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

The Rough Guide to Jakarta (3): Festivals and Arts

TIM, the Jakarta Arts Center, is a complex of cinemas, art galleries, and theaters. Get the TIM program from the box office, tourist office or at select travels agents and hotels. TIM is also home to the recently refurbished Planetarium.

Pasar Seni in Ancol features live gamelan music, dangdut (Indonesian pop music with a strong Indian influence) and occasion cultural shows. The annual arts festival at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (the Jakarta arts building) is a superb opportunity to see world-class dance, music and theatre performed by local and foreign artists.

For the film buff, award-winning pictures from various countries are shown at the annual Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest). This is a unique chance to enjoy quality films that would otherwise not make it to the big screen in Jakarta.

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