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!  

The Jakarta Cathedral, tempo dulu and now

It’s certainly not easy to find neo-gothic style architecture in Jakarta, but one building constructed in this style is the Jakarta Cathedral, originally built as the Catholic Church in 1828 but later upgraded to a cathedral in 1901. Here's a pic of the original church:

And here’s a bird’s eye view of the church surrounded - rather incongruously it seems given the state of the capital today - by a hell of a lot of trees! What we would give for a few of those today!

The Jakarta Cathedral For better or worse (probably the latter), Catholicism is Indonesia’s most notable import from Portugal, a fierce trading and ideological rival of the Dutch in times long gone, and the Dutch, in their infinite wisdom, chose to ban the religion in the country from 1602 until 1799. 

But when Louis Bonaparte was appointed as the King of Holland on June 5, 1806 by his brother, the Emperor of France aka the very evil Napoleon Bonaparte, the ban was quickly lifted after agreement was reached with the Vatican in 1807. 

The Jakarta Cathedral is located close to Monas and just a short distance from the huge Istiqual Mosque whose construction was completed in 1978. 

And here's a picture of the cathedral as it looks today:

The Jakarta Cathedral

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