INDONESIA.......the 4th NATION, worked!

Indonesia is the 4th country i've actually "worked" in. The other 3 were the UK, Philippines and of course...Malaysia!

7 things I liked about Indonesia:-

• NOT having to wait for taxis.


• CHEAP Services e.g. Haircut, Shoe repairs by a Cobbler, Reflexology massage etc.


• ENTREPRENEURIAL people.


• One's patronage at most establishment are really valued/appreciated!


• RANGE of Choices to suit one's budget...from dead cheap to extremely extravagant.


• Spending around 1million Rupiah per month for a shared Room(Rumah Kos) with laundry & ironing thrown in!


• CREATIVE, elections!

Summary of my exposure:-

INDONESIA (the 4th NATION): Internship programme at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta. Attached to the Political & Security Co-operation Directorate under Mr. Termsak. APSC is one of the 3 pillars of the ASEAN community. May - July 2009.

I like to dedicate the song "BERITA KEPADA KAWAN" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAaFPPTSvhY ) to all my Indonesian friends. I find this song so apt to describe Indonesia...so much potential and resources whilst at the same time so much sufferings!

PHILIPPINES (the 3rd STATE): Attached to NDT, Manila and went to PETRON Depot, Sasa City, Mindanao. Mindanao was my first ever experience in a 'conflict' area...skirmishes were taking place at Cotabato. What an experience...to be 'working' with one's back to the beautiful sea and experiencing cool sea breeze whilst surrounded by guards with guns & machine guns watching anxiously! Never been back to Mindanao, since.

United Kingdom the second Country (1991-1994)! As a student...mainly menial labour! Dish-Washer, General Cleaner, Kitchen Assistant, Cook & Head Cook. My main employer was Kelly's and Salina's German Coffeehouse in Sheffield.

Also did small-scale businesses...mainly food-related.

MALAYSIA (HOME COUNTRY). 1st Paid Job was as a Shop Assistant when I was 8-9years old...1st official Job - at Shangri-la Hotel, KL after my SPM. Other organisations included A&W, Athlete's World, EON Finance(EON Bank Group), UNISYS MSC...where I was attached to the PM's Department at the newly completed Putrajaya administrative city in 2000-2001, Perfect Know-How & Araf Vektor.

MY RM177 Comment / 177 Rupiah Ngobrol:

Having stayed in Indonesia (Jakarta, Bandung & Yogyakarta...in addition to Bali in 1996) - but NOT as a tourist, I'd learnt to appreciate Malaysia more. INDONESIA for me is a SLEEPING GIANT, so...so much potential...if only they can get their act together!

PS: This posting was supposed to appear before I went to Jakarta....BUT due to security reason(s) namely not wanting others to know of my absence, only NOW is the posting made!

PILPRES INDONESIA (Presidential Elections)

Tomorrow...Wednesday, 8th July 2009 is D-DAY for the more than 238million Indonesians!

It is the Presidential Elections ( commonly referred to here as "PILPRES" ).

The next President will lead Indonesia from 2009-2014.

Will the existing President SBY prevail?...or, his predecessor Ibu Megawati ...or, will GOLKAR lead Indonesia again with the current Wapres(Wakil Presiden i.e. Vice-President) Jusuf Kalla?

O...G...K...ONLY GOD KNOWS!

( Aspiring Candidates )

( sample of the Ballot paper )

Having arrived in May for my internship at the ASEAN Secretariat-Jakarta (ASEC) , the campaigning was an eye-opener for me as it allows me to compare the campaigning style of 2 different yet similar country/culture i.e. Malaysia and Indonesia.

Indonesia is the 3rd country (after Malaysia & UK) where I'm observing elections....surprisingly I first voted NOT in Malaysia but in the UK and campaigned in Sheffield for the Liberal Democrats (...for the simple fact that Paddy Ashdown used to serve in Malaysia).

Hence, some personal (NOT as ASEC rep.) observations:

• Only 2 countries in ASEAN chose their President/PM direct...the other being Philippines.


• Almost equal Coverage on TV for the 3 aspiring candidates...( Malaysia MUST Learn ). Point to Note: Voter Education programmes (i.e. how to vote, exercise your rights...blah,blah,blah) are partly sponsored by Japan/Japanese NGOs.


• Official campaigning ended on Saturday i.e. 4days before actual elections. On Sunday, banners, posters etc. started/have to be removed...I suppose its to give voters time to reflect - FREE of external influences!


• Malaysia's ruling(federal) coalition is referred to as Barisan Nasional. Indonesia has a party called BARNAS (short for Barisan Nasional).


• Usage of ink to ensure that voters DO NOT vote twice.


• ...and in a compromise(despite a court ruling re the electoral register) to ensure the elections proceed - voters who are not registered/listed in the electoral roll, can vote at the last hour before the polling stations are closed! GO FIGURE!

Some comparisons:

• Extensive use of paraphernalia like banners, posters etc. in Indonesia & Malaysia, whereas in UK...its usage is considered minimal.


• Supporters of contenders will go around treating people at certain places. e.g. in Kebayoran Baru(where I'm staying), certain factions will go around saying "this treat is on us...more to come,if we win". Same goes for Malaysia...reminds me of Ketari, Pahang by-election ...amongst others!


• Almost Equal coverage of contenders in TV media in UK(at least where Labour & Conservative parties are concerned) and Indonesia.......but not in Malaysia.
  

Based on the feedbacks I get in Jakarta(mainly from taxi drivers, food stall operators & public at large) & to a lesser extent Bandung folks...it will be a contest between SBY-Boediono & JK-Wiranto. Ibu Mega seemed to be setting-up Prabowo for the next Presidential bid in 2014...aah! Politics...who would have thought that Bung Karno's daughter would ever team-up with Pak Suharto's former son-in-law!!??

My 177Rupiah Ngobrol(Comment):

The election is a fight between the PAST , PRESENT and a wannabe FUTURE.

I forecast GREAT THINGS happening in Indonesia...if, they chose right!

I would think that the SBY-Boediono ticket will win handsomely....but, then again so did BN in the 12th General Elections held in 2008!

~ I WISH INDONESIA...ALL THE BEST & CHOOSE WISELY ~

ASEAN in need of a HIGH IMPACT Branding Project!

UPDATE: June 2009,"The Jakarta Globe"

" ASEAN Agrees to Co-operate in Space Work "

( http://thejakartaglobe.com/national/asean-agrees-to-cooperate-in-space-work/310495 )

2015 is the D-Day for the creation of an ASEAN Community. However, Talk to the food stall operators operating around the ASEAN Secretariat and chances are they won't know what ASEAN stands for apart from it i.e. Gedung ASEAN being some sort of a diplomatic place.

It's time therefore for ASEAN to embark on a high impact branding exercise to ensure that ASEAN citizens can relate to being part of ASEAN and the "One Vision, One Identity, One Community" slogan. Just having an ASEAN anthem, ASEAN logo on declaration forms and general capacity building exercises......DOES NOT cut it anymore!

Hence, where better to start than from SPACE...the final frontier i.e. by having an ASEAN Satelite for Monitoring Purposes programme. It is with this motive in mind that a similarly titled Policy Paper was proposed and submitted to the ASEAN Secretariat(ASEC) during my Internship Programme at the ASEC.

The advent of an ASEAN Satellite for Monitoring Purposes will not only endear ASEAN citizens to ASEAN if promoted and marketed right but, more importantly it can be used to monitor/address non-traditional security issues like:-

• 
  
  Natural Disasters e.g. Asian Tsunami & Huricane Nargis
  


• 
  
  Trans-border Haze



• 
  
  Piracy and other Maritime Issues like Illegal Fishing
  and Overlapping Teritorial Claims ( South China Sea & Ambalat )



• 
  
  Overlapping Airspace Control issues
  ( Johore-Malaysia & Singapore and Singapore & Batam-Indonesia )

Countries with a Comparative Advantage(CA) in Satellite Technology are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. By virtue of having an Astronaut(Angkasawan) programme...Malaysia, should seize the initiative and further expand the workings of the SCOSA - Sub Committe on Space Technology & Applications!

(Clockwise from Top Right: Fauziah Jalil, Myself, Azrul Shahreen, Muhammad Rum & Zokhri Idris. Not in pict. Zikry Kholil).
http://thejakartaglobe.com/national/asean-agrees-to-cooperate-in-space-work/310495

Fauziah Jalil & I proposed the Satellite Policy Paper Proposal whilst Azrul, Rum, Zokhri and Zikry(not in pict) proposed a Monitoring Mechanism for the Myanmar elections.

Thank you to Mr.Dhannan Sunoto (Director,Cross Sectoral Co-operation), Ms.Adelina Kamal(ADR/Head-Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance) & Mr. Alexander Lim(ADR/Head-Science & Technology) for consenting to grant an interview with my team and for the valuable inputs. Our heartfelt thanks is also extended to Ms.Gayatri Probosasi (Special Officer to ASEAN Sec-Gen & Strategic Planning) for helping us with the structure and format of our proposal!

Not forgetting,the ever wonderful Miss Arlene Taulu for making things happen for us.