www.intercontinental.com.

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Spotlight

Asyifa Putri is a young, American-educated Indonesian currently residing in New York City. She discusses recent events and explores how technology can either help or hinder societal development in Indonesia.

Confronting New Innovations

BY ASYIFA PUTRI

M

cKinsey Digital released a finding in 2016 based on the labour force of 46 countries that a third of tasks involved in 60 percent of jobs could be automated with today’s technology. Labour that is routinized like packaging products to equipment maintenance is easily done by robots.

In fact, when a factory in Dongguan City replaced 90 percent of its human labour with machines, productivity increased 250 percent as a result. Recently, Amazon launched delivery drones that promised to provide a more rapid and safe delivery service in the United Kingdom. As for mining, I don’t see how the industry can maintain its current status for much longer given that natural gas is a cheaper, cleaner and a more viable alternative to coal for power generation.

The political upheaval in the United States caused by the decreasing number of jobs available in the mining and manufacturing industry might soon be something Indonesians face. These jobs are disappearing and are never coming back – no matter how hard anyone kicks and screams.

I am scared that my skills will soon be futile, but not as much as I am afraid to be confronted with others’

“Being the fourth-most populated country in the world, we face wide income inequalities and I don’t think that will help us down the line.” frustrations when their jobs are no longer available. We’ve all witnessed how some Bluebird and ojek drivers violently responded to having their income threatened by new competition from technology-based transportation services such as Uber and GO-JEK. I think having too many Indonesians working in unskilled areas would not only be harmful to the economy, but could possibly create problems around the country. Being the fourth-most populated country in the world, we face wide income inequalities and I don’t think that will help us down the line.

Canada and Finland have started pilot studies for universal basic income (UBI) as their way to deal with the poor.

Although handouts are often frowned upon and risky due to the high levels of corruption in Indonesia, this could be a way to help mitigate the effects of tech innovation on human labour. Or maybe the government could even impose taxes on the production and use of robots as they do to workers.

COURTESY OF AP PHOTO/ WANG DINGCHANG/ XINHUA

If not, perhaps lessening the skills gap should become a priority by encouraging more studies on the creative arts as they are more difficult to automate. There is immense creativity fueled by rich traditions and cultures that should be cultivated, as well as profited from, in the form of clothing, food, art or performances.

The World Bank has found that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) employ 89 percent of the private sector’s workforce and contribute more than half to the country’s GDP, but stumble upon challenges when securing funding or loans. Ironically, technology may be the solution to this particular issue.

All in all, and regardless of the direction our government decides to take on this matter, everyone should start getting used to change; be it in their lifestyle or in their work. Change, however big or small, is the only way for Indonesians to stay relevant.

COURTESY OF BUSINESS INSIDER

COURTESY OF THE JAKARTA POST

COURTESY OF MINING AFRICA

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COURTESY OF MPDEPAUL.COM

COURTESY OF ACHIEVEIT

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Worthy Causes

A Home for a Forgotten Veteran

Helping the Evacuees from Bali’s Mount Agung Assistance comes in many forms for the evacuees from Mount Agung in northeastern Bali.

A high alert was issued at the same time the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNBP) declared a 12-kilometre exclusion zone around Mount Agung, raising Indonesia's Volcano Activities Warning System to ‘four,’ the highest on the system. Despite the decree, many people further outside of the exclusion zone evacuated as a precaution.

Helping the Evacuees IMAGE VIA SAFE TRAVEL

Spontaneous support from Balinese communities outside of the exclusion zone has proven helpful. People offered homes and rooms as shelters, and assistance in the evacuation of cattle whilst provided temporary homes for animals as well as pastures for grazing.

"We have also distributed emergency supplies such as fast food, mineral water and milk to the evacuees in Menanga Village. The food necessities which they need so much of," said Kusmayadi. He added that a public kitchen was required with the increasing number of evacuees each day, as reported on ACTNews.

IMAGE VIA ACT

IMAGE VIA SETKAB.GO.ID

President Joko Widodo along with government ministers also paid a visit to some shelters on the island. In addition to the Rp.1 billion from the BNBP (an emergency standby operational fund), the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs is also supporting the high cost of logistics and transportation. Children were provided assistance in the form of shelter, school and recreational kits by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The Ministry of Public Works also took part in providing clean water as well as establishing toilets and wells drilled in some of the areas with large numbers of evacuees.

Twenty-four-hour healthcare services and mobile health posts were made available by the Ministry of Health’s partnership with the local government's health offices and Red Cross teams.

BY CHRISTABEL SASABONE

Travellers' Notice

T

Bali is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.

Mount Agung’s volcanic activity has been reported by international news agencies, which in turn could have significant impact on the tourism industry.

he Indonesian government, local non-profit organizations such as Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) (Quick Response Action) and local communities are raising funds and providing assistance to the more than 75,000 evacuees from the suspected impending volcanic eruption on Mount Agung in Bali, Indonesia. Presently there are 377 shelters located in nine districts and cities around the island. It is estimated that the number of internally displaced people are still increasing as data collection continues.

High Alert

According to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Head of Information and Data of Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency, "Most of the tourist attractions in Bali are safe from the eruption or dangers of the eruption impact.” These areas include: Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, Beratan Bedugul Lake, Tirta Empul Temple, Bali Safari and Marine Park, Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Sanur Beach, Tanjung Benoa, Goa Gajah, Nusa Penida and Kuta Beach.

Although Mount Agung's last eruption was more than 50 years ago, the volcano is still considered active. Located 75 kilometres from Kuta, a popular destination for international tourists, the volcano is said to have had a significant increase in seismic activity leading up to the evacuation.

He also states that Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport is not currently affected by the activity from Mount Agung.

"It is far from Gunung Agung... so there is no reason to worry about the safety of travelling in Bali," he added.

As of September 28, tourists have not been impacted in any meaningful way.

By September 24th, there were almost 600 earthquakes as a direct result of this activity. Some of the evacuees in the vicinity could feel the vibrations underfoot; Menanga Village was one such site. According to Kusmayadi, the ACT Disaster Emergency Relief Management Team Coordinator, evacuees were urged not to panic as small, shallow earthquakes rattled nerves.

The local government ensures that it will deliver early warnings and updates when there is a threat to communities, as reported by MetroTV News.

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If you would like to help out the evacuees by donating or volunteering, please visit ACT's website at www.act.id

Funds are being raised to help build a home for Bapak Jumhuri, one of the many forgotten veterans in the country.

A veteran who fought for Indonesia's independence during the 1940’s was found living in squalor by a member of the Yayasan Cinta Dakwah. When members of the yayasan visited the 89-year-old veteran, he was found living in a rundown and small space in Cipinang Gading, Bogor.

The rented space he calls home with his wife is said to be the only accommodation they can afford with the monthly pension of Rp. 450,000 he receives.

Jumhuri sleeps on the floor with a small mattress; heavy rain disturbs this set-up as a leaking roof usually causes a pool of water to collect on the floor. He has recently been recently diagnosed with acute tuberculosis, and is unable to pay for proper treatment and medicine due to his financial situation.

In order to help build a home for Jumhuri and his family, the Yayasan Cinta Dakwah is aiming to reach Rp.250 million.

So far, the amount raised is less than Rp.30 million.

For further details on how to contribute to the fundraising campaign, please visit https://kitabisa.com/rumahveteran or contact Andhini from Yayasan Cinta Dakwah at +62 856 868 2206.

Expat Concerns

Will Indonesia Run Dry?

BY ARTIE SMITH

F

or most of 2017, distributors of imported alcohol have been met quietly with resistance by various ministries and government licensing departments. The bureaucratic process that importers must follow to allow spirits and wine into the country is a long and arduous one, with sign-offs and approvals done at all levels of this heavily regulated industry. Recent impediments at customs and trade offices, as recounted by a number of unnamed sources familiar in Indonesia’s distribution and hospitality industries, have revealed a systemic stoppage for reasons unknown.

At the present time, very few to no new orders for spirits or wine have been fulfilled and hospitality operators nationwide have already started to feel the pinch.

As supplies run low, prices increase. Bar and restaurant operators have readjusted to new operational norms where much of the low-mid range alcohol stocks are steadily depleted or have simply run dry. Some hospitality firms have made the switch to locally made wine, spirits and beer; dropping prices for happy hours and well drinks to attract clientele.

The profit margins for branded liquor have also drastically decreased. As one Central Jakarta bar manager revealed earlier this year, one bottle of Jack Daniels Black Label could command up to AUS$80 wholesale.

To make any decent returns on such a price, the bottle would have to be marketed more than double, and consumers just weren’t willing to pay for the brand at those rates.

Recent inquiries to different restaurants and hotels have also offered some interesting insight. In September this year, along the major tourist routes of Seminyak and Sanur, hospitality operators were repeating the same overture when

requests for branded alcohol were made: “habis” or “not available.” When pressed for further explanation for why tequila, gin or certain brands of rum were unavailable, most service staff demurred. However, one outgoing wait person offered, “The order has been made, but it hasn’t come yet. We wait already long time. I’m sorry; do you want cocktail with vodka?” Interestingly, a boutique hotel’s happy hour consisted of a Rp.50,000, all-you-can-drink, cocktail specials made with locally crafted vodka.

Perheps the answer is connected to the fledgling, locally-produced, alcohol trade.

Vodka, rum and whiskey are distilled here; wine is made from locally grown grapes mixed with imported grape juice, fermented and bottled. Diageo, a multinational alcoholic beverage company, also runs a domestic production facility (where they also produce alcohol-free Guinness). Stolichnaya and Captain Morgan’s Rum are also locally produced.

Could there be a push from this industry to capture a larger corner of the drinks market? Without any competition, they could be the only source of alcohol for hospitality operators desperate to lure thirsty tourists and diners with reasonably priced drink offers.

In this environment, several questions loom. When will new and backordered shipments resume (if at all)? Can the public have confidence in the local market until then? Is locally distilled alcohol safe to consume? Will government departments reveal why they’ve put unofficial moratoriums on importation?

*Due to the sensitive nature of the article, all sources consulted on deep background and names of hotels, restaurants and bars have been omitted.

COURTESY OF THE HUFFINGTON POST

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Announcements Australian Independent School Donation to Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation JAKARTA On August 21, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) visited the Australian Independent School (AIS) to share the importance of their work in helping save the orangutans. Orangutans are very closely related to humans as they share 97 percent of human DNA and are extremely patient and intelligent mammals. They are critically endangered due to logging, fires, expansion of palm oil plantations and poaching. Students Isabelle, Anusha and Ananya from AIS’s Helping Hands were very excited to hand over a cheque amounting to Rp.10,959,400 raised by the students’ coin collection buckets last term.

BOSF discussed the human impact on orangutans on campus earlier this year, and AIS students volunteered to help. BOSF also managed to fundraise by selling lovable orangutan merchandise at AIS. For more information regarding BOSF, please visit: www.orangutan.or.id.

Enhanced Paternity & Maternity Leave at Johnson & Johnson Indonesia Gives Parents More Quality Time to Bond with Their Newborn

JAKARTA Meeting the needs of twenty-first century families, Johnson & Johnson believes that family comes first. Johnson & Johnson’s new Global Parental Leave approach reaffirms how they want to help their employees be their best – at work and at home.

Currently, Indonesian parental leave is 3 months of paid maternity leave for female employees and two days of paternity leave during the child’s birth. Johnson & Johnson launched the enhanced Global Parental Leave Policy in August 2017, and the company continues to reinforce its commitment to employees that enables new parents to spend more quality time with children. With this new Global Parental Leave Policy, all eligible employees of the company – mothers and fathers, including adoptive parents – will now be entitled to take two months of paternity leave and three and a half months of maternity leave – both with 100 percent of company base pay during the first year to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child.

Peter Fasolo, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer at Johnson & Johnson said, “At Johnson & Johnson, we believe family comes first. Following the successful implementation of our expanded U.S. parental leave programme in 2015, we are proud to announce a consistent approach to parental leave across the globe this year.”

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Bali Dynasty Resort Ranks No. 1 in the Top 10 Family Resorts 2017 BALI Bali Dynasty Resort has been voted No. 1 in the “Top 10 Best Family Resorts in Indonesia” in the Kids Readers' Choice Awards. The resort has been included within the awards for eight back-to-back years and this is the second time that the resort has crowned the listing.

The Readers’ Choice Awards is an annual award organised by Holidays with Kids Magazine, a popular Australian family magazine, highlighting the best accommodations for family travellers in Australia, Asia and the U.S. The award is based on the votes of the readers in a survey for resorts and hotels that provide first-rate facilities and

activities for children with top-notch standards of service and hospitality, value for money – and most importantly – the staying experience.

Bali Dynasty Resort has had recent improvements as well as the recent openings of Family Suites and Deluxe Terraces, renovation on the Kids Water Fun Zone and The Kids and Teens Club. To date, the majority parts of the resort are upgraded into creating it an ideal destination and a home away from home for travellers across the globe.

Visit www.bdr.pphotels.com for more information.

Golden Lotus Restaurant offers Soft Shell Crabs

Bandung Independent School Appoints New Head of School

BALI The Golden Lotus Chinese Restaurant is currently offering a soft shell crabs promotion starting from October to the end of December 2017 and will also open on Mondays for lunch from 12pm – 2:30pm and dinner from 6pm – 10pm.

These subtle crustaceans are fried golden brown, providing a light crispy texture on the skin yet still soft enough to disappear on the first bite. Indulge in this sensational seafood delicacy at Golden Lotus, available in three different preparations and sauces: • Deep-fried crispy soft shell crabs with golden sand sauce • Stir-fried soft shell crabs with salted egg • Deep-fried battered soft shell crabs with mayonnaise Each dish is only Rp.135,000 nett per portion, including rice for two. For reservations please call (+62 361) 752403 ext. 8502 or email to fbsec@bdr.pphotels.com.

* Answers in the next edition!

BANDUNG Bandung Independent School has named Mr. Chris Toomer as its new Head of School.

He and his wife Winda joined the international K-12 community from the United States, where Chris led an IB World School in the New York City area. Over the past 15 years, he has worked as a teacher, Vice Principal, Head of School, as well as the Academic Director for a network of nine schools serving nearly 3,000 K-12 students. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Asian Studies from Northwestern University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School. Soon to be a family of three, Chris and Winda are excited to be returning to Indonesia and looking forward to contributing to both the school and the wider Bandung community.

For The Macet Mind ACROSS 1. Soothe - appease (6) 4. Infanticidal king (5) 7. Northern Ireland (6) 8. (Aromatic medicine from) shrub (6) 9. Daring, maybe impudent (4) 10. One making a will (8) 12. Russian-made weapon (11) 17. Delay or cancel (death sentence) (8) 19. Nobleman (4) 20. Check the truth of (6) 21. Arrival of large numbers (6) 22. One sort of month (5) 23. Try elm (anag) - shrub (6)

DOWN 1. Fool (slang) (7) 2. Stronghold (of Salvation Army) (7) 3. Anticipatory experience (9) 4. Centre (5) 5. Rice dish (7) 6. Modestly behaved (6) 11. Genuineness (9) 13. Pain-killing drug (7) 14. Maintain health (4,3) 15. Greenery (7) 16. Small stones (6) 18. Deduce (5)

Spotted by Satria_2212 in Lombok ANSWERS OF ISSUE 198 ACROSS—1. Empire 4. Umpire 8. Eight 9. Distaff 10. Unscrew 11. Reeve 12. Sasquatch 17. Amble 19. Deep sea 21. Aviator 22. Shako 23. Impure 24. Ampere DOWN— 1. Eyeful 2. Pegasus 3. Rotor 5. Muskrat 6. Irate 7. Eiffel 9. Down under 13. Sweeter 14. Hostage 15. Salami 16. Salome 18. Blimp 20. Epsom

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ISSUE 199 Indonesia expat

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Events

If you want your event to be posted here, please contact +622129657821 or email: letters@indonesiaexpat.biz

JAKARTA Networking

Jakarta Business Networkers Every Thursdays Make the right connections and grow your business over lunch. At Jakar ta Business Networkers (JBN), all attendees are encouraged to help others 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 every Thursday lunchtime at Central, South and West of Jakarta. RSVP: info@ jbnetworkers.com.

The Jakarta Bridge Club Every Tuesdays and Fridays The Jakarta Bridge Club invites ex pat communities across Jakarta to join a networking session every Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 AM to 12 PM. Participants meet for pleasant and convivial moments where they can share and exchange information among ex p ats at three to five tables. The networking event takes place at Die Stube Restaurant on Jalan Kemang Raya. Visitors and partners are welcome to join. For more information please contact Ernah at +62818686999.

Arts & Culture

as well as amazing shopping sensations with various discounts on offer. This will be the perfect opportunity to enjoy some of the most scrumptious treasures of the country such as the sweet and savoury Gudeg from Yogyakarta, Bandung's popular Batagor and Siomay, Jakarta's famous Gado-gado and Mie Ayam, and a whole lot more. The best part of this is that you can enjoy all these wonderful food and snacks while browsing through a very wide selection of the latest in fashion, accessories, handicrafts, and many other products that will, moreover, come at discounted prices and with an abundance of bonuses as well as special offers.

For more information, please visit http://www.indonesia.travel/ en/post/wonderful-indonesiaculinary-and-shopping-festival2017-across-indonesia.

La La Land in Concert 4 - 5 November 2017 Fans of the Oscar-nominated movie La La Land will be happy to find that they will be able to sing along to the movie’s soundtrack in a live concert. La La Land in Concert is a live musical, supported by an orchestra, that will bring the songs from the movie to life. The movie follows the journey of a jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who met while they were both struggling to achieve their dreams. La La Land stars two of Hollywood’s most renowned actors and actresses, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, both of whom earned Oscar nominations for their performances in the movie.

Director Damien Chazelle won the award for Best Director and the success of the movie has been regarded as the beginning of the era for modern - day musicals. La La Land in Concert Live Orchestra will be held at Ciputra Artpreneur. For ticket reservation please visit https:// tiketapasaja.com/event/la-laland-in-concert.

Wonderful Indonesia Culinary and Shopping Festival 2017 27 September – 27 October 2017 Culinary lovers and shopaholics, mark these dates and brace yourself! For one whole month, the Wonderful Indonesia Culinary and Shopping Festival 2017 will be the highlight of hundreds of malls and shopping centres in 19 cities across the Indonesian archipelago. The event is a collaborative work between the Ministry of Tourism and the Association of Shopping Center Management of Indonesia.

There will be a wide variety of scrumptious culinary delights

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Flemington to Jakarta, where visitors are invited to have brunch, mingle with other guests and get dressed up in their best race attire. There will also be awards for ‘Most Fashionably Dressed Lady’ and ‘Best Fascinator.’ For those who interested in experiencing what it is like to organize an Australian event are invited to sign up as volunteers. They simply need to contact anzajakarta@gmail. com. For more information please visit www.anzajakarta. net/event-2416875.

West in celebration of the latest content from comics, anime, toys, collectables, games, TV, Film and entertainment to dedicated fans across Indonesia.

Fans will be able to satisfy their utmost desires to meet their favourite pop culture icons and be the first to own limited edition and exclusive items showcased by leading exhibiting brands. This event is a must visit to let your inner geek out and shine! Visit https://www. indonesiacomiccon.com/ for more information.

Afterwards, he will be heading to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Mumbai and Dubai.

The Divide World Tour will see Sheeran performing his latest music, including songs from his latest album like Shape of You and Castle on the Hill. His concert in Jakarta will take place at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition, and will invite over 10,0 0 0 audience. For ticket reservations please visit https:// id.bookmyshow.com/concert/edsheeran-live-tour-jakarta-tickets.

BALI Arts & Culture

Indonesian Heritage Society’s Evening Lecture Series 19 September–12 December Since 1973, the Indonesian Heritage Society (IHS) has been organizing the Evening Lectures Series to facilitate discussions about various kinds of topics related to Indonesia. This year the foundation has decided to focus on histor y, social developments, art, politics and economics. The Evening Lecture Series takes place at Erasmus Huis and is open to the public.

The lectures cost Rp.50,000 ( U S $ 3 .7 0 ) , o r R p . 3 0 , 0 0 0 (US$2.75) for students. The lecture has started in September, discussing the cultural heritage in Banda Islands. The upcoming lectures will start October 17 with the theme ‘Where Australia Collides with Asia.’ Ian Burnet, who has spent thirty years living and traveling across Indonesia will tell the remarkable story of his journey when following the epic voyages of British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace around the eastern archipelago. On November 21, IHS will host an interactive discussion on the National C apital Integrated Coastal Development and a collaboration project involving Indonesia and the Netherlands that aims to prevent flooding in Jakarta in a session named ‘Giant Seawall: Blessing or Curse?’

The final lecture will be held on December 12, addressing the issue of preserving textiles in Indonesia. Krzystof Musial will be leading the talk, arguing that the people need to work together to preserve textiles, which have been around for centuries. For more information please visit http://heritagejkt.org/activities/ lectures/evening-lectures/.

Indonesian Contemporary Art & Design: Murni?

4 October – 15 November 2017 The Eighth Annual Indonesia Contemporary Art and Design (I C A D) raises the issue of essentialism via the Indonesian word for pure (murni). As an equivalent for the words "essence" or "essential", murni is an Indonesian word that tends to be omitted because it implies a heavy and absolute burden even though it contains complexity worth exploring. The exhibit attempts to make the participants more critical of the meaning through questioning.

The free event involves more than 50 artists and designers.

Their works will be on display throughout the Grand Kemang Jakarta's public areas. ICAD 2017: MURNI? will also have activities which aims to both inspire and bring art and design to the public.

There will be three conventions, each focusing on art, film, and design & architecture. ICAD 2017 will also hold film screenings from France and Finland. Book your entry tickets at http://www. iicjakarta.esteri.it/iic_jakarta/en/ gli_eventi/calendario/2017/10/ indonesian-contemporary-artdesign.html?modulo=1.

Music

Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 25 – 29 October 2017 The 14th Ubud Writers & Readers Festival will return to Bali’s cultural capital from 25 – 29 October and will be explored through the lens of the current year’s topic: ‘Origins’. From humble beginnings in 2002, the festival has evolved into one amongst the world’s most celebrated literary and creative events – a journey for admirers of literature and conversation.

Uniting a number of the world's most power ful voices in a melting pot of authors, artists, masterminds and entertainers, the festival is a stage for crosscultural dialogues and meaningful exchanges. A place where artists and audiences alike can discuss on ideas, concerns and shared inspirations, the festival rises above both geographical and cultural borders to create a global community. Across five days, the festival will convey an eclectic program of events – from hands- on workshops to live per formances, fier y c o nve r s a t i o n s to i nt i m a te literary lunches. The festival is a significant annual project of the not-for-profit foundation, the Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati, which was initially formed by Janet DeNeefe, Co-founder of the Foundation, as a healing project in the light of the first Bali bombing. Visit http://www. ubudwritersfestival.com/ for more information.

Nusa Dua Fiesta 2017 15 November 2017

Ed Sheeran Live in Jakarta 9 November 2017

ANZA Melbourne Cup Party 2017 7 November 2017 The Melbourne Cup Party is one of the greatest horse racing events in Australian celebrations.

The party is organized annually on the first Tuesday of every November at the Flemington Race Course in Melbourne. The ANZ A Melbourne Cup Party will take the celebration in

Indonesia Comic Con 2017 28 – 29 October 2017 After two years of success, Indonesia Comic Con is back bringing the best of pop culture experience from both East and

British singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran will be greeting fans in Indonesia for the first time this November. The Grammy-winning artist will be visiting Jakarta as part of his Divide World Tour in Asia. Before coming to Jakarta, Sheeran will be touring across cities like Taipei, Osaka, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Manila.

The Nusa Dua Fiesta 2017 brings back the fun and vibrant week of cultural performances, art exhibitions and sporting events to its luxurious shoreline resort region on Bali's southeast coast.

First held in 1996 as Nusa Dua Festival and turning into a fiesta in its ninth year, it welcomes the overall public to the generally elite tourism enclave, with various events and shows held in varied

venues throughout Nusa Dua. The current year's fiesta will commence on Wednesday, November 15 with an evening opening ceremony at Nusa Dua's landmark peninsular area. Earlier in the morning, you'll be able to admire varied handicrafts on display here, and additionally an antique automobile show and unique bonsais. Towards in the afternoon, the streets come alive with parades featuring vivid floats from all of the five-star resorts of Nusa Dua's ITDC complex.

From the first day to the fifth, each evening, you'll be able to enjoy live bands which include national headliners, as well as local artists and percussionists performing world music. There are also fashion shows by designer tenants and boutiques from the Bali Collection. Don't miss the opportunity to watch the spectacular Devdan Show at the nearby Nusa Dua Theater on the main stage. For more information, please visit https:// nusaduafiesta.co.id/.

Sports

Bali International Triathlon 2017: Triathlon for the Soul 15 October 2017 Following the successful weeklong Sanur Village Festival showcasing Bali's Spirit of Heritage through a variety of cultural and athletic events, the 10 th annual Herbalife Bali International Triathlon will return to the Island of the Gods on 15th October 2017. Continuing the spirit of "Triathlon for the Soul", the thrilling competition that c ombines sw imming , running and cycling now has a new course steeped in Balinese culture, starting and finishing at the picturesque and welcoming traditional village of Sanur. Over 2,000 triathletes from no less than 20 countries are projected to compete in this race. As title sponsor, Herbalife Nutrition will provide all participants with their quality products during practice sessions, pre-events, coaching clinics and at the actual race. So, prepare yourself to take on the thrilling challenges and experience the magical atmosphere of the island of the gods, Bali International Triathlon awaits you! For more information and registration, please visit http://balitriathlon.com/.

INDONESIA EXPAT DIRECTORY

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INDONESIA EXPAT DIRECTORY

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INDONESIA EXPAT DIRECTORY

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ISSUE 199 Indonesia expat

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Classifieds

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JAKARTA Cars for Sale For rent toyota Innova new model 2017 rate Rp.6,500,000,-/ month.

Toyota Fortuner Rp.6,000,000,- / month. Good Condition. Please call +62816865653.

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Sublease for our beautiful house wanted. Unfortunately we have to leave Jakarta earlier than expected and are looking for somebody to sublease our beautiful one level house in Jeruk Purut: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1 study, beautiful kitchen with garden view, garage, separate staf f rooms, covered terrace, beautiful garden with own pool and gazebo. Lease available from 15 October 2017 until at least 15 June 2018 or 14 June 2019 maximum. Rent only US$ 1.900 per month. For viewing or photos, WhatsApp +6281285585562 or email: mojajkt@hotmail.com. @Kuningan, Apartment SetiaBudi, on RENT, for short &/or long term.

Size 159 sqm, furnished 2 bedrooms in a good building with amenities, at prime location. Unit with large living room & separate study room, large kitchen , with store room & utility room, along with separated entrance for maid /servant’s room & bathroom. Agents or brokers are welcomed to assist. Reasonable price & flexible terms. Call / SMS/ WA owner: +628159061267 or +628119961267.

Looking for something to buy / sell? 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: 18 October 2017

Personal classifieds | Commercial classifieds 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.27) Send in your classidieds to: ads@indonesiaexpat.biz

Experienced hospitality operations professionals. Qualified Pastry Chef and Barista. New store opening specialist. A lso extensive sales experience. Open to all positions. (ashrides@gmail.com) Female looking for part-time job as data entry, personal assistant job.

Speaking and written English. If possible work from home. Based in Bukit Jimbaran. Please email : flowsbloom@yahoo.com European Hotel GM experience in Indonesia available. Please email : activehotelgm@gmail.com 43 years old female. Experienced office manager is looking for a job.

Please call +6281337223874.

Property

BALI For Sale

Jobs Available

For sale: Ethnicraft Teak PC console with 2 drawers for sale (120x43x82) for 5 million IDR. Can be used as a console or desk and is ideal for small spaces! One year old and in excellent condition – original price is 7,5 million IDR. If you need more information, please contact me at cliepiang@gmail.com.

Pacific Associate is an international r e c r u i t m e n t c o m p a n y. N o w hiring researchers and trainees responsible for sourcing / identifying clients across Asia to support client’s hiring. Fresh graduates, Human Resources, IT and accounting people. Interested in working for an international company supporting clients across Asia, send your resume to : nick.neal@pacificassociates. com.hk.

Teak wood furniture (for sale).

Original teak wood relief Price : IDR 100,000,000,- (negotiable) Contact person via WhatsApp only: +6285880986358. Address: Depok, Bogor. Phone: +6285880986358.

Dyatmika school is looking for purchasing staff. Please see details on : www.dyatmika.org

Girihills House (USD 59,000) Brand new 2 storey house in Nusa Dua, Bali. 2 Bedrooms, 1 bathroom, furnished with springbed and aircond, 2 car parking and spacious backyard. 10-20 minutes from Bali Mandara Toll Road and Ngurah Rai Airport. Building size: 45 sqm Land size: 126sqm (https://goo. gl/5Ychv1)

Needed Wine Sales Marketing.

Understand basic wine knowledge, English oral & written. Please send CV to: meisindo@gmail.com

Carved Quartz Gems Perfume Bottle. A State of an Art. Bohemian Car v ing on Quartz Gems.

Dimensions of 63.65mm x 28.35mm x 22.53mm thick, weighing 209.66 carats. Address: Jl. Bintaro Permai III Nomor 9, Pesanggrahan, Jakarta Selatan. Phone: +628881626252, Email: info@rawa-bening.com.

Others For sale , second laptop samsung 14 inch, AMD E1-1500m, dual core 4G, nice body & performance. 2 hours battery, strong, stable and reliable, all working great except minus; touch pad, working with mouse. One dead port Rp. 1,650,000 (negot i able). P lea s e cont a ct : +6282236086531 (Kerobokan) For sale Canon L series lens 70200mm f 2.8 IS Mark II, mint condition. Complete with box & original accessories, bonus hoya uv filter. Sell for Rp. 19,500,000.

Please contact : +628985984567 For sale washing machine . new still in plastic LG auto red color. Call : +6282147401473. Price 3 million.

Please call :+6282147401473.

Ashtari Lounge & Kitchen in Kuta Lombok, also known for it’s yoga center, looking for an Executive Chef with minimum 3 years experience (raw & vegan cuisine is a plus). Very attractive salary package. Foreigners also welcome. Please send CV to : contact@ashtarilombok.com or +6281353329501.

Lifestyle Villa for rich and famous (USD 1,500,000) Epic Villa surrounded by surf spot in Pecatu Peninsula, Bali. 4 Bedrooms, 4 bathroom, fully furnished, 3 storey, 15x3m lap pool. Land size: 1,030sqm. +628967827196 (https:// goo.gl/VsVAg8)

Looking for Portuguese teacher ( prefer ably Por t ug ue s e f rom Portugal) for beginner in villa Cangg u - Per rerenan a rea. 2 times a week. Please send email to : isabelleizzyd@bell.net Looking for a job in france? We provide plane ticket + visa + room + food + salary paid. Looking for personal assistant - pembantu for private residence, need to speak English and have a passport. Please email your cv and motivation letter to : fxrenou@kmojewel.com Looking for full time wedding planner. Local candidate, female, aged 25-35 years old, good English speaking and writing, proficient in microsoft off ice. Conf ident, proactive, flexible time schedule.

Please send your CV to: info@ lilyweddingservices.com (only short candidate will be contacted).

Looking for Work Experienced marketing is looking for a job in restaurant or villa. Call Putu : +6287763415454.

Tremendous Villa in Nusa Ceningan (USD 296,000) 2,7km from Crystal Bay, 33km from Ngurah Rai Airport. Fully furnished 2 storey freehold Villas with infinity pool, 3 Bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Land size: 430sqm. Building Size: 150sqm. +6289678271969 (https:// goo.gl/ZLzJFg) Own a hot Bali Investment or livein luxury villa. Fully equipped and furnished. Modern two bedroom.

Villa with private pool on 450sqm in the center of Sanur. Walking distance to the beach and all amenities. Great location in gate of complex with 24 hour security.

The villa has rental license . Price USD$ 320,000 for 36 year lease.

Please call : +6281558900389 or +62361284069.

Soft opening monthly rental private rooms , Vi l la concepts, Ful ly furnished, survey by appointment, please call : +6289687690621.

garden, secure parking. A must to inspect. Rp. 250 Million per year.

Please contact : +6281239462484.

Services

For sale beautiful villa 260m2, year 2015, fully furnished, land 4 ares, lease hold 2037 renewable. Photos & films on requested. Very good rental report , price : USD 89,600 first contact by email please : jmrmbali@ gmail.com.

Nusa Dua Villa Holiday rental.

3 huge bedrooms with extra king beds, 3 bathrooms, private pool, full kitchen, serviced twice weekly.

Quality guest amenities. 65” TV with quality sound. Minimum 3 nights stay. $125 per night a double.

Extra pax $25 a night. Travel agents welcome. +61473961000 (WhatsApp) 3 Luxury villas for sale (freehold) located in Sanur area in private property with security guard. All the villas have 3 bedrooms (suites) with ensuites luxury bathrooms. Lush gardens with big elegant pool. Car parking and fully luxury furnished.

Land Sizes : 4,9 are (USD 400K) / 4,5 are (USD 360K) / 6,5 are (on request). Direct contact : 0812 4640 3949 (WhatsApp) or email : thesecretsanur@gmail.com Stunning 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, modern villa available now for yearly rental at pererenan. Fully furnished, enclosed living/dining/ kitchen, AC throughout, pool,

ARC Anti-aging Beauty Clinic offer Sygmalift. A high performance non-surgical skin lifting. This non-invasive & completely pain free treatment uses combination foca l & f lu x u lt rasounds a nd cold laser therapy to effectively lift and remodel the face & body.

Free cosmetic consultation: www. arcclinics.com , call: +62361754645.

Bali Island School (BIS), formerly Bali International School, is the only school in the island authorized to of fer the ful l international Baccalaureate Programme from pre-school to grade 12. BIS offers small classes and excellent mostly expat teachers. Please contact: info@ baliis.net (www.baliislandschool. com).

International Global Health is I nter nat iona l Globa l Hea lt h Solution craeted by a team of first resonders with more than 100 years experience handling medical emergencies in Indonesia. Backed by Australia’s largest insurer. This is the innovation in health insurance you have been seeking. Please call us : +62361737317 or visit our website at www.internationalglobalhealth.com Discover the depths of yoga and meditation retreat in Island of God –

Bali. We offer more than just retreat, the combination of the country’s unique history and the wide variety of yoga and retreat. It’s our selection of high quality Yoga Retreat and Yoga Teacher Training in Bali.

Call: +628113990150 (Yoga Retreat Uluwatu Bali).

Personal For sale apple Ipad 2, 10 inch screen, 5 juta conf irm. Please contact +6281239651227 or email: cooper11@gmail.com For sale Nikon 70-200mm. f/2.8 VR II very good condition with original case and box. Hoya UV filter included. Price Rp.19,500,000.

Please contact: +6287761613332.

For sale , new man watch automatic stainless steel incl strap. Brand Carruci. Size 42 inch including manual book in German/English.

Box, guarantee paper. Never used.

New price in German 850 Euro.

Now only 3,95 million rupiah. Please call : +6281338634748.

Every Thursday Jakarta's oldest (1986) running club meets. For questions contact: +6281284504422 ISSUE 199 Indonesia expat

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I FEEL ANXIOUS! A few months ago I discussed depression. Depression is often accompanied by anxiety. A lot of people actually suffer from anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear. It can be mild or severe.

Everyone has feelings of anxiety. You may feel worried and anxious about living in a new place, taking an exam, or having a blood test. This can be perfectly normal.

Some people can however not control their worries. They are constantly feeling anxious and it affects their daily life.

Anxiety is a symptom of several conditions. I will name a few: • Panic disorder • Certain phobias – like claustrophobia • Post traumatic stress disorder • Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) I refer here mostly to generalized anxiety disorder or GAD. GAD is a condition that causes you to feel anxious about all sorts of things, situations or issues. Not just a specific event.

People with GAD feel anxious most times and they rarely feel relaxed. As soon as one anxious thought is resolved, another anxious thought appears about a different issue.

This anxiety disorder can cause psychological (mental) and physical symptoms. The symptoms can include: • Feeling worried or restless • Having difficulty concentrating or sleeping • Palpitations (fast heart beats) or dizziness WHEN TO SEE YOUR GP (GOOD PRACTICE) See your trusted medical practitioner if anxiety is affecting your daily life or causing you distress.

Your doctor should ask about your symptoms, your worries, fears and emotions to find out if you have a Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

WHAT CAN CAUSE AN ANXIETY DISORDER? It is likely that the anxiety is caused by combination of several factors. Research has suggested that these may include: • Over activity in areas of the brain involved in emotions and behavior • An imbalance of the brain chemicals, which are involved in the control and regulation of mood • Your genetic make-up – you're estimated to be five times more likely to develop generalized anxiety disorder if you have a close relative with this condition • Having a history of stressful experiences, such as domestic violence, child abuse or bullying • A painful long-term health condition.

• Having a history of drug or alcohol abuse Many people however develop a generalized anxiety disorder without any apparent reason.

It is a common condition and slightly more women are affected than men. It is more common in the age group 35 to 59 years old.

TREATMENT OPTIONS There are several treatments available. Talk to your trusted medical practitioner about them to find out more.

• Psychological therapy – such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) • Medication – low dose of antidepressants called SSRI’s.

There are also things you can do yourself to reduce your anxiety, such as: • Exercising regularly • Quit smoking • Reducing the amount of alcohol and caffeine You can control your anxiety levels with treatment. Some treatments may need to be continued for a long time and it could be that you will have episodes when your symptoms worsen. My take home message is that anxiety is common, but if it affects your daily life you should seek help. Talking to your doctor is a good start because treatments are available.

Dr Steven Graaff,MD,MRCGP, the founder of Good Practice Clinic is a graduate of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Before completing his formal training in General Practice in the UK, he has worked in several hospitals, occupational health and general practice in the Netherlands and the UK. As a medical professional with international experience, Steven decided to start his own clinic – Good Practice, in Jakarta. www.goodpractice.co.id

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Jl. Bangka Raya #106B Jakarta 12730 Tel. +62-21-7183140 info@goodpractice.co.id

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