On choosing a caleg

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One of the great things about democracy is that citizens get the opportunity to vote for the legislators who will represent them in parliament.  But with so many political parties in Indonesia, there are a huge number of candidates (caleg) to choose from.  So how can a political party select a caleg who stands out from the crowd and who resonates with voters?  By selecting a celebrity as a caleg of course!  To some this may be seen as a rather desperate move but some voters (particularly men) may be more likely to vote for an attractive actress rather than some boring old man they have never heard of. Celebrity caleg in the coming election include Krisdayanti , Diana Sastra, Tamara Geraldine, Kalina Oktarani, Desy Ratnasari, Rachel Maryam, Annisa Bahar, Nafa Urbach, Mulan Jameela and Lula Kamal.  Quite simply, take your pick!  

Running around Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium (the wrong way)

Being a bit bored with the fitness center I thought I’d try something different at the weekend and go for a real run instead of running on the boring treadmill like I usually do. But where do go? Street running is out of the question in Jakarta for obvious reasons and there ain’t many public spaces at all. 

But one good place is the Gelora Bung Karno football stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Actually, it had been called the Senayan Stadium up to a few year’s ago before Megawati become president and restated its name to honor her father who had been demonized for so long by former president Suharto.

Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno football stadium, Senayan
It’s a great place to go for a run though. And there are even plenty of trees in the area around the stadium. The huge stadium, which was funded by the Russians, is certainly impressive even though it was built back in the 60s. 

I remember seeing Lazio play there a number of years back. And strangely, we got to see Signori and his mates after the game as well: some bright spark had dragged the whole team down to Tanamur discothèque, giving the Italian players the chance to really experience the warmth of Indonesian culture firsthand. 

Luckily the players had left their wives back in Italy. But I am not alone at the stadium – there are plenty of other runners there as well. And guess what? Like in every other country in the world, everyone has chosen to run around the stadium anticlockwise

Just to be different I run the other way. It ain’t that busy, and only one guy tells me “I’m running the wrong way around the stadium”. 

 “Why is this the wrong way?”, I reply. He doesn’t answer. I’ve tried to find out the answer on the internet but to no avail. My guess is that it’s got something to do with the left and right sides of our brains or something. Or is it that we are conditioned to run this way from watching professional athletes run this way on TV? If anyone knows, do let me know…

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