Beware the normalization of floods by Anies Baswedan

Normal is when something happens often, becomes predictable and loses the power to shock, anger and spur people into action.

The biggest danger that Jakartans face is the normalization of the widespread floods which is happening so often lately, I think about seven this year so far.

Each time time it floods the same things happen. From early on Netizens start posting photos of floods in their areas.

Residents, frustrated by the floods, taking the law into their own hands at Aeon Mall, Jakarta Garden City…the new normal during times of floods?

There is the photo of cars leaving waves of muddy water in their wake . Old women trying to cross a torrent. Valiant acts by random Samaritans.

Then the funnies: Tik Toks of people on beds, on tables above flood waters. Some dancing, some fishing.

Inevitably there will be video posts of snakes or fish, especially koi, swimming in the floodwaters.

All they will curse and rant at Anies. How he is incompetent. How his pseudo-religious claims were all empty, how is kadrun supporters, who helped oust the effective Ahok from governorship were now reaping the whirlwind of their distardly acts.

Anies would, in turn, mutter something inane, and the groundswell will once again froth vitriol at him, with Jokowi buzzers leading the charge.

Then nothing will happen. The flood waters will reside and with it the hue and cry that accompanied the floodwaters will die down – until the next major flood.

This normalization of floods causes frustration all around as it exposes the powerlessness of the city’s residents. This is dangerous as such feelings, pent up, would need an outlet.

And so it has happened. The poor residents near at Jakarta Garden City has resorted to rioting against Aeon Mall, blaming the developer there for causing the floods in their area.

Someone has to do something before this too becomes the new normal.

Actions not Tweets, Tik Toks, Instastories and FB posts and rants is what is needed. Actions singularly focused on forcing Anies to act or to leave office need to be carried out.

Who can take these actions instead of being brave keyboard warriors, before the cycle of flood-netizen outrage-violence becomes the new normal?

The mystery behind the police apology

There is something very strange about this story.





The Twitter posts have been taken down.



Ergo, it was a random act by a single rioter.

This raises several questions:




The mind boggles.

Time to move on from #kitatidaktakut and other hashtags?

There was a time when Unspun would have reacted to events like last Thursday’s terrorist attack with, among other things, a hashtag, either to show defiance, sympathy or solidarity. Unspun had felt like he was doing something about the situation, taking action and being part of something larger than himself.

Lately, however, Unspun seems to have suffered a change of heart. From #JesuisCharlie on, Unspun has stopped participating in hashtags for terrorist-related attacks because, to him at least, it seems so futile and so self-deceptive.

The sense of futility is perhaps due to the fact that it is now so easy and commonplace for just about anyone to ride on a hashtag wave. (Note: This is how Unspun feels, others may feel differently about hashtags and that’s cool too).

The self-deception comes in because keyboard warriors can be so much defiant and brave than actual people. It gives rise to lazy thinking, as so eloquently articulated by Bonni Rambatan in his opinion piece in Rolling Stone Indonesia. One of his arguments is that by declaring that we are not afraid through the hashtag #Kitatidaktakut people hide a bravado that prevents them from taking the terrorists seriously, seriously enough to try to understand what drives them and from there increasing the chances to defeat them.

Declaring fearlessness in social media has the same effect as saying that the terrorist acts are senseless. They may be brutal and violent, but terrorist acts are usually anything but senseless.Thy are usually premeditated and well-planned and coordinated acts calculated for maximum publicity impact so that they may drive a spike of fear into the hearts of the people and the authorities. They are aimed to destabilise and to provoke authorities into reacting against them. When the authorities like George Bush and Francois Hollande rant and make threats that are unimplementable against them, they would have won.

High school shootings are senseless. People running amok may be senseless. But terrorist acts are not. The sooner we realise this, the sooner we would have a chance of defeating them.

So what is one to do if one has a Twitter or social media account the next time there is a terrorist attack? Unseen does not really know the answer. People may need to do something to help them cope with stress and humour an defiance are ways to do so. But they are for the edification of ourselves, not a weapon trained on the terrorists.

Perhaps the answer is that we should all try to understand what terrorists want by reading up on the subject (Louise Richardson’s aptly named What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Terrorist Threat is an excellent starter). She succinctly says that what they want are three Rs: Revenge, Reaction and Reknown. If she is right depriving them of these would hurt them most. That would be a good place to start. And something all of us who profess concern can do, so that they next time they attack anywhere in the world, we would be better prepared to deal with them. Who knows, some creative Netizen may even come up with something other than a hashtag to drive a stake into the heart of the terrorists?






The sad old town of Jakarta

A feeling of sadness always descends on me when I travel to the old, colonial part of Jakarta, Kota Tua. It was once the busiest part of Jakarta since it was close to the sea and port. Many old buildings stand there still. A few have been restored well, some have been mangled by modern bad taste.

This row of houses along Jalan Tiang Bendera III are one of the very few privately restored buildings I saw. I imagine that if in Penang, Malacca, Hoi An or other historical cities they would have been restored and turned into shops, cafes or restaurants

The majority of buildings however, are left to rot, abandoned and neglected and suffer the indignity of being a dumpsite for rubble and rubbish.

DSCF0306 This building along Jalan Pasar Pagi Kecil I (above) is now used as a backdrop for carts and other personal effects. Below- this building along Jalan Malaka is now the backdrop for recyclable rubbish

In spite, or perhaps because of this neglect, the Kota Tua area has grown to be a hodgepodge of narrow streets, filthy drains and canals, small recently built houses, and homeless workers who sleep outside the buildings at nights or on holidays when the shops are closed.

The underclass sleep along the wide corridors of the old buildings

A way of life has evolved there, with middle-class to poor Chinese Indonesians living cheek by jowl with the Betawi and other immigrants. This life recalls a Jakarta gone by, a simpler and less prosperous time when people made do, things get repaired or recycled rather than discarded.

Bicycle repairman. Many of the Kota Tua residents still rely on the bicycle to get them around

A worker, watched by presumably his boss, recycles old bones of staples, probably to sell off as scrap metal

It is also a time of simpler pleasures, such as a bicycle ride but now done with the menacing roar of traffic beside the cyclists.

If not for the modern bicycle and the cars, this scene of a father taking his son out on a bicycle would have been played out in the last hundred years in old Jakarta.

It is a life of simple commerce where you’re likely to know the street vendor and shops catering to local tastes.

Fruit vendor, Jalan Melaka II

Turtle or Pi Oh is a delicacy in the Kota Tua area. A shop near the Glodok market sells them and cuts them up for their customers. The shells of the turtles are flung onto the roof to dry once they’ve done their grisly work.

The Jakarta Government has talked about reviving Kota Tua and have even formed a Jakarta Old Town Revitalisation Corporation, but it seems to be more talk than action.Buildings lies neglected but life goes on as people, in their ingenuity, will find some means to make money to feed themselves and their families.

Talk is cheap about revitalisation and restoration but the truth is that many magnificent buildings in Kota Tua are left to rot

DSCF0334DSCF0279   DSCF0331

Facets of life in Kota Tua. 1. many buildings are left to rot in spite of talk about revitalisation and restoration 2. A potential buyer checks out semi-precious stones along a Glodok sidewalk 3. Who’s the monster? Mural in Glodok 4. Some eke out a living as sidewalk artists in Kota Tua

So another year goes buy. The buildings rot even more. Some are knocked down, others catch fire. Slowly, what was once the heart of Jakarta gets buried ever deeper into the mists of time. DSCF0330

How the Foke solves traffic problems







(Thanks Harry for the Alert)

Why Fauzi is being Foked on social media by the Jokowi crowd

The video below that is well produced and catchy with a huge dose of humor is yet another reason why the incumbent Jakarta Mayor Fauzi Bowo is losing out big time in the popularity stakes to challenger Jokowi and his running mate Ahok.

Joakowi supporters and his camp are proving very adept at using social media to boost their popularity and to answer the allegations and slurs from the opposing camp in their Facebook account and the many support groups and pages surrounding them.

Is this the election that will change the way Indonesian politicians use social media? It all depends on whether the Jokowi-Ahok team can win at the gubernatorial runoff elections against the money and influence of the Golkar machine backing Foke.

If they do it may make the politicians sit up and realize that the old ways of politicking using traditional means of communications – such as billboards, newspaper ads, TV commercials – have had their day. It may also send the message that ad hominem attacks, smear campaigns and playing the bogeyman with race and religion are no longer effective.

It may or the politicians from the entrenched parties may be so pig headed that they persist in their ways. But a Jokowi-Ahok victory will point the way for others without the backing of huge money to follow.

Therefore vote Fauzi Bowo

Because his political party, The Democrats, are as unimaginative and uncreative in problem solving as him

Because under them the traffic jams in Jakarta would get worse since it is an inevitably

Because they have no vision and no determination to improve living conditions in Jakarta beyond their own greed

And they get surprised when Jokowi and Ah Hok beats the shit out of Fauzi in the first round gubernatorial elections? Which City Kool Aid fountin are they drinking from?

Jakarta’s Traffic Jams Are ‘Inevitable:’ Democratic Party Official

A senior member of the Democratic Party defending Jakarta’s incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo said on Thursday that traffic jams in JakartaJakarta’s Traffic Jams Are ‘Inevitable:’ Democratic Party Official are something that cannot not be prevented.

Herman Khaeron, chairman of the Democrat’s regional board and deputy head of House Commission IV, said traffic jams are simply a consequence of the growing number of people using the streets.

“I can compare this condition with the condition abroad,” Herman said. “Traffic jams in capital cities are an inevitably.”

Fauzi has been widely and regularly blamed for his inability to solve two of Jakarta’s most endemic problems: Flooding, and traffic. While Sutiyoso, Jakarta’s previous governor, created the TransJakarta busway to ease traffic, Fauzi has been characterized as failing to adequately tackle the problem.

Traffic jams, or macet, occur regularly at peak hours, but congestion seems to be choking the streets with increasing vigor, especial on Fridays and during rain.

Herman made sure to say that Fauzi, Jakarta’s first governor from the Democratic Party, has successfully managed the city.

Regarding flooding, Herman said Fauzi has reduced problems with the east flood-canal, which has saved 2.5 million people from the agony of seasonal floods. Herman also said the city government has “normalized” river flows that pass through Jakarta.

“What I have found instead is the fact that Fauzi, as Jakarta’s governor, has worked well for his people,” Herman said.

Jakarta at 484 – alright if you have escorts through the traffic








Jakarta looks alright for 484-year-old, says Fauzi 









Does Indonesia Suck as a tourist destination?















A good ride spoiled on Sudirman-Thamrin



On Jalan Sudirman - try riding through this crowd



Which is all fine when there is enough space for everyone.


So he hit the road at 7am and then reality bit.




Another shot of the crowd







What do other riders and bike enthusiasts think?