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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Tony Blair is on the way to Jakarta!!

You don’t need to be an expert on British politics to know that Tony Bliar is a bit of a loose cannon. There is something deeply unsettling about him which just gives the game away. I’m not sure if it’s the manic eyes or the sickeningly sly smile, but this guy is obviously not trustworthy.

And now, according to the latest reports, he’s coming to Jakarta:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will visit Indonesia later this month, the first trip to the Southeast Asian nation by a British premier for more than 20 years, Indonesia's foreign minister said Monday.

Strangely, though, the reason for his intended visit is still under wraps.

So why is he coming here?

Being a cynic, I’d guess that he’s probably got some sort of arms deal up his sleeve. Something to keep the Papuans in their place, Mr Yudhoyono? Some hawker jets and a few Scorpion tanks, perhaps? Cheap at the price…

But news that Blair is leaving his wife behind in the UK suggests he may have ulterior motives.

Because with Indonesia set to ratify a law on pornografi and pornoaksi, he may have decided that now is a good time to have some fun in Jakarta before the zealots have their way and impose Taliban style rules.

So see ya down Blok M, Tony. And the beers are on you!

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