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 Hello again fellow
Jakartans!! We
do hope you all enjoyed yourselves over the last week in our rainy
and traffic clogged city… Anyway here are some snippets of news from our
beloved city and elsewhere in Indonesia - The Century Bank scandal: Yawn…… let’s get the
investigation and expected resultant political dust-up settled so we
can move forward…… First foreigner to be tried in Indonesia for
terrorist activities: A Saudi national will be
the first foreigner tried in Indonesia for terrorist activities. Al
Khelaiw Abdullah was arrested shortly after the July 17 2009 hotel
bombings and allegedly has been accused of “providing assistance and
facilities to the terrorists by way of giving or lending money,
things or other wealth”. “Expect Years of Gridlock!”: These enlightening words
from Vice-president Boediono as he was officially opening the new
9.7 kilometre Kebon Jeruk-Penjaringan addition to the Outer Ring
Road. We could imagine most Jakartans thinking “tell us something we
don’t know already” in response to this statement. This latest ring
road extension came at a cost of Rp 1.7 trillion (US$180 million),
which equates to a cost of over Rp 175 billion (US$18.5 million) per
kilometer! Yikes – mahal!. As far as we can see, the only thing that
will save our city from coming to a complete traffic standstill in
the future is a developed MRT system. However according the Ministry
of Transportation, construction of the MRT will not start (again)
until at least the end of 2011, with completion no earlier than
2016. In the meantime, we suppose we have no choice but to invest in
some nice tranquil music CD’s and catch up with some reading during
the worsening traffic jams. Indonesia’s newest illegal visitor problem –
foreign medical practitioners!: We have become accustomed
to regular reports of illegal refugee’s stopping in Indonesia
enroute to place like Australia. However Indonesia’s newest illegal
visitor problem has come in the way of foreign medical
practitioners! Recently, in addition to deporting a Singaporean
doctor who was caught practicing at a private hospital in Tangerang
without the required documentation, four American dentists were also
deported after being found providing free dental services to
residents in Aceh, without having the necessary documentation. One
does applaud the noble cause the dentists were engaged in and we do
hope Indonesia welcomes them back, albeit with the correct
documentation next time. The Sidoarjo mudflow disaster – no end in
sight: As 70
million litres of mud continues to flow out unabated daily from the
ground, there is also no end in sight for compensation for many of
the 60,000 residents homeless and 100,000 people displaced due to
the disaster, despite a recent scientific report from Durham
university attributing the cause of the disaster to the mining
activity of PT Lapindo Brantas. A 50-minute documentary entitled
“Mud Max: Investigative Documents – Sidoarjo Mud Volcano Disaster”
has just been released. The documentary was filmed over two and a
half years and focuses on the mudflow eruption and the subsequent
economic, social and political consequences of the disaster. You can
view the trailer for the film here on
YouTube. Bali Airport – one of the 12 ugliest airports
in the world! This
unflattering recognition was given to Bali Airport by the Travel and Leisure
Magazine. Joining Bali on the shame list was Sofia (Bulgaria),
JFK (New York USA), Dulles (Washington USA), Atlanta USA, Moscow,
Narita (Tokyo), Linate (Milan Italy), Massau (Bahamas), Paris, El
Paso USA and Heathrow (London). The publishing of this list
interestingly coincided with the release of a new 150-page book (in
English and Indonesian) published by PT Angkasa Pura 1 (who manage
Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport), about the history of the airport which
was originally built in the 1930’s. The good news is that a massive
renovation program is currently underway and which will hopeful
elevate Bali’s airport out of this list. We do hope that apart from
being modernized, Bali’s airport will also be given some aspects
showcasing Balinese culture and artwork. “90% of Indonesian Museums are unfit to
visit”: This frank
admission from Indonesia’s Minister of Culture and Tourism. Despite
this admission he simultaneously announced 2010 as “Visit Museum
Year”. So we are being encouraged to visit museums which by his own
admission are mostly unfit to visit? Hmmm. Fortunately however the
Ministry has committed to engage a program through to 2014 focusing
on improving the quality and management of the country’s
museums. Poor English language capabilities of some of
Indonesia’s foreign diplomatic staff: This embarrassing
revelation has come to light recently. Indonesia needs effective
representation overseas to assist in the valuable promotion of trade
and tourism, as well as dealing with Indonesian labour issues in
certain countries. This would seem an impossible task however if the
Indonesian attaché does not have a high level of English speaking
ability to use as a common language with their host country. It was
even reported that some attaches, due to their lack of English,
avoided having to meet their host country government officials using
sick leave as a common reason. Fortunately this weakness in
Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry system has now been recognized and they
are likely to impose minimum level TOEFL scores for future
candidates destined for overseas postings. And for those of you who need to get information
from our website via your handphone you can now view
handphone-friendly information from our website by pointing your
browser at www.WhatsNewJakarta.com/mobile ! Don’t forget to bookmark
it! Also don't forget to check our 'Holiday Getaway' Listings page for new villa's and resorts and special deals in Bali for WNJ readers Now Jakarta & WhatsNewJakarta.com BEST RESTAURANT, BAR & CLUB AWARDS 2010 - Vote Here! That’s all for now but do keep an eye on www.WhatsNewJakarta.com to see what events are happening around town; and then organize to catch up with your friends and make an effort to meet some new ones! Bye for now. Here are some of the latest events and news
Photo Gallery update
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Best Wishes
The WhatsNewJakarta Team