There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in
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Is Indonesian TV any good?

All in all, Indonesian TV is pretty damn good. And far far better than the bland government regulated stuff that they serve up in neighboring countries Singapore and Malaysia.

Sports for one thing are well covered: tons of English, Italian and Spanish footie, as well as F1 (come on Hamilton!), Moto GP, and all sorts of other stuff. There are also plenty of films, as well as excellent documentary programs – both imported (national geographic stuff) and domestic like Metro TV’s excellent Oasis and Archipelago programmes. And Trans TV’s Fenomena, which does such a great job in unveiling the sordid underbelly of life in the capital city Jakarta, is in a league of its own of course.

Some of the lighter entertainment is a bit naff admittedly, but there are some shows worth watching like RCTI’s Montir-Montir Cantik which features the ever sexy Sarah Azhari and Trans TV’s Penjaga Pantai, a sort of Indonesian version of Baywatch in which the delectable Julia Perez shows off her considerable bodily charms. And if it’s Western babes you’re after, there’s always MTV of course.

But it isn’t only the sinetron shows that capitalize on the pulling power of feminine beauty.

Just take a look at the presenters on Metro TV for example. All young and beautiful. Many of them are even beauty contest winners – like Dian Krishna who was Miss Indonesia in 2003. My personal favorites are Chantal Della Concetta, Fifi Aleyda Yahya and the sensual Amelia Ardan.

Long may they rule!

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