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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Jakarta’s Art Deco Kota Train station (BEOS)

Art Deco buildings are very rare in Indonesia. This is because this type of architecture was only in vogue for a relatively short period of time (from 1925 until the 1940s). 

The Art Deco style is easily identified by its use of geometric shapes. These shapes are often repeated many times over, and to pleasing effect. Unlike many other art forms, the Art Deco style carries no political or philosophical baggage and is only grounded in aesthetics. 

But even so, this doesn’t detract from the art form’s unique appeal in my view. The most famous Art Deco building in Jakarta is the train station in Kota, West Jakarta.

Jakarta’s Art Deco Kota Train station (BEOS) The station was originally built around 1870 but given a thorough renovation in 1926. During the colonial times the station was popularly known as the BEOS station - as an abbreviation from the Bataviasche Ooster Spoorweg Maatschapij or the East Batavia's Train Transportation Company – and that name has stuck to the present day.

Jakarta’s Art Deco Kota Train station Yep, it’s still a fine old station - even today. And long may it stand!

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