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and in response I have received some great pictures of areas I have never even heard of.

Here are the pictures and the names of the areas alongside the Twitter accounts or websites of those who have provided me with them:

North Celebes Province. Where Bunaken is
Courtesty of iFairchild

Sunset in Gangga Island, North Sulawesi by EthnicGirl

Graceful Prambanan by @luthfianya

Santolo, Garut by @mrsnyamnyam

Nusa Tenggara Timur by The Best Photographer in Indonesia

Kakaban by @gitzgitz

Gunung Kerinci by @aquanakmama

Pulau Penyu (Turtle Island), Bali by @adistyanggraini

Indonesian food was nominated as well, I myself like Sate.

Kawah Putih, Ciwidey, Bandung

Airplane headed for Bali from Bisnis Ticketing

Kelor island

a dragon posing on Komodo Island, West Flores, Indonesia
by GOKOMODO

What has Obama accomplished to deserve the statue in Jakarta?

Indri_ZS

@indonesiatogo #obamastatue is ridiculous pathetic idea. shame on indonesia as a nation,who can’t appreciate their own Hero.

nanavoila

@indonesiatogo yea, and he was just a kid, wasn’t he? Indonesians are too exaggerating things about Obama, I think. Hehehe…

alveta

@indonesiatogo like n dislike has nothing to do with it. beneficial? maybe.

susanholic

Yes,i don’t get it either (via@BenyYusron) RT @indonesiatogo:Question number 2:What has Obama accomplished to deserve the statue in Jakarta?

avigayildamm

@indonesiatogo @elishevadpw Yep, agree. What is the point of #obamastatue anyway? His nobel prize has nothing to do with having lived in ID

elishevadpw

#obamastatue @indonesiatogo @avigayildamm I bet Obama might not have even liked it here in Indo but now he has a statue here. Pathetic!

BenyYusron

Nothing at all RT @indonesiatogo: Question number 2: What has Obama accomplished to deserve the statue in Jakarta?

BenyYusron

Send 30000 more troops to Afghanistan RT @indonesiatogo: Question number 2: Wha

phemaw

RT @mrsnyamnyam: and for 2nd question @indonesiatogo, obama? its much better to build Soekarno or another Indonesian patriot/hero’s statue.

As you can see, overwhelming responses like:

NessaParamitha

@indonesiatogo nothing really. Maybe it’s a symbol that Indonesia longing for a leader like him. re: obama statue

Then finally I got the first positive one:

dear_connie

@indonesiatogo Personally, I rly don’t mind w that. I find Obama is inspiring, not just to Americans. Everyone deserves & can b a President.

I like that one. I mean, I think that Obama is a terrible choice to have as a President or a statue. But it shows our longing to connect and be a part of something important. Who cares that he spent 6 years as a child here. When the election was going on, Indonesians kept saying “We won! We Won!”
Newsflash: you won nothing. Obama won, you didn’t get anything out of it. You fell for the political game like every American who believed in “Yes we can!” over economical mathematics. Gimme a break, Indonesia.

If you copy something from another nation, that is good. All nations do. But please copy the positive. Do not copy the negative. Learn from it and prevent it.

God knows that there is more than enough to go around.

Mike Dammann
Indonesia To Go

One of the news articles I have been reading stated that after the funeral of the suspected terrorists involved in the network, the attendants were being welcomed in their home town with a large banner stating that Jihad lives on and that police unsuccessfully tried to take that banner down.

This is not very encouraging and it shows that terror is being feared to the degree where even law enforcement prefers to close their eyes at times.

In addition, after Jakarta’s police force reported that the terrorists have planned to kill President SBY next, Indonesian police forces have started to record sermons led by Muslim leaders to avoid further hate mongering. But needless to say, this has been criticized as a dictatorship type of control which Indonesians were used to under Suharto and exactly that is the reason why Indonesian intelligence could not coordinate the warnings they have received over the terror attacks which were being planned on the Marriott and Ritz Carlton.

IMO this is something that will either change or Indonesia will never change, because moving on from the past is essential in order to gain ground.

The opinion of the world is basically that Indonesia is doing business as usual and not much is being accomplished to weed out terror. That more or less terrorists are hiding everywhere, and the people are scared to expose them.
When you are in Indonesia, you of course feel different, but there is something lacking here and that is the drive to do it. Just do it.

One line from Star Wars is my favorite. “Yoda” said “Do it or not do it. There is no try!”

I love that line, because it is so true that before you get something accomplished, you HAVE TO set some goals, and once they are being set as reasonable, there is no turning back. You get the feeling that there is complete separation between governing forces and the people and that the people are so busy with their everyday lives, they feel powerless and have given up when it comes to standing up for their rights.

One thing I have seen the other day, a car was going a little slow and the traffic cop banged on the car about 5 times to make it go faster. In America that officer would be in court right away under several violations of police conduct, but here people are so afraid of their own law enforcement, that the fear of law enforcement and terrorists is not really something that is easy to separate.

From what I see, this is a huge issue in this country that ordinary citizens feel so helpless and often use that helplessness as an excuse.

Indonesia has large potential. It is a very artistic country, people here have many gifts, but all of that has never been internationally recognized as negative news about the nation have been dominant to the degree that travel agencies are trying not to mention to Americans and Europeans that 2 of the best vacation spots in the world (Bali and Borneo) are located in Indonesia.

Will terror ever end? It can. It can end when Indonesians are sick enough of oppression whether it’s of military, terror or financial nature.

Indonesia has 240 Million people and it is hard for me to believe that such a huge population can be economically or militarily oppressed and it exposes a lot of selfishness amongst those who have the power to do something. We shall see…

Wanted dead or alive - Noordin M. Top

For the most part, Jakarta is way too crowded and polluted. You have a mass amount of motorcycles which are $1,000.00 to purchase and credit is easy and cheap to get, which enables 18 Million Jakartans making an average of $180.00 – $200.00 a month to get around.

The business center of Jakarta on the other hand is interesting and mainly because of its architecture. Every building is unique and in many cases it has to do with the lack of “red tape”.

While in the U.S. long board meetings are necessary to determine what sort of design a new building should get, Indonesian business owners often rely on the advice of 2-3 partners or colleagues to help them decide in the spur of a moment what sort of look their new creation should get and as a result you can see some interesting structures and color combinations enhancing the view from just about anywhere you might be within the core of the Jakartan commercial zone.

#pendetindonesia #bali and #indonesia so needless to say, most of the international Twitter community had no clue what Pendet is all about.

Bali of course is one of the hotspots of the world when it comes to travel, but believe it or not, most of my friends in the US are not even sure what country Borneo and Bali are in as both places are much more known than Indonesia itself, and having this English language blog about Indonesia is because we want to change this.

The Pendet Dance comes from Bali. It is an offering dance, has religious background and is enjoyed by tourists because of young beautiful girls moving to music and showing their elegance and beauty.

Pendet is the presentation of an offering in the form of a ritual dance. Unlike the exhibition dances that demand arduous training, Pendet may be danced by anyone. It is taught simply by imitation.

Younger girls follow the movements of the elder women, who recognize their responsibility in setting a good example. Proficiency comes with age. As a religious dance, Pendet is usually performed during temple ceremonies. Many Malaysians claim that it is a Malaysian dance, but Malaysians also claim that a lot of the Indonesian islands should belong to them, so what else is new?

Pendet Dance from Bali

South Barito (Buntok)
East Barito (Tamiang Layang)
North Barito (Muara Teweh)
Gunung Mas (Kuala Kurun)
Kapuas (Kuala Kapuas)
Katingan (Kasongan)
West Kotawaringin (Pangkalan Bun)
East Kotawaringin (Sampit)
Lamandau (Nanga Bulik)
Murung Raya (Puruk Cahu)
Pulang Pisau (Pulang Pisau)
Sukamara (Sukamara)
Seruyan (Kuala Pembuang)

Kalimantan is the opposite of Jakarta when it comes to density of population. In Palangkaraya you have 250,000 people and when you fly into the city, you see nothing but rainforest.

We went to the portable dock airport where planes are being serviced and people can rent them to go all over and see the jungle. If you are interested we can get you in touch with them.

OK it’s Friday night and I’m tired. New post about the Borneo Orangutans coming next.

Pictures and videos as well.

Take care!

Here is the initial post:

A report by Price Waterhouse Coopers predicts that by 2050 the Indonesian economy will have grown to almost 20% the size of the US economy. Well, GNFI is sure, Indonesia economy can grow as much as 25-27% of US economy sometimes in 2035. That is gonna be a quantum leap for this country. Currently Indonesian GDP is 7% the size of the world giant America in purchasing power parity terms and 2% in current exchange rate terms.
Indonesia is included in a group called ‘E7? which also is comprised of China, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico and Turkey, the big guns of the developing world. By 2050,the report says, the ‘E7? economies will have outstripped the current ‘G7? (US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy and Canada) “by between 25% when comparing GDP using market exchange rates to around 75% when using purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates”.
Indonesia, along with Mexico, is also predicted to have eclipsed both Germany and the UK by 2050 even at market exchange rates terms.
In per capita terms GDP, currently at $3,702 according , is thought likely to grow to $23,686 by 2050, the second lowest of all the countries measured, just above India, and some way behind China.
Year on year GDP growth from 2005-2050 is given at 7.3% in US$ terms, 4.8% in rupiah terms, and 4.2% at per capita PPP terms. Whichever way it is measured these growth rates would see Indonesia just behind India, and just ahead of China, in ranking terms.
The ranking of Projected real growth in GDP and income per capita: 2005-50 (%pa) is predicted to be like this respectively :
India, Indonesia, China, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Canada, Australia, US, Spain, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, with Indonesia’s income per capita will grow 4.2 p.a (india will be 4.3, and china 3.8).
The summary of economic shift is predicted to be this way :
the Brazilian economy would be of similar size to that of Japan by 2050 at market exchange rates and slightly larger in PPP terms, but still only around 20-25% of the size of the US economy;
• Indonesia and Mexico would also grow relatively rapidly, being larger than either Germany or the UK by 2050 (even at market exchange rates);
• Russia would grow significantly more slowly due to its projected sharply declining working age population, but would still be of similar size to France by 2050 at either market exchange rates or PPPs; and
Turkey would grow more strongly due to its younger population, being of similar size to Italy by 2050 at both market exchange rates and in PPP terms.
Population
In particular, both China and Russia are expected to experience significant declines in their working age populations between 2005 and 2050, in contrast to relatively younger countries such as India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and Mexico, whose working age populations should on average show positive growth over this period, although they too will have begun to see the effects of ageing by the middle of the century.
A report by Price Waterhouse Coopers predicts that by 2050 the Indonesian economy will have grown to almost 20% the size of the US economy. Well, GNFI is sure, Indonesia economy can grow as much as 25-27% of US economy sometimes in 2035. That is gonna be a quantum leap for this country. Currently Indonesian GDP is 7% the size of the world giant America in purchasing power parity terms and 2% in current exchange rate terms.

Indonesia is included in a group called ‘E7? which also is comprised of China, India, Brazil, Russia, Mexico and Turkey, the big guns of the developing world. By 2050,the report says, the ‘E7? economies will have outstripped the current ‘G7? (US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy and Canada) “by between 25% when comparing GDP using market exchange rates to around 75% when using purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates”.

Indonesia, along with Mexico, is also predicted to have eclipsed both Germany and the UK by 2050 even at market exchange rates terms.

In per capita terms GDP, currently at $3,702 according , is thought likely to grow to $23,686 by 2050, the second lowest of all the countries measured, just above India, and some way behind China.

Year on year GDP growth from 2005-2050 is given at 7.3% in US$ terms, 4.8% in rupiah terms, and 4.2% at per capita PPP terms. Whichever way it is measured these growth rates would see Indonesia just behind India, and just ahead of China, in ranking terms.

The ranking of Projected real growth in GDP and income per capita: 2005-50 (%pa) is predicted to be like this respectively :

India, Indonesia, China, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Canada, Australia, US, Spain, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, with Indonesia’s income per capita will grow 4.2 p.a (india will be 4.3, and china 3.8).

The summary of economic shift is predicted to be this way :

The Brazilian economy would be of similar size to that of Japan by 2050 at market exchange rates and slightly larger in PPP terms, but still only around 20-25% of the size of the US economy;
Indonesia and Mexico would also grow relatively rapidly, being larger than either Germany or the UK by 2050 (even at market exchange rates);
Russia would grow significantly more slowly due to its projected sharply declining working age population, but would still be of similar size to France by 2050 at either market exchange rates or PPPs; and
Turkey would grow more strongly due to its younger population, being of similar size to Italy by 2050 at both market exchange rates and in PPP terms.
Population

China and Russia are expected to experience significant declines in their working age populations between 2005 and 2050, in contrast to relatively younger countries such as India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and Mexico, whose working age populations should on average show positive growth over this period, although they too will have begun to see the effects of ageing by the middle of the century.

So, if I still find a pessimistic indonesian around, i’ll punch him good.

see the report here : http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/world-2050/pdf/world2050emergingeconomies.pdf

Here is my reply:

The economy of a nation is largely controlled by the mindset of the people. The way that people feel about life, whether they have hope. The economical crisis in the United States was not so much caused by the war, but the way that people felt about it. The change of government gave many some hope in change, but whether or not the new government is going to deliver that change is a whole different story.
A good economy is not a result of luck. It takes work and determination. When people make it their goal to better their lives and actions come with it, chances are improvement will follow. Without it, hope remains just that.

Added: http://www.jalur259.com/ commission reporting directly to the President dealing with cases against police departments.

Recently I have asked on Twitter what Indonesians think that Indonesia needs change with. Overwhelmingly the response has been corruption. Since then, I have been in contact with people who have had personal experience with that, so let me give you a little example as to what corruption looks like in Indonesia:

A foreign business owner came here 14 years ago and has built a factory to produce furniture from wood coming from the forest of Kalimantan. The Indonesian part of Borneo that is. Huge pieces of rainforest, quality wood, teak at its best.
One day in 2006 he made a big mistake and that was to accept an offer from the local police to buy the wood from THEM directly rather than from an Indonesian business owner and when I am talking about buying wood, I am referring to a few truck loads amounting to $45,000 worth the wood.
The wood got delivered. He didn’t pay for it. Not until he got the papers that the wood is legal which the police told him would come the next day.

Instead another police officer showed up that night and demanded papers for the wood and appeared to demand his “cut” for the deal to “close his eyes”.

Long story short:

The business owner did not pay him and he never got the paperwork. Instead his forester spent 9 months in jail for accepting the wood and he wound up having to pay a huge fine. The wood was market as illegal and it still sits in front of the factory which had to close down and all of his employees got laid off. The factory provides also housing for 80 employees. Financially wounded, he got back on his feet eventually.

Nobody got paid except the court system.

All of the Indonesian employees lost their job, furniture production stood still and police continued to try to get their cut.

Indonesians are very well aware of the corruption and so far little has been accomplished to change this on a national level.

I have not yet heard about a case where Indonesians have successfully challenged this on a higher scale.
So while I am waiting for more input and answers from my sources, here is a personal warning to all foreigners doing business in Indonesia:

1) Once you pay a bribe, you are being expect to continue. You will be considered scared and a target already labeled as “residual income”.

Getting out of that and fighting the harrassment is going to be much harder than saying no from the beginning.
Police officers will give you protection, place an officer wasting his business hours in front of your property as a way to say “thank you for the tip”.

Also as a constant reminder for you not to miss the next payment. Once you say yes, saying no at a later time will be a lot harder.

2) Do business with and support Indonesian business owners as well as the community. Do not support the police department as it will make them stronger and even more motivated to insist on you kicking down cash on a regular basis. Again: Once you are in, getting out gets harder.

You do not buy from police. You buy from a business providing products and services. Police have their own business which is protecting the people and if you are allowing them to financially gain where they have no business gaining, you are encouraging them to hit you up again and again.

3) Network with other business owners in the area at all times and seek advice.

Know what you want to do and set goals according to your principles.
Are you afraid and think paying the police is an easy way out? Look at it like a drug habit. It starts slow, and the fees will increase. You have to look a few years down the line. If indeed you decide to pay bribes, beware of the consequences and I will you the best with getting yourself out which I hope you will wind up choosing.

All in all, whenever corruption occurs, nobody gains except a few individuals who abuse their position.
Everyone else gets hurt. More than anything the Indonesian people get hurt as this slows down the economy, keeps money from coming into a country nobody trusts and enables police officers to wrongfully close down businesses for revenge not caring about 200 people losing their income from one day to the next as a result of this.

This is why this country is in bad shape when it comes to economical status. I always hear the excuse that “Indonesia has so many islands and it’s hard for one government to manage them all”. This is BS. What needs to happen as a part of the Indonesia Unite movement is that every Indonesian all over Indonesia unites and starts from the bottom and helps clean up corruption.

When corruption occurs in your area and you know about, don’t be like the millions of Germans in Nazi Germany who knew the Jews were disappearing, but didn’t seem to care. Take a stand and take it seriously. No citizen should be afraid of their law enforcement unless they are committing a crime!

Feel free to comment and feel free to give advice from your own personal experience.

This is your country. Claim it!

Mike Dammann

Added: you can also view ongoing discussions on an Indonesia Expat forum. Here is an excerpt:

Originally Posted by firetown
Has anybody here successfully beat corruption without giving in?
Yes there is. I know a lot of people, who are doing a lot of effort on a daily basis to bring down the level of corruption in Indonesia. On a personal note, I am trying my best not to indulge in corruption and I have to say that I am proud of a few achievments. In the past 8/9 years I have seen things improving a lot in Indonesia, and I would even say that these improvments were mainly done in the past 5 years. Wonder if there is a coincidence with a shift in politics… ,
Incidentally, I won two trials (out of two) where I was the defendant (never the best position) in indonesian courts without resorting to bribes. However, I have to admit that the demands were very insisting to say the least. Both cases were initiated by people thinking that, as a foreigner, it would be easy to get me down and/or to get bribes. They were wrong and I guess that they are now fully aware of it. In the second case, the person who decided to go to court may well face a sentence to up to 7 years in jail for perjury and false testimony if the acquittal that was pronounced is confirmed by the Supreme Court. Things can backfire to people looking for trouble without ground or counting too much on corruption.

Quote:
Originally Posted by firetown
If so, please give advice.
1. Know the law perfectly. Hak dan kewajiban so that you can retaliate without getting caught for something else that you were unaware of. If you don’t know the law, log in to some forum… Some peoplemay give you a lead…
2. Before taking harsh measures or going to trial, always try to make your point by explaining the law to those in need. If you don’t get heard, go to a upper level.
3. Never loose your temper and reamin polite/cool in any circumstances.
4. Write down everything and if you wish to complain, do it by writing, not verbally.

Here is another source where you can supposedly report corruption, but from what I was told the results are poor.

You can also participate in our Facebook group!