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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Rieka Indrianty

Although turning into a traffic nightmare, the cool hillside city of Bandung is still worthy of a visit - a welcome respite from the steamy madness of Jakarta. Here old-world charm abound: old Dutch colonial buildings, expansive villas and gardens, and even fountains.

So impressive that the Dutch called Bandung the “Paris of Java”.

But now in 2013m, Bandung is better known for other things.

Such as its beautiful Sundanese women who (it is said) prowl the streets like tigers.

Find them in the city’s many nightspots dotted around the city.

And if you’re lucky you might come across a creature as magnificent as the one shown below:


On all fours, Rieka is ready to pounce...

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