Chet & Carmen

It's been way too long since I last posted some music. Here's something worth listening to any time of day

Bye bye Jakarta

How traffic jammed can a city be? Travelling from any A to B in Jakarta takes you at least 30 minutes, but it's better to count on an hour instead. The first thing the taxidriver says is 'maceeeet' or crowded, traffic jam. Yeah well, get used to it. The Indonesian newspaper Kompas runs a daily series on the issue. One of its conclusions is that the congested city is costing a whole lot of money. All these hours that highly paid staff spend inside their car are wasted - because it sure isn't advised to write a little something on your laptop with all those sudden stops. Since the expansion of the buslanes - which can only be used by the TransJakarta buses - the roads have gotten narrower which led to a lot of complaints. Only one of the many things to solve here... but it does make for a few nice pictures. Look here, Jakarta by night:

Sick of Jakarta?

Who would have thought I'd be caught with a flu in Indonesia? Well, from the huge amount of medicins available for this illness, it is not all that uncommon here. The typically Indonesian questions: "Sudah minum obat?" (Have you already taken medicine?) has of course been posed many times. I have taken some freaky colored tablets and mostly try to sleep a lot. My sister has come over to take care of me, so all will be well soon.

As I have not been so good in actually writing updates on all that I have been doing here, I refer to the blog of my (until recently) travel partner Marc Visch: http://www.blub.web-log.nl. Where he found the time for these reflections on Indonesia, I am not sure. For the Dutch readers among you, it is recommended reading material! Enjoy! For now, I am stuck here:



(c)Marc Visch

Republic of dreams - Republik Mimpi

How to step into the republic of my dreams? Without being aware, I entered it last Sunday in Jakarta. In the studio of Metro TV, the leaders of this republic came together to spread their word of good governance. Even though they looked a lot like the politicians ruling Indonesia, their policies are very different. Suciwati, the widow of human rights activist Munir, reported to the president of the Republik Mimpi about the current situation in Indonesia, where impunity still reigns. Perhaps one day, Indonesia will be more like Republik Mimpi...

View from my hotel in Jakarta

Hotel Le Grandeur... I am not complaining

Malaysiakini shows it like it is

“Ah, we just want to keep it confidential. I’m working very hard on it” says a well-known Malaysian lawyer over the phone while explaining how he would pull a few strings here and there to fix someone’s carrier. That ‘someone’ is believed to be Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, Malaysia’s current Chief Justice. I’m watching the tape of their conversation, which Free Voice partner Malaysiakini posted online on September 20th. As the video painfully shows the severe lack of integrity of Malaysia’s judiciary system, it has caused quite a stir. The video has already been viewed over 30.000 times. After a two-day silence, the Malaysian authorities respond by appointing a commission to assess the authenticity of the tape. On 26 September, during my first visit to Malaysiakini, over two thousand lawyers marched in protest calling for the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry. In the morning paper, which hung on my hotel room doorknob, there was no mention of Malaysiakini’s part in this whatsoever.

Nevertheless, this is a great example of how Malaysiakini is able to create a stir. For me personally, it was truly impressive to be around and observe how they operate. In July 2005 this scarce source of independent news in Malaysia started broadcasting video’s to supplement the articles posted in the online newspaper. Since then, video has evolved into an essential part of Malaysiakini’s work. Nowadays, the documentaries are not only posted on the (newly set up) Malaysiakini.tv website, but also on YouTube.


During the ‘grand tour’ of the Malaysiakini office, we got a chance to see the new edit room. In a ten square meter space six editors were working on their video material. The video’s they make mostly provide background information or illustrations to articles posted on the Malaysiakini website. The ten to fifteen minute features show unknown stories and taboos. They deal with topics such as police violence, the position of ethnic minorities or forced labor, which is still practiced in Malaysia today. The short documentary ‘She’s My Son’ about the life of a transsexual aid worker was awarded at the Freedom Film Fest 2007. Despite insecurity as to whether the government will continue to allow Malaysiakini to do what they do, the staff is determined to dig down to the bottom of things. Let there be no doubt about it; with Malaysiakini around no secret is safe!

Check out www.malaysiakini.com, www.malaysiakini.tv and http://www.youtube.com/malaysiakini for these video’s and more

Talking with Tom Ole

Sometimes a good conversation doesn't take a lot of words...