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Dangdut! Dewi Persik

By misterjames | Published: December 20, 2010

The performer

Dewi Persik, or ‘Depe’ to her fans, is one of the most honest performers in dangdut.  She seems to have two speeds: fast and faster.  Spontaneous, a great voice and an obvous love of performing make it a pleasure to watch her.  She got her start in TV soapies and has done a few films, this is one of her earliest songs:

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This clip also features one of her popular songs, but also shows more of her personality:
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One more, if this doesn’t get your heart rate up, you’re just not paying attention:
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Obviously, performances such as these raise the ire of conservative groups, such as the FPI (Islamic Defender’s Front):

"Here, look at this evil stuff that should be banned"

So when pictures like this one were released, they were enraged, demanding all sorts of horrible punishments:

Depe topless

Even though it doesn’t actually show anything.  Depe later stated the pics were taken in the make-up room before a photo session and were never intended for publication.  Not that an excuse like that was any help to Ariel.

To appease the mullahs, here’s a more sedate pic of Depe:

Dewi Persik in Jilbab

That’s better, isn’t it?  She’s a girl from Jember, after all.

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Is Gayus the Most Stupid Criminal in Indonesia?

By misterjames | Published: November 17, 2010

Tears begin to well up

I’ve written about Gayus Tambunan before.   Last time he tried to run from the law, he was discovered with his wife and kids eating at a popular Singapore food court.  Not the most secretive of locations, but you could almost excuse him for feeling safe in another country (and one which welcomes corruptors).

Breaks down in the court room

Since that time he’s managed to keep himself pretty much out of the headlines.  He was even able to enjoy the jailhouse privileges which prisoners with access to money can buy.  One of those privileges is being able to come and go as one chooses.  It is reported that Gayus paid the warder and other guards a total of about $US40,000 per month for this.  Considering that a prisoner with the funds can fully redecorate his or her cell, buy extra room, flat screen tv, refridgerator, install cable and internet services, bring in chefs, girls, whatever – you would have to think that it would need to be a particularly important meeting for you to leave the prison and risk being spotted by a member of the public.  Having taken the risk, wouldn’t you try to avoid public places where popular events are being held, where you know there will be journalists and cameramen?

Incognito

Gayus was seen attending an international tennis tournament in Bali by a ticket steward who quickly tipped off some reporters.  Wouldn’t you think that a man who had the cash to pay a $40,000 bribe could also afford a better disguise than that obvious wig.  To my mind, it’s not just that the wig doesn’t hide his identifying features, the fact is this wig is so strange that it actually attracts attention to the person wearing it.  Putting that wig on is like wearing a sign saying ‘look at how weird I look!’

I confess that I’m confused.  Is Gayus so contemptuous of the Indonesian legal system that he actually wanted to be seen doing this?  Otherwise, is he such a tennis tragic that he really had to attend that match live?  The only alternative is that he is so arrogant and foolish that he thinks he can disregard the legal system by buying his way in and out of wherever he chooses.

Well, it’s true that until now he HAS been able to buy his way.  But the public indignation has shone the spotlight on him now.  He will have to do better than $40,000 in future.

This will definitely make life a little less comfortable for wealthy prisoners.  In a way, it’s sad that prisoners who were accustomed to a higher living standard than their fellow inmates will find it harder to provide themselves with minor comforts.  But the truely sad thing about this is that Indonesians can no longer trust their prison system to protect them from convicted criminals.  If prisoners can come and go as they want, there are only two solutions.  Either the prison system is completely overhauled and measures put in place to ensure these regular irregularities stop, or a different form of punishment will be developed, such as increased use of corporal or capital punishment.

Should Gayus have another opportunity to leave his prison cell, here are some disguise suggestions:

The many faces of Gayus

In an attempt to regain lost popularity, SBY has adopted the ‘Gayus Style’:

SBY goes Gayus

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Pinocchio Frog among Many Recently Discovered Animals

By aboutindo | Published: June 18, 2010

Indonesia’s biodiversity is second only to Brazil.  New animals are being discovered all the time.  I sometimes wonder how much has been lost in the drive to extend the palm oil plantations.

The long nosed tree frog (pinocchio frog) in the picture was discovered in the Foja mountains in Indonesia’s West Irian Jaya province during an expedition by Conservation International.  Paul Oliver, an amphibian expert, noticed the frog sitting on a bag of rice at the base camp.  He didn’t even have to go outside to find it!

During the four week expedition undertaken two years ago, the team also discovered the world’s smallest kangaroo, a new bat, a gecko, a pigeon, a giant woolly rat and a dozen insects.  And much else besides.  You can be sure there’s still plenty more out there, but who knows for how much longer?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1279090/The-Pinocchio-frog-worlds-smallest-wallaby-discovered-mountain-wilderness.html

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His Wife a Cow, She Died soon after Marriage

By aboutindo | Published: June 12, 2010

Unfortunately he isn’t interested in the sort of cowgirl shown in the pic above.  18 year old Ngurah Alit of Jembrana in Bali was caught stark naked in the act of bestiality with a cow in the middle of a rice paddy.  You can’t get more ‘caught’ than that. 

Alit claimed the cow magically assumed the form of a beautiful girl and it seduced him.

Instead of throwing him in jail, local custom has its own way of dealing with such cases.  Alit was forced to marry the victim of his crime in a full traditional wedding ceremony, presumably with the intention of shaming the man so much that he will never do this crime again.  In fact the ceremony, involving the entire village, police, press and curious people from other villages, had such an effect on him that he was overcome and fainted.

Following the ceremony, man and ‘wife’ were bathed and symbolically drowned in the beach.  The cow was actually drowned and Alit had just his clothes thrown into the sea.  This was done to cleanse Alit and the village of his desecration.

If Alit had comitted his crime in a Western country, it is likely that he would be put through the court system and receive a criminal record, maybe even spend some time in prison.  I think that this Balinese method is a far better way of dealing with these cases.  He has been ridiculed in front of everyone he knows, and so he will surely never do such an act again and people seeing his punishment will think twice before they try to copy him.  Although he will bear the shame all his life, at least it is not officially recorded, it will not prevent him from travelling or getting a job in the future.  Most of all, his village has not lost a good worker to Crime University - the prison system.

As for the cow?  Well, it won’t be seducing any more farm boys.  You may think its fate was harsh, but it really was the most humane decision.  The animal would probably not feel comfortable around humans and in any case, there is no danger that someone will again defile it.

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Music: Campur Sari! Didi Kempot

By aboutindo | Published: June 8, 2010
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Campur sari is Javanese pop music.  While dangdut has some traditional themes, campur sari has more of it and is less influenced by Middle Eastern music.  It also seems to me a bit more laid back than dangdut.

Didi Kempot started his career as a busker and was discovered.  A true rags to riches story.

As you can see from the subtitles, the song is about a guy who’s girl has to leave him at this Balapan Station, Solo.  You don’t get more Javanese than Solo.   Anyhow, you can read the lyrics for yourself.  Feel free to sing along.

Here’s a remix version.  I prefer the dancers in this one:

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Child Abuse? Ardi Rizal – Smoking Baby

By aboutindo | Published: June 2, 2010
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Ardi is two years old and smokes 40 cigarettes a day.  His father introduced him to smoking when he was 18 months.  His parents say he screams if he doesn’t have a cigarette in his hand.

Smoking is a popular activity in Indonesia.  It’s socially acceptable although smoking is more frequent among lower income earners and men are more likely to smoke than women.  The same profile as in Western countries, but a lot more of it happening.  Cigarettes are cheap and are sold in small packs of as few as ten.  Many vendors are happy to break a pack and sell singles.  You can also buy single cigarettes from peddlers at traffic lights.

By far the most popular type of cigarette is the kretek.  Kreteks are a blend of tobacco and cloves (and other minor flavourings).  They are probably more harmful than tobacco-based cigarettes, they certainly seem more harmful if the heavier smoke and strong, sweet smell are anything to go by.  Menthol flavoured smokes also sell well.  Indonesians have a sweet tooth and that extends to smoking.

Just as 30 years ago in the West, cigarette companies are by far the biggest advertisers and are the biggest sponsors of recreational and sports activities.  They can afford to do this because their profits are immense.  There are many rags to riches stories from the early 20th century of young men who got in at the beginning of the cigarette industry.  To get an idea of the profits to be made, you need only visit the House of Sampoerna Museum in Surabaya or drive past the huge Gudang Garum estates in Kediri.

Separating Indonesians from their kretek is going to be a long and hard fought battle.  I feel that it’s probably a battle that doesn’t need to be fought now, considering the many other problems there are to deal with.  Improved public education would help, combined with gradual increases in cigarette taxes.

As for Ardi?  I think it’s more a case of parental stupidity.  You can see from the clip that the boy has been taught swear words and how to make faces to entertain adults.  The fact that he cries when he can’t get a cigarette is a lame excuse.  Any responsible adult, even in Indonesia, knows that it’s unhealthy to smoke, and his parents are responsible for him.

There are claims on the internet that he can’t run.  Well, he is a little fatty and stubborn, why would he run when he has a tricycle.  The claims that child welfare has taken him into custody are untrue.  However it appears that his mother has finally been shamed into seeking help in curing him of his addiction.

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Pijat That Makes Guys Horny

By misterjames | Published: May 2, 2010
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This is something I’ve never seen before.  I suspect its a recent innovation since I associate cupping with East Asian massage, but not with the Indonesian style (correct me if I’m wrong).  What’s novel here, however, is instead of little cups, the practitioner uses horns.  I wonder if horns have some sort of mystic symbolism as it reminds me of the European peasant practice of burying a horn filled with manure in the field on the night of the solstace, or whenever, to make the ground fertile.  Regardless of the iconography, it certainly makes for a strong visual image as it draws a big crowd.

Having long hair is a symbol of an artistic temperament, so the first young man getting the full treatment might be an accomplice of the practitioner.  He draws the crowd and his example emboldens others to try it for themselves.

Other than the cupping, I don’t see much pijat happening in this clip, although the Japanese often combine massage with cupping.  Naturally ‘tanduk’ means horn, in case you were wondering.

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Crackdown on Kuta Cowboys

By misterjames | Published: April 28, 2010
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(Edit: For a better copy of this clip, there’s a link in the comments.  For some reason I haven’t been able to edit it into this post)

Publicity prior to the release of this documentary “Cowboys in Paradise” has created a bit of a stir in Bali.  In fact, the stir has been so big that 28 ”beach boys” were recently rounded up on male prostitution charges.  It’s a pity they didn’t round up their customers too.

My guess is that the 28 were blow-ins from Java and Madura.  It’s typical for the local people to blame immigrants.  Judging from what you can see in a short stroll down the street in Kuta, there are many more male sex workers than those 28.  In fact, this problem has been dogging Bali for at least two decades that I know of.  And it is a problem.  The documentary seems to show prostitution in a light-hearted way, but I have met solo female tourists who have had to flee Kuta because of the unwanted attentions of these ‘cowboys’.  I guess it’s ok for those women who go there for the sex, and I’ve not heard of women accompanied by a male being harassed, but there are many more of these male prostitutes than there are customers and these guys are desperate to make money.

The other issues I’m hearing from internet forums are that the documentary is all lies and the relationships between the female tourists and their Balinese ‘boyfriends’ are healthy and in keeping with the local culture.  Well, the film hasn’t been released yet, so I won’t comment on its veracity.  However, although I’m no anthropologist, from the little I know of Balinese society, those relationships are not normal, they only exist because the women have money and offer a potential opportunity for an overseas lifestyle.  Certainly, some are in it for the pleasure, but considering nearly all of them already have wives I’m not sure if that makes the situation so much better.

I suspect there is an even darker undercurrent to this matter.  It would be interesting to know if the lives of these gigolos have been mapped out by social workers.  I believe many of them have drifted in to Kuta as street kids and then forced into prostitution after suffering abuse at the hands of older boys or pedophile tourists.

If the Balinese police were to arrest a few customers, I’m sure this industry would be finished very quickly.

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Dangdut: Inul Daratista

By misterjames | Published: April 11, 2010
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This is the lady and the moves that got a few Islamic leaders excited.  If you can imagine, after decades of the pious warblings of Rhoma Irama, they started to notice that dangdut music includes much more than that.  In fact, it was perhaps Mr Irama who attracted devout Muslims to dangdut in the first place, but it has always included themes concerning love, mens inconstancy and such.  Anyhow, self-righteous anger was invoked and the fanatics almost succeeded  in banning Inul from the stage.  Thankfully, there was a reaction against this and the tide has somewhat turned against the rampaging censorship that had started to take hold of the country.  My thoughts are that after 40 years of state-sponsored oppression, people weren’t in the mood for more years of religious-based oppression.

The way I’ve written the above makes it seem like a forgone conclusion, but it must have taken plenty of bravery to stand against those so-called leaders, including Rhoma Irama.  I call them ‘leaders’ in the loosest possible way.  A true leader doesn’t simply react and follow the herd of consensus opinion, and a true leader doesn’t change his view as soon as it becomes apparent that it’s not popular.  He also doesn’t try to ruin people’s careers thoughtlessly.  Common sense finally came in the form of Abdurrahman Wahid, a former president, and Mostafa Bisri, another prominent theologian, each of whom defended her (so don’t think all Muslims are mindless fanatics). 

Well, you can judge for yourself whether Inul’s performance style is pornographic.  In my opinion, she can dance and she can sing, but she can’t do them both at the same time.  Frankly, I’ve seen better singers (you’ve seen a couple on this blog already), and I’ve seen more suggestive dancing (you won’t see it on this blog, but it’s on the internet for anyone to find).

The following video is the song which kicked off her career, and her raunchy reputation, back in 1992 – Final Countdown.  I’m not sure if this is the original clip, though, as there’s a date of 2003 and she looks a bit tired for a 13-year-old, although the dance steps certainly look 20 years out of date:

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She plays a mean air guitar, doesn’t she?  I’m wondering whether she wears a false butt?  Most Indonesians have flat ones, but she’s got a nice rounded one – can’t be real, can it?

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Jakarta Street Food: Es Buah Segar

By misterjames | Published: March 27, 2010
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Fresh iced fruit.  One of the nicest foodie things about SE Asia is the tropical fruit and fruit juices.  I don’t think there are any fruits which are ONLY found in Indonesia, but you can certainly find most fruits there.  The only fruits I know of which aren’t grown in Indonesia are the ones needing frost such as cherry and berrys; and the real dry-climate ones, like fig, date, pomegranite.  The only fruit which I’ve never seen in a supermarket or wet market are the pomegranite and the fig.  I suspect pomegranites are imported because Indonesians have a name for them – delima; but the one fruit they are totally mystified about is the humble fig, even dried figs are absent from the Indonesian menu.  Well, there’s a market opportunity for all my readers who are fig farmers.

On the menu which shows in the first few seconds of the clip, the list includes: mangga (mango), alpukat (avocado), melon, sirsak (soursop), jambu (guava), markisa (like passionfruit, but much much nicer), tomat, wortel (carrot), strawberry, belimbing (starfruit), apel, pear, mix, durien(?) and a couple of others I can’t make out. 

In the fruit salad that he’s making, I notice he uses a couple of fruits which aren’t on the menu: coconut and kiwi.  I’m surprised to notice he doesn’t put in any banana.  A little lime juice would also be nice, I think.

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