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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SBY’s prescient abilities

When SBY gave his emotionally charged speech in response to the terrorist bombings of the Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels he was roundly criticized for linking those bombings to the presidential elections. “They are out to get me” he proclaimed, lofting up a bunch of photographs showing that pictures of his face had been used by gun-totting terrorists in target practice up in Sulawesi. 

 “Has he lost the plot completely?” some conjectured. But like most speeches it was quickly forgotten. However, looking back on it now - and at two paragraphs in particular – and you really have to wonder why terrorists would so suddenly want to switch from Western targets to ostensibly a Muslim one (yes, the President is a Muslim) right before he is due to be inaugurated for his second presidential term. Wouldn’t you? 

The two paragraphs from SBY’s speech following the bombings: 

 I believe, as we have discovered before, that the perpetrators and the people who masterminded this terror will be apprehended and we will prosecute them under the law. I have instructed law enforcers to prosecute anyone involved. Whoever he or she is, from whatever political rank and background. …this is an intelligence report, not rumors, nor gossip. Other statements said they wished to turn Indonesia into [a country like] Iran. 

And the last statement said that no matter what, SBY should not and would not be inaugurated. You can interpret such threats, and the tens of other intelligence reports that are currently in the hands of our law enforcers. 

 So congratulations on SBY for his prescient abilities. I just wonder if he’d help me predict next week’s football results!

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