Jakarta Globe talks about Shariah Law in Aceh in a 2-page centrefold in today's edition. It really is an interesting read.
One of the religious bylaws in Aceh requires that all Muslims don on Islamic dress. Women are required to wear head scarves and are forbidden to wear pants. According to Ramli Mansur, leader of the Aceh Party, it is stated in the Koran that if a woman imitates a man by wearing pants, then she will spend 500 yeas in solitude before she ever gets to heaven. (Can someone please confirm if this is true? It'll save me the trouble of having to hunt down an English version of the Koran and find out exactly in what context that statement was made in.) Mansur also carried on to say (this is his personal opinion mind you and isn't stated anywhere in the Koran) that when women don't dress according to Shariah law, they're asking to get raped. And that it's a fact that men go wild when they see a woman's breasts and thighs because they arouse them.
I can't believe that someone would actually utter that sentiment knowing full well that his words will be published in the newspaper. I hope to God that he was misquoted because there is never ever a valid excuse for rape. You can never justify rape. To think that there are people who think that just because a woman walks around in shorts, exposing her knees and thighs, she's asking to be raped? In that case, have those men, who are so prone to raping women just because they set their eyes on certain body parts, dig their eyes out in all their religious self-righteousness so they'll never ever be tempted.
What a damn brainless thing to say!
p/s: Oh and by the way, when asked about health and education issues in Aceh, Mansur mentions that he does think about those issues too but religion and the implementation of Shariah Law is more important than those issues. And the reporter probably rubbed Mansur the wrong way because he went on to add that "Your kind of question (with regards to health and education) is characteristic of rebellious people with short-term views. You’re considered an apostate if you hate Islam." (Ha! How about that! Gotta love this man's priorities and foresight! It's okay to have a life expectancy of 30 years and completely illiteracy in the community, as long as women wear their skirts and cover their heads! Prime example why we need to separate church from state.)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Macet!
What was supposed to be a 40 minutes journey turned into an nightmare 2 and a half hours in the car. Today's car ride was Murphy's Law at its finest.
We left the mall at 3pm and came to an absolute standstill in the CBD because some hot-shot government official was driving through and the police literally block off the entire stretch of road (imagine blocking off the entire stretch of Shenton Way just because say, Vivian Balakrishnan was visiting one of the offices there) for about an hour. Everyone basically sat in their vehicles and fume. By then, it was 4pm and office workers started steaming out in hordes because everyone is trying to get home to break fast with their families. Without any traffic jam, it usually takes us about 15-20 minutes to get home from the CBD. To add insult to injury, it started raining! When it rains in Jakarta, traffic (for some inexplicable reason) slows to a crawl even if it's just a drizzle.
It was about an hour later when we caught sight of the lane that leads to our house but the traffic wasn't moving. I can see the turn just 20 metres ahead but we're stuck in such a bad jam that the cars were stationary bumper to bumper. Took us another 20 minutes to travel that fateful 20 metres. I think towards the end of the car ride, Jamhuri (my driver) was about to pull his hair out in frustration.
I swear I'll just sit at home from now on. No more car rides for me!
We left the mall at 3pm and came to an absolute standstill in the CBD because some hot-shot government official was driving through and the police literally block off the entire stretch of road (imagine blocking off the entire stretch of Shenton Way just because say, Vivian Balakrishnan was visiting one of the offices there) for about an hour. Everyone basically sat in their vehicles and fume. By then, it was 4pm and office workers started steaming out in hordes because everyone is trying to get home to break fast with their families. Without any traffic jam, it usually takes us about 15-20 minutes to get home from the CBD. To add insult to injury, it started raining! When it rains in Jakarta, traffic (for some inexplicable reason) slows to a crawl even if it's just a drizzle.
It was about an hour later when we caught sight of the lane that leads to our house but the traffic wasn't moving. I can see the turn just 20 metres ahead but we're stuck in such a bad jam that the cars were stationary bumper to bumper. Took us another 20 minutes to travel that fateful 20 metres. I think towards the end of the car ride, Jamhuri (my driver) was about to pull his hair out in frustration.
I swear I'll just sit at home from now on. No more car rides for me!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Disturbing Chat
We went out last night for a round of drinks and dinner with a couple whom we met here in Jakarta. We had a very "interesting" conversation during pre-dinner drinks with A (I shan't name names and you'll understand why as you read on) while waiting for her husband to finish up work for the day. A has had problems with her driver, or rather drivers, since she arrived here in Jakarta. She's been here for 5 months and have gone through 4 drivers. The conversation went something like this:
Us: How's the new driver? And what happened to the previous fella?
A: The new one is alright. Previous guy told us he didn't want to work anymore.
Us: He resigned?! (It's shocking because firstly, the company pays our drivers above the current market rate and secondly, a job as a driver is pretty hard to come by.)
A: Yah. He claimed that he's sick and doesn't want to work anymore.
Us: Ahhhh okay.
A: And I didn't like him much either. He was too religious.
Us: What do you mean too religious?
A: He needs to pray 5 times a day. And he doesn't pick up my calls when I call him while he's praying.
Us: Erm... He's muslim. Most of them do and I don't think they can pick up the phone while praying. (DUH!)
A: Also he's fasting and keeps asking me to give him some time off in the evenings to break his fast. Come on, if he wants to be religious, then he shouldn't be a driver! What am I supposed to do while he prays and breaks fast? Sit and wait for him?! He's just lazy! (Usually, our driver takes about 20-30 minutes to grab dinner after sundown. It's just 30 minutes and the poor dude hasn't eaten or had anything to drink for the entire day. Cut the dude some slack!)
Us: *shocked into silence*
I had to bite my tongue and look the other way because I was afraid I would say something nasty and regret it later. Stephen just smiled and there was an awkward silence after that conversation. The icing on the cake is that her husband is Muslim, albeit a non-practising one.
Maybe it's because we grew up in Singapore where we're exposed to different races and religions, and have been taught at a young age to be sensitive to other races. Perhaps we've had a leg up when it comes to being more racially tolerant but it's still shocking to me that there are people out there who think like A and who are so vocal about their bigotry. That particular conversation really disturbed me.
Us: How's the new driver? And what happened to the previous fella?
A: The new one is alright. Previous guy told us he didn't want to work anymore.
Us: He resigned?! (It's shocking because firstly, the company pays our drivers above the current market rate and secondly, a job as a driver is pretty hard to come by.)
A: Yah. He claimed that he's sick and doesn't want to work anymore.
Us: Ahhhh okay.
A: And I didn't like him much either. He was too religious.
Us: What do you mean too religious?
A: He needs to pray 5 times a day. And he doesn't pick up my calls when I call him while he's praying.
Us: Erm... He's muslim. Most of them do and I don't think they can pick up the phone while praying. (DUH!)
A: Also he's fasting and keeps asking me to give him some time off in the evenings to break his fast. Come on, if he wants to be religious, then he shouldn't be a driver! What am I supposed to do while he prays and breaks fast? Sit and wait for him?! He's just lazy! (Usually, our driver takes about 20-30 minutes to grab dinner after sundown. It's just 30 minutes and the poor dude hasn't eaten or had anything to drink for the entire day. Cut the dude some slack!)
Us: *shocked into silence*
I had to bite my tongue and look the other way because I was afraid I would say something nasty and regret it later. Stephen just smiled and there was an awkward silence after that conversation. The icing on the cake is that her husband is Muslim, albeit a non-practising one.
Maybe it's because we grew up in Singapore where we're exposed to different races and religions, and have been taught at a young age to be sensitive to other races. Perhaps we've had a leg up when it comes to being more racially tolerant but it's still shocking to me that there are people out there who think like A and who are so vocal about their bigotry. That particular conversation really disturbed me.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Ramadhan
I just found out that puasa month for Muslims starts tomorrow which means no food and drink for the hours from approximately 4:30am to 6pm. Whoa! That's an awful lot of hours to go without food and water. I wonder how it'll be here in Jakarta during Ramadhan. Will it be rude if I were to go out for lunch and have a huge feast while (almost) everyone here is fasting?
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Pretty Things
We decided to indulge a little and get some fresh flowers for the house. Brought my brand new vase over to a streetside flora stall in Kemang Dalam to purchase some flowers. I was using my iPhone so the photo really doesn't do it justice. Did a little bargaining and the arrangement costs me about $12 SGD. Pretty eh? I've been admiring it all day. :)
Friday, August 6, 2010
What Happens When We Go Furniture Shopping.
This is a typical scenario when we go furniture shopping:
me: ini kursi berapa?
shopkeeper: xxx rupiah.
me: wah! mahal sekali! ada discount?
shopkeeper: yyy rupiah.
me: tidak bisa! lebih kurang.
(The negotiation would go on for about 10 minutes and I'll make a move to proceed onto the next shop if we're going nowhere.)
shopkeeper: kaka. okok. zzz rupiah.
me: terima kasih!
after all that negotiation and AFTER we've agreed on the price, my husband comes back to me saying...
stephen: er... actually i don't think this one is nice. i think the other one looks better.
me: but they're both the same and this one is cheaper!
stephen: OMG! they're totally different. look at the width of the arms on this chair as compared to that? (a 1mm difference in width.)
me: but this is cheaper! you said you wanted this chair!
stephen: no la. I'd rather pay 200,000 rupiah more for this one. the design is also nicer (a very very very slight difference) plus I like the dinks in the wood and the colour is slightly different too.
me: wah lau! (I'll be rolling my eyes while proceeding to start another round of negotiation with the poor shopkeeper.)
me: ini kursi berapa?
shopkeeper: xxx rupiah.
me: wah! mahal sekali! ada discount?
shopkeeper: yyy rupiah.
me: tidak bisa! lebih kurang.
(The negotiation would go on for about 10 minutes and I'll make a move to proceed onto the next shop if we're going nowhere.)
shopkeeper: kaka. okok. zzz rupiah.
me: terima kasih!
after all that negotiation and AFTER we've agreed on the price, my husband comes back to me saying...
stephen: er... actually i don't think this one is nice. i think the other one looks better.
me: but they're both the same and this one is cheaper!
stephen: OMG! they're totally different. look at the width of the arms on this chair as compared to that? (a 1mm difference in width.)
me: but this is cheaper! you said you wanted this chair!
stephen: no la. I'd rather pay 200,000 rupiah more for this one. the design is also nicer (a very very very slight difference) plus I like the dinks in the wood and the colour is slightly different too.
me: wah lau! (I'll be rolling my eyes while proceeding to start another round of negotiation with the poor shopkeeper.)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
What Would You Have Done?
Most of the expats here in Jakarta are provided with a driver. Stephen's colleague is no different. Let's call him Peter.
Peter arrived in Jakarta a month ago and was assigned a driver. This driver however did not speak English and communication was a constant problem. Neither party could understand each other, so Peter wasn't able to tell his driver what time to pick him up and where. I completely understand how frustrating that can be especially if you're new to Jakarta and you rely a lot on your driver to bring you to places. So naturally Peter wanted to change his driver to someone who at least speaks basic English.
When Peter's current driver found out that he will be replaced very soon, he went pleading to Peter to keep him for at least one more month. School starts this month and school fees in Jakarta are not affordable for the average man on the street. In order to afford for his children to go to school, Peter's driver is using this current month's salary to pay for the school fees, which means he has no money for food. And he's banking on next month's salary to pay for food for his family. The driver needed at least a month's notice so that he can have time to look for another job else his family will have to go without food until he finds something else. But if Peter is to keep his driver, he'll have to put up with the inconvenience and frustration for another month.
In the end, Peter didn't keep his driver.
If you were Peter, what would you have done?
Living in Jakarta, you hear stories like these all the time. And sometimes it just breaks my heart how poor the poor really are. It's difficult to witness and it's made more so when the income disparity is so huge. The rich are sitting comfortably in restaurants in the malls while the poor are living out of cardboard boxes just outside the malls.
Peter arrived in Jakarta a month ago and was assigned a driver. This driver however did not speak English and communication was a constant problem. Neither party could understand each other, so Peter wasn't able to tell his driver what time to pick him up and where. I completely understand how frustrating that can be especially if you're new to Jakarta and you rely a lot on your driver to bring you to places. So naturally Peter wanted to change his driver to someone who at least speaks basic English.
When Peter's current driver found out that he will be replaced very soon, he went pleading to Peter to keep him for at least one more month. School starts this month and school fees in Jakarta are not affordable for the average man on the street. In order to afford for his children to go to school, Peter's driver is using this current month's salary to pay for the school fees, which means he has no money for food. And he's banking on next month's salary to pay for food for his family. The driver needed at least a month's notice so that he can have time to look for another job else his family will have to go without food until he finds something else. But if Peter is to keep his driver, he'll have to put up with the inconvenience and frustration for another month.
In the end, Peter didn't keep his driver.
If you were Peter, what would you have done?
Living in Jakarta, you hear stories like these all the time. And sometimes it just breaks my heart how poor the poor really are. It's difficult to witness and it's made more so when the income disparity is so huge. The rich are sitting comfortably in restaurants in the malls while the poor are living out of cardboard boxes just outside the malls.
Yes. No. Maybe.
Uncertainty is a large part of our lives.I don't feel it on a day to day basis, but sometimes it pops up when I have to make certain decisions.
For example, should I sign up for the 1-year subscription of the Jakarta Globe? If I do, it's a huge saving and I get an additional 3 months free, so that's 15 months in total at a discounted price. But I don't know whether we'll still be in Jakarta by then.
Most people will say go ahead and do it. What are the chances of moving so soon right? Well I happily signed up for a mobile phone plan (with a commitment period of 6 months) in NZ after being told that we'll be there for at least another year. A couple of weeks after, I was informed that we'll be leaving in approximately two months' time! Ha!
I used to get really upset because it's difficult to make long-term, or even short-term plans for that matter. But being here in Jakarta helps put things in perspective. These are little issues as compared to the kind of problems some people on the streets of Jakarta have. They are struggling to put food on the table, let alone be able to afford to send their children to school. Some don't know where and when will the next meal be. Those are real problems with uncertainty, as opposed to my endless whining.
For example, should I sign up for the 1-year subscription of the Jakarta Globe? If I do, it's a huge saving and I get an additional 3 months free, so that's 15 months in total at a discounted price. But I don't know whether we'll still be in Jakarta by then.
Most people will say go ahead and do it. What are the chances of moving so soon right? Well I happily signed up for a mobile phone plan (with a commitment period of 6 months) in NZ after being told that we'll be there for at least another year. A couple of weeks after, I was informed that we'll be leaving in approximately two months' time! Ha!
I used to get really upset because it's difficult to make long-term, or even short-term plans for that matter. But being here in Jakarta helps put things in perspective. These are little issues as compared to the kind of problems some people on the streets of Jakarta have. They are struggling to put food on the table, let alone be able to afford to send their children to school. Some don't know where and when will the next meal be. Those are real problems with uncertainty, as opposed to my endless whining.
Monday, August 2, 2010
I Found the Folder!
It was on top of the fridge. I must have left it there when I opened the freezer to get some ice for my drink.
I'm really getting old.
I'm really getting old.
Are Housekeepers Good to Have?
I never really believed my mom when she said that maids are tricky to handle. Figured she was just exaggerating and making a mountain out of a molehill. Well I found out the hard way that the mountain is truly real!
Parti has been working for me for the last 1.5 months. She started out really enthusiastic, has a realy glib tongue and can be a real crowd pleaser when she wants to. I hired her as my housekeeper, mostly to clean the house and do my laundry and ironing. I don't have kids, and I don't require her to cook dinners so life is relatively easy breezy for her. Plus I told her it was okay for her to leave once she's done with her housework. Yes I know. My mistake because she was leaving at 2:30pm every day. And I was thinking to myself, hey, this lady is super efficient. Well, that is until I took a walk into the other rooms and realised that she hasn't been cleaning them. (I usually only hang out in the living areas and my bedrooms. That's more than enough space for me so I don't go peeking into the rest of the rooms.)
I pointed this out to her and loe and behold, she started crying. She started crying even more when I told her that I can't loan her the money that she asked for because she's not doing a good job at all. (Oh yes. She wanted to take a loan from me. And I told her it's all dependent on her work performance.) She thought about it and then decided to resign! FWAH! I get mad just thinking about it. It really irks me that she caused me to lose a little faith in my household staff. I sent her packing right away and had to scramble to hire a replacement.
All this happened when I had guests over. My poor cousin was a little overwhelmed I'm sure. I eventually found a replacement, Narti. She comes with glowing references but then again, so did Parti. The house is a lot cleaner now and Narti seems more genuine as well. But because my bad experience, I'm also a lot stricter with Narti. Well, hopefully she will work out a lot better than the previous one. Fingers crossed.
Parti has been working for me for the last 1.5 months. She started out really enthusiastic, has a realy glib tongue and can be a real crowd pleaser when she wants to. I hired her as my housekeeper, mostly to clean the house and do my laundry and ironing. I don't have kids, and I don't require her to cook dinners so life is relatively easy breezy for her. Plus I told her it was okay for her to leave once she's done with her housework. Yes I know. My mistake because she was leaving at 2:30pm every day. And I was thinking to myself, hey, this lady is super efficient. Well, that is until I took a walk into the other rooms and realised that she hasn't been cleaning them. (I usually only hang out in the living areas and my bedrooms. That's more than enough space for me so I don't go peeking into the rest of the rooms.)
I pointed this out to her and loe and behold, she started crying. She started crying even more when I told her that I can't loan her the money that she asked for because she's not doing a good job at all. (Oh yes. She wanted to take a loan from me. And I told her it's all dependent on her work performance.) She thought about it and then decided to resign! FWAH! I get mad just thinking about it. It really irks me that she caused me to lose a little faith in my household staff. I sent her packing right away and had to scramble to hire a replacement.
All this happened when I had guests over. My poor cousin was a little overwhelmed I'm sure. I eventually found a replacement, Narti. She comes with glowing references but then again, so did Parti. The house is a lot cleaner now and Narti seems more genuine as well. But because my bad experience, I'm also a lot stricter with Narti. Well, hopefully she will work out a lot better than the previous one. Fingers crossed.
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