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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Secrets of survival in Jakarta (1) - how to survive a flash flood

It's been raining a lot in Jakarta.

Picture: Reuters 

But with more heavy rains predicted, make sure YOU don’t get caught out like Yudi above. Here's how!

How to survive a flash flood in Jakarta

1. MonasHave a predetermined place for you and your family to meet if you are caught in floods away from home.

Obviously, the place you choose to meet should be on higher ground: the top of Monas or BNI 46 is ideal.

2. Build your home in an elevated manner (possibly on stilts, if appropriate). People in Jakarta are already learning to do this.

Riverside (color)

3. Consider the damage that could be done to low level areas of your home and act accordingly: i.e. only use the first floor of your home as your living quarters. If your home only has one level – as many houses in Jakarta do – well then you’re f**ked.

4. Construct your OWN floodwall – everyone for themselves, right?

flood wall
5. Keep emergency rations in the event of prolonged floods. This should include a few days worth of non-perishable food, high strength kretek cigarettes and drinking water but NO instant noodles (especially those made by ********).

6. Purchase an 11-foot rubber dinghy for Rp18 million and store it in a safe place (where rats can’t get to it). This will allow you to evacuate your home. If you don’t have the funds to buy one of these, an oversized rubber duck will do.

rubber duck

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