Appreciating and understanding others

This is the period where people forgive each other - though we should do so everyday, every moment of our life.

To forgive, or to ask for forgiveness, in a way is like corrective maintenance. You know, we correct or replace what is wrong.

The better way is preventive maintenance. That is, maintain it before it fails. Or in this context, try not to do stuff - intentionally and unintentionally - that will require you to ask for forgiveness later.

To do a good preventive maintenance, one may require to perform analysis and, in some cases, simulations.

One of the biggest challenge in social life is the interaction between men and women (one of which men usually apologize without knowing exactly what was wrong). Time Out New York did a little simulation to better understand each sex, particularly in the area of bouncing boobs and dangling dicks. Their reporters traded parts to find out how it feels.

And here are the verdicts:

Guys, I’m not moved by your penis plight. Granted, had I been wearing a pair of loose-fitting boxer shorts, I may have had some motion-control issues—it couldn’t be any fun to run or bike with a set of sweaty objects thwacking against your thigh. But dudes, take advantage of the fact that American Apparel has brought back the brief and as far as I can tell, you’ll be golden. I’ll never make fun of your tighty-whities again. —Kate Lowenstein

I experienced no chronic back problems or sore nipples; the problem that plagued me the most was the punching-bag effect that occurred when doing arm curls. Though this was catnip to my perpetually fifth-grade male mentality, had the boobs actually been attached to my chest, the overwhelming feeling would’ve likely been one of pain, not fascination. —Drew Toal

Let's better appreciate and understand others.

Happy Eid, selamat lebaran, mohon maaf lahir dan batin.

[Read more...]

Confused with history

Still with the spirit of independence day, and the fact that I'm home alone and got nothing to do, I was thinking about some heroic stories from Indonesia's independence day history.

One, the only one indeed, that came in mind was the Battle of Aru Sea. It is the one whose diorama I still remember after my visit to the Satria Mandala museum, thanks to Mas Aroengbinang.

It's truly heroic. One of three Indonesia's warships (MTB, motor torpedo boat,-type) decided to let itself to be a target so that the other two could run away from two Dutch destroyers' attack. The ship, KRI Macan Tutul, eventually got hit and sank.

Googling for more information about the incident, however, led me to some variations from the story I learned back in the elementary school. The version in Wikipedia seems to be the most updated one.

It says, the decision was for all ships to return and sail away. KRI Macan Tutul, unfortunately, got a problem and kept making right turn. (Another version is going straight to the two destroyers.)

Holy moly! What's happened? What has really happened?

Sigh...

Well, the heroes are still heroes. They fought for their country, and they deserved to become heroes. Not only the high-ranked officers. But all who contributed - physically, mentally, or with any other means.

But hell, why histories are tweaked? Were they genuine mistakes? Were they versions of the writers (being subjective)?

If a-century-ago histories are not that accurate, what about those from thousands years ago?

Yes, like today's religions.

I guess the truth is out there... we just want to believe...


Other interesting websites that discuss Indonesia's history are Anusapati (check an entry on heroism) and Beni's Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

[Read more...]

Fitna from our perspective

To go with the flow, I think it doesn't hurt to write some shallow observations about Fitna - the movie. I am not interested in watching this BS, nor do I have empathy for any side. People do BS everyday.

I do, however, observe that the Indonesian government is not that much smarter than the Malaysian government on internet. Or perhaps that the Malaysian government is not as dumb as some bloggers thought, especially after this Indonesian Minister of Information's blunder.

Fitna does have a direct impact to our life - at least that's how Tari and I would like to think so.

Ben's best friend, Sam, has been missing several play-dates. His mother has been, umm, kind of avoiding us.

Based on this limited experience, we concluded that we have been impacted by Fitna. Sam's mom feels unease with us because of that movie, she rather puts a distance. She probably is afraid that we will revenge, somehow, through his boy.

We failed, though, to think what we had done that may cause them avoid us (well, if they do at all - good question to answer). Perhaps it's us, not them.

But hey, there's this guy Wilders to blame on. Everyone else does, so why don't we?

We're just another human being, after all.

[Read more...]

Déjà vu

Since the first day of our arrival in Kuala Lumpur, about two-and-a-half years ago, both Tari and I share one (of our many) impressions of KL. We think that KL today (or at least part of it) is somewhat like Jakarta around the 80's and 90's - with today's technology.

Don't get me wrong - this is mostly positive impression.

When our relocation agent took us to the Central Market, it immediately reminded us to Blok M, especially the part next to Aldiron Plaza, where Bakmi Boy and shops selling custom plaques, stickers and shirts were located - near the bowling alley. Aldiron Plaza, by the way, rocked. I remember two or three music stores on the ground floor, some video rentals on the top floor, and of course Happy Days. Those were the happy days...
(photo from Yahoo! Travel)

We also think that traffic here is comparable to that of Jakarta in the early 90's - both from the perspectives of traffic jam or congestion, and also from the number of motorcycles. Oh how we thank God for this.

The on-going development, i.e. structural construction, is also similar, in one way or another. There is hardly any places in KL that passes the day without any construction - just like Jakarta during its booming period. Even development of commercial places in residential areas is happening - which I don't think is a good thing.

Nightlife seems to be around the ballpark. I ain't no club hopper - far from it; but even then I can clearly tell the difference from what my friends in Jakarta tell me (yeah, right). You know, it's like the era of Musro, Ori, Ebony, or Parrots in Jakarta. Or when Kemang was still under control. Or Studio East in Bandung. Ouch!

The recent arrest of HINDRAF's members was also quite identical to how freedom of speech was in Indonesia in the 80's. Even Taiping prison seems to serve the same function as Nusa Kambangan prison (well, they are both prisons).

I believe there are more that, being insensitive and ignorant, I overlooked. But my take is, if history is to repeat itself, these two neighboring countries have to learn from each other.

Malaysia can learn to not repeat the mistakes that Indonesia made - whatever they were. For Indonesia, having long term plan and vision (and execute them with less deviation) is probably one of the things to copy from Malaysia.

[Read more...]

Joining the Indonesia Global Network

The link to join the LinkedIn group should be:
http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/48376/79692A0FE65F

68 members in LinkedIn, covering all "regions", except Africa and South America (the closest is Mexico).

[Read more...]

Indonesia Global Network

A friend of mine - and I am helping him - initiated a LinkedIn networking group called Indonesia Global Network. We also created a mailing list in Yahoo! with the same name.

The idea is to connect fellow Indonesians who are currently living abroad. We hope the members will help each other in their professional and personal life by exchanging information, expertise, experience, and favors.

I've invited some fellow bloggers to this group, and please feel free to join if you haven't. The group is currently limited only to those who are living abroad at this moment. We try not to overwhelm ourselves and grow out of control. There are definitely ups and downs of this, and I look forward to hearing your opinions.

Here are the links:
Network group in LinkedIn
Mailing list on Yahoo!


Dear Members,

Thank you for joining the Indonesia Global Network (IGN), and welcome to the group. You are now connected with other Indonesian Professionals with similar background and situation.

The idea of initiating this group is for members to help each other in their professional and personal life by exchanging information, expertise, experience, and favors. This mailing list is a medium for collective communication among members, in either English or Indonesian. Please feel free to invite your qualified connections to join this group.

We would appreciate if you could share the following information to the group:
- How long you have been away from Indonesia.
- What you like most from the place you are currently living.
- Your expectations from this group and suggestions to get there.

Please take the advantage of LinkedIn IGN group network to view other members' rich professional profiles, through the link below. You may contact these individuals directly to discuss your specific interest.

http://www.linkedin.com/search?search=&sortCriteria=3&groupFilter=48376

In posting and sending messages to all group members, please observe the following common etiquettes:
- No spam, MLM, commercial advertisement, or things alike. Senders will be banned immediately without notice.
- Set this mailing list as exception in the auto-reply features (such as out-of-office auto reply).
- Keep email subject relevant to the content.
- Respect others' opinions; do not insult others when in disagreement.
- No attachment. Please files send to Admins to upload and member to view/ download at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndonesiaGlobalNetwork/files/

Best,
Admins

[Read more...]

Bridge blogging and English for Indonesians

Four blogs that I regularly read shared their views about bridge blogging last week, a topic started by Unspun's "More Indonesians needed for bridge blogging".

Then Miund expanded on her "On Bridge-Blogging". About how (some) Indonesians perceive English blogs as ‘hard to read’ or ‘pretentious’.

And that perception is really a problem.

I once was asked by an Indonesian colleague: "Is it our ability to speak in English that limit our opportunities to pursue career overseas?"

He was referring to the small number of Indonesians currently holding a regional position - relative to that from other neighboring countries.

"No," I said. "It's more on our networking abilities."

I partially lied.

I believe it is, directly or indirectly, the ability to speak in English. Networking will bring in the opportunities, while the English part will help land the job. Both help go up the corporate ladder.

Directly, through communication skills. Ability to clearly communicate ideas, provide directions, and so on. Broken English will do to a certain level. At the end, the higher the position, the more frequent upward presentations one needs to do. And that's where things get a bit tricky.

Indirectly, through self-confidence. I tend to think that people perform better, verbal-communication-wise, when they're talking to non-native English speakers, or people whose English they perceived to be at most on par with theirs. It's a bit difficult when the counterpart speaks more fluently, or is a native English speaker. I don't know - it works somewhat that way with me.

Drawing from the same logic, if I don't speak as well as I do now, there would be relatively more people with better English, and the more often do I have not-as-great self-confidence while speaking. This is perhaps what's happening to some fellow Indonesians.

This perception can put self-roadblocks to learning and practicing English (or other languages for that matter). And it's kind of a downward spiral if other people keep improving their English while we don't even want to start.

Part of the roadblock could be the fear of something new, or of making mistakes.

But hell, who cares? We can always improve if we really want to. We are always in a learning process anyway.

Wouldn't it be nice if majority of Indonesians can understand some basic, essential English words? Perhaps at least numbers and some basic trading words to allow them to do transactions with English-speaking tourists?

Or the ability to put compelling business arguments and analysis? Or at the least, to give a better first impression. Because the chances are that we do have strong technical skills and work ethics.

All it takes to start is the shift of that perception or mindset, lots of practice, and the willingness to take feedback openly and positively. (and a supportive environment too.)

As for bridge-blogging? It's a medium. A place to make mistakes and to improve.

[Read more...]

First posting from Jakarta

Just a quick two postings from other blogs --> on the middle column, Interesting Read section.

The first one is an old post by Marina Mahatir - the daughter of Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. She posted it in January this year, but since the similarity (or difference) between Indonesians and Malaysians is currently a hot topic, it's worth it to revisit her view.

Another one is written by David Lavoie, a Canadian teacher living in Malaysia, on the New Straits Times. Some light and humorous observations about some Malaysians' quirkiness, of which a few is shared by some Indonesians.

In case the link is not working anymore, here's what David wrote.

DAVID LAVOIE: The puzzling quirkiness of some Malaysians
The New Straits Times, Thursday, October 11, 2007

I have to admit that I love it. I enjoy Malaysia very much and I think that Malaysians are fine, fine people. They are warm, friendly, interesting and hospitable. But some of the things they do puzzle me enormously.

What follows are, and probably always will be to me, some of the mysteries of Malaysia. Alang-alang mandi, biar sampai basah; alang-alang berdakwat, biar sampai hitam.

Mystery number one, why do many Malaysians swim in such a bizarre way? Don’t get me wrong, a number of the Malaysians I see every day in my condominium pool are superb swimmers, but the majority employ a strong scooping motion of the arms along with a vigorous frog-like kick which takes them completely underwater for a metre or two. Then they shoot to the surface, desperately suck in a strangled gasp of air and disappear under the surface again, despair in their goggled eyes.

It’s a slow, slow method of swimming and it seems to require an enormous expenditure of energy as well as the risk of serious oxygen deprivation. I may be wrong, but I always thought, silly me, the whole purpose of swimming was to stay on the surface where the oxygen is.

How about roads? It amazes me that Malaysians can build fine-looking roads so quickly, but why, within a month, are they plagued with potholes the size of the Grand Canyon? Wouldn’t it be cheaper, and easier on cars, to put down a proper road base first before laying on the black-top?

Actually I’ve got a theory. I’ve decided that this is all some sort of gigantic Malaysian lottery. Those guys on the side of the road pretending to walk along? They’re really bookies taking bets on which car will hit the hole hardest. When you smack into one, they chortle and money surreptitiously changes hands.

What about double-parking? I realise that Kuala Lumpur, in particular, is plagued with too many cars and not nearly enough parking spaces. The problem seems the same in kind, if not in degree of intensity, elsewhere. I understand why people double-park.

What I don’t get is, where are all the people whose cars are parked on the inside? Why aren’t they outraged?

As a matter of fact, where are all the people who have boxed in other drivers gone as well? Why isn’t there mayhem? Stationary road rage? Wild screaming matches? Where have all the drivers been spirited off to? Extraterrestrials perhaps? This is one of the mysteries of the age.

Why, in so many public toilets, are washbasins, cabinets and urinals numbered? This, I really don’t get. I mean, it’s not like when I pay my 20 or 30 sen, the attendant says: “You are assigned to urinal No 3. Wash your hands in washbasin No 5.”

Is there a mysterious purpose for these numbers or is it just a peculiar Malaysian fetish for order?

Why do all those guys on motorcycles wear their jackets backwards? What’s the point?

Is it to cut down the wind in your progress? To keep you dry in case of rain, to keep your clothes clean? Does it keep you warmer?

I suspect a combination of many factors here, but, if so, that, too, is a mystery.

If it’s to keep your clothes clean, for instance, that means that you are perfectly clean as you approach people, but a mess when you turn around to leave.

I’ve decided that since I will probably never figure this one out, it must be a uniquely Malaysian fashion statement.

Why do Malaysians consider public streets and sidewalks an extension of their front yard or business? Restaurants block sidewalks with extra chairs and tables during peak hours. Businesses expand onto the same sidewalk with a maze of tables and shelves of merchandise.

Best of all are the home parties that block entire streets to vehicular traffic. I have to admit that I sort of like and admire this one.

You need room for your party? Why not put up a tent in the street? Cars can always back up and take an alternate route. It’s so liberated.

Why do Malaysians use plates?

I had to come here before I ate my first meal off a banana leaf and the beauty of it brought tears to my eyes.

If we all ate every meal off banana leaves, no one would ever have to wash a dish again (a chore I hate). It’s too beautiful.

Why, Malaysia could become the world’s largest exporter of banana leaves! Of course, I haven’t quite figured out what to do about laksa.

So there they are, just a few of the mysteries that keep me fascinated with this wonderful country.

Maybe I’ll stick around for a while. After all, I’ve obviously got a lot to learn, lah.

David Lavoie is a retired Canadian teacher who now makes Malaysia his home.

[Read more...]

Nasty brother neighbor

A quick update/addendum to my last post.

Yes, it's the latest two incidents in Malaysia - the arrest/detention of an Indonesian diplomat's wife and the forceful breaking into an Indonesian student's apartment.

Can you imagine - a bunch of people breaking into your home, to check whether you have valid documents?

It is said that RELA volunteers are allowed to make arrests and enter or search premises without a search or arrest warrant. It's a bit of a violation to human rights, isn't it? Perhaps they think human rights don't apply to (suspected) illegal immigrants...

I do agree with Unspun that it is the government, and not necessarily the people, who is doing this. In fact, a (Malaysian) friend was bitching about RELA, and we really had fun talking about it. I think RELA would be more of a use if their members take care of the Mat Rempit and illegal double-parking.

Yes, someone needs to educate people that double-parking is rude, lah!

Anyway, happy Eid / Ied / Lebaran / Hari Raya. I'm off to Jakarta tomorrow.

[Read more...]

Brothers syndrome and unexpected treatment

Aroengbinang shares his thought on the "Brothers Syndrome" post: "Many people believe that relationship between Indonesian and Malaysian is or should be like relationship between brothers or sisters. They are wrong. Indonesian and Malaysian were never been brothers nor sisters. They were born from different mothers. They have different fathers as well."

Thus, there are some expectations of being brothers - like respects or special treatment. Expectations that often are not met.

OK.
(people here like to use OK as filler) :)

This morning I had to come to the Immigration Office (Jabatan Imigresen) in Putrajaya. A new policy calls for foreign expatriates to be present in person for thumbprint scan. (people in the U.S. might call this an abuse of human rights?)

Aside from driving quite far to Putrajaya (and the highway roadsigns that are placed after the exits), things were nice. I admire Putrajaya for its buildings' architecture. The immigration office is clean and the officers are quite professional - totally different experience than my afternoon at Deplu on Jalan Medan Merdeka two years ago (when I finally gave up and called a connection).

All right.

A while after dropping off my passport, I was called up and asked to go to a (nice) room and do the business there. "The queue is too long here," said the man who looked like a pretty high supervisor.

"Oh shit, I don't even know how much the standard is," I thought.

But it turned out to be something else.

It was a sincere help or nice gesture, because, I believe, I'm an Indonesian.

So we talked about Hari Raya. I found out that his Datuk (grandfather) was from Minang. And other things.

We simply "connected".

So based on this experience, it is there - the brotherly feeling. And it's nicest when you don't expect it.

Just like what Aroengbinang says: "... a healthier relationship may be built as no more false expectations..."

This is true, especially because while it's nice to get the special treatment, being an Indonesian in Malaysia can also lead to relatively-poor treatment (or just that nasty look). This is where a little bit arrogance and American accent help. (why American accent? Because fewer people have it here - many Malaysians go to U.K. or Australia for their study). :)

[Read more...]

Bisa diatur

"Can be arranged" or "can be worked out" - more or less.

My neighbor was approached by a high-ranked Indonesian government official. A simple version of it, they wanted to hire him. So there they went, talking about, perhaps most importantly, compensation - salary and benefits. To make it short, this officer can't match the salary, but the total amount "bisa diatur" through other means.

So here's the thing, again. (Relatively) low formal salary but big take home pay. Probably something like uang rapat (meeting allowance - should meetings be part of the normal job?). Or perhaps "projects", whatever it means.

For my neighbor, he sees it as a risk. Good for him. There's no written contract. What if this official moves? What if he simply lies?

For many others, this might be an opportunity. An opportunity to maximize whatever it is that can be arranged. Might lead to corruptions, unprofessional decision-makings, and other bad practices.

And that's one of many reasons why Indonesia is what it is now.

On uang rapat, someone once shared his frustration. He works as a consultant to a UN-funded initiative to develop infrastructure outside Jakarta. Often, the government officials refused to attend the meetings unless uang rapat was provided. Holy cow! This was for their own development!

[Read more...]

Asian wife website and women millionaires

Miund is, and so am I, clearly disappointed with this website, managed by a couple, that generalizes Indonesian women (in villages and small towns) in somewhat not a very nice way. "... treated like prostitutes," Miund strongly says.

Other issues aside, what this couple does is kind of providing a marketplace for retired foreigners looking for good retirement life and Indonesian women, as the website claims, looking to know, or marry, foreign men.

Connecting demand and supply, so to speak.

Here's a thought. With all the loose assumptions and connections, what if the situation is the opposite? Retired women looking for good retirement life - whatever "good" retirement life may be.

Especially now in Hong Kong the majority of millionaires are women.

[Read more...]

Gun ownership - reduce or increase incidents?

I was wondering how effective the gun policy is in the U.S. or other countries that legalize gun ownership. I think it contributed to the recent Virginia Tech incident.

The policy of legal gun ownership and control has perhaps been debated since the birth of the gun itself.

There are two arguments - for and against legal gun ownership. One argues that we need guns to protect ourselves against criminals, or that gun ownership is part of constitutional rights. One can also argue that if guns are banned, we need not to worry about having guns.

One argument for legal gun ownership is that it saves lives. It sounds ridiculous, but that's what statistics tell, says National Center of Policy Analysis, a U.S. non-profit organization.

I think the statistics showcase more on the illegal ownership of guns. How many incidents have been related to legally-owned weapons? Not as many as the illegal ones, I presume. Those that are well-known include Columbine until the recent Virginia Tech incidents. And another incident yesterday at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

How about in countries where gun ownership is not (publicly?) legal? Like in Indonesia with Tommy Suharto and Adiguna Sutowo, for example. Or like in Malaysia with the murder of a Mongolian model. All three involved guns and related to elite or politicians.

It's logical to assume that these shooting incidents will increase if gun ownership is legalized.

With the speed the world is going today, there will be stressed people and lunatics out there. A lot of them. Don't equip them with guns. Gun ownership should be made illegal.

Update:
- Mass shootings more common since 1960s.
- Ria Wibisono has concern over similar bullying practice (and racism) in Indonesia, which she expressed on Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

[Read more...]

Another blunder - more to come?

After 'not-so-well-thought-out' comment from Malaysian Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan about bloggers, another official made another 'blog-unfriendly' comment.

If officials in a country that's relatively well-developed in the IT infrastructure like Malaysia still make this kind of comments, what about officials from other countries?

I hope the Indonesian officials learned from their neighbor's blunders. Learned not to talk trash and also learned about what is up in the 21st century.

But the indication is not that good.

Here's an email I got a few days back, claimed to be based on real interview with DPRD (House of Representatives) of East Kalimantan.

===========

LAPORAN PANDANGAN MATA DARI DPRD

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: Apa itu e-mail? Saya belum punya e-mail
karena masih kurang paham teknologi macam itu. Keinginan punya ada,
cuma untuk mengoperasikannya saja saya mesti tanya sana sini. Di
lingkungan Dewan ini sebenarnya sudah ada, tapi sampai sekarang tidak
dioperasikan karena tidak ada yang menggunakan.

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: Sekarang ini belum punya, sebab saya tidak
ingin punya nafsu besar untuk memilikinya namun tidak ada waktu untuk
melihatnya.

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: Saya masih pikir-pikir, karena tidak bisa
dibawa pulang, jadi kurang efektif bagi saya yang terus kerja keras, baik
di gedung Dewan maupun di rumah

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: Sudah, saya waktu itu sudah pernah punya.
Tetapi karena kurang efektif, sekarang sudah saya jual...

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: "Secara pribadi saya belum memilikinya.
Bukannya saya tidak mampu untuk membelinya, namun saya masih cinta
produk dalam negeri. Buat apa kita membanggakan produk luar, kalau
hanya untuk gagah-gahan. Lihat saja nih HP (handphone) saya, masih
model lama kan?"

Jangan dikira ini reportase fiktif lho! Benar-benar merupakan jawaban
anggota-anggota DPRD, ketika reporter kami melakukan semacam
survey di suatu DPRD-Kota di Kalimantan Timur.
Nama kotanya dan nama-nama masing-masing anggota DPRD yang
menjawab sebagai di atas, ada pada Redaksi suatu surat khabar...

[Read more...]

Indonesia post-oil

In one of his posts, Indonesia an oil-rich country?, Philips, interestingly started the post with his opinion on Playboy Indonesia magazine, cited an interview from Warta Ekonomi about Indonesia's oil reserve - that it will last only for the next 20-25 years.

Even now Indonesia is already a net importer of oil. How will it be 25 years from now? Importing 100% oil requirements? How will it pay?

Is the government aware of this?

But there's a potential solution. Water. More specifically, from the rain.

Indonesia is among the countries that will get more rainfall due to global warming; while other regions will have their rivers, lakes and aquifers depleted. As water availability is very likely to increase, it could be the new oil for Indonesia. Perhaps 25 years from now we can trade water for oil.

Of course, selling water from rainfalls is not straightforward. For the time being, some people have tried this in smaller scale. But if there is a good business case, or a case for survival, it's worthwhile for the government to explore and develop.

So it seems that water could be the 'gold' of the future - especially with rich countries also face the problems of water stress. Even now some people are selling water with premium, like what Jakartass found (scroll down to March 4).

Anyhow, it's still 25 years from now. The government perhaps should think about how to manage the potential flood from the increasing rainfall.

We don't want to end up with no oil and flood, do we?

What's sad is that one major cause of global warming is us burning the fossil fuel - coal, gas, and oil.

[Read more...]

Mile-high scandal: increase the risk of air accident?

Another air incident, another sea accident in Indonesia.

We all might have heard that the probability of airplane accident, or crash, is much lower than the probability of (fatal) car accident. Steven Johnson's the Risk summarizes a study on this topic:

"...it would seem to be reasonable for those in charge of our safety to inform the public about how many airliners would have to crash before flying becomes as dangerous as driving the same distance in an automobile. It turns out that someone has made that calculation: University of Michigan transportation researchers Michael Sivak and Michael Flannagan, in an article last year in American Scientist, wrote that they determined there would have to be one set of September 11 crashes a month for the risks to balance out. More generally, they calculate that an American’s chance of being killed in one nonstop airline flight is about one in 13 million (even taking the September 11 crashes into account). To reach that same level of risk when driving on America’s safest roads — rural interstate highways — one would have to travel a mere 11.2 miles."

What if one drives in China? It might take only a short 2 miles to equal the risk! What if one flies one of the old aircrafts in Indonesia?

Regardless, is it really that low - one in 13 million? Statistically, perhaps. But for future forecast one must put the intelligence into it.

For example, if we will do some promotions three months from now, we gotta put in our best estimate of sales on that month, and not let statistical history figures forecast the sales. Especially if there hasn't been any regular promotion in that particular month in the past.

Through a friend who was visiting from Jakarta, I met these two Indonesian pilots of MAS and Lion Air (they were in the same company, Adam Air, if I'm not mistaken, before they parted their own way). It was around September 2006. Since these pilots haven't met each other for some time, they shared stories.

Apart from how the airlines industry has changed so much, their conversation was pretty much about flight attendants. Who slept with who. Who got this girl first. Who filmed who in what occasion. One even could persuade a flight attendant to sleep with him despite an approach from an Indonesian celebrity. And so on...

I've heard about this. But I've never heard directly from the one who did it. It was kinda fun at the beginning, but more of sick toward the end. With all my respect - what is wrong with the world?

A more recent one: "British actor caught in sky-high sex scandal." It was Ralph Fiennes in a flight on January 24, with a Qantas flight attendant who said:

"While conversing with Mr Fiennes during my break, I expressed a need to go to the toilet. I went to the nearby toilet and entered it, he followed me and entered the same toilet. I explained to him that this was inappropriate and asked him to leave. Mr Fiennes became amorous towards me and, after a short period of time, I convinced him to leave the toilet, which he did."

We can go into more detail... but I'd stop right here :)

It seems that when we fly, we are surrounded by more people who do adultery: some of the cabin crew and our fellow passengers, for relatively longer time.

Back to the intelligent forecasting. If we assume adultery is sinful and God will punish those who practice it, then won't it increase the chance of an airplane gets punished? If one can quantify the probability of getting punished because of sins, or being in the same place when the punishment happens, perhaps the one-in-13-million figure should be calibrated...

[Read more...]

Foreign workers revisited

In my previous post, I was curious whether countries that supply (low-skilled) foreign workers would benefit from these individuals. One thing for sure, the receiving countries would, by allowing the local workforce to pursue higher value activities.

Seems like a good thing.

On the contrary, however, the Malaysian government is proposing a bill that would restrict foreign workers to their work sites unless they receive special permission to leave.

Home Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said: "We are not trying to confine the foreign workers ... but it will be better to supervise them for law enforcement."

In the same article, Police Chief Musa Hassan said that foreign laborers may be restricted to their living quarters and their "activities monitored" as part of efforts to curb crime. Under the proposed legislation, foreign laborers will not be allowed to leave their homes unless they register beforehand, and their employers will be responsible their movements.

Not allowed to leave their homes?

Musa further added that about 5,000 crimes were committed by foreigners last year from a total of about 230,000 (232,620 cases, to be exact).

That's not even 3% of the total crimes committed...

Typically, people use the 80-20 rule, a general assumption that most of the results in any situation are determined by a small number of causes. Although it's highly dependent on how one stratifies the causes, but if foreigners-related crime is one of the causes, 3% is definitely too low to even spend resources for.

Unless, of course, there are other reasons.

But still, this doesn't feel right. Like a foreign construction worker said in the article: "To keep us in our beds when we have a day off is criminal."

There's gotta be a better, more effective way.

[Read more...]

Jakarta flood - the aftermath

Many people here in Malaysia asked about the Jakarta flood. Not much I could tell about it, other than what I saw on the TV and read on the internet. I think pictures from Javajive and Marek Bialoglowy capture most of it.

One of my close relatives' home was badly hit by the flood. The family stayed at my parents' for a couple of nights, and the last two weekends my family has been going there to help clean the house. Almost everything is gone or no more usable. Sofa, mattress, TV, refrigerator, clothes, documents... We're now trying to get their life started and going again.

Letter from a Sun's reader questions the RM3.6 billion fund to help mitigate flood in Johor. That's about USD 1 billion (Malaysia's 2005 GDP was $290 billion.) The letter nicely put it that the flood could've been prevented if developments around Johor had been properly assessed.

"... The root cause is no doubt due to corrupt practices. The government is trying to fool people by putting the blame on global warming."

Quite a similar situation to Jakarta. What about the fund for tsunami , earthquake, and others?

Will the government ever learn?

Because anything that can go wrong, will -- at the worst possible moment.

[Read more...]

Bird flu virus for sale: unethical opportunism or state of survival?

Indonesian government's decision to negotiate the bird flu virus with an American company has sparked some debates. Many, it seems, argue that this is just another vehicle for corruption.

My buddy Sheque wrote "Kisah Anta dan Prota", about antagonistic and protagonistic (?) characters in Indonesia's sinetron (soap opera) and in real life.

There are new cases of bird flu in Hong Kong and Korea. Not human cases, fortunately.

What if, a big if, one of the bird flu-affected countries sell the virus and make a lot of money out of it, while Indonesian government decides not to? What if, a bigger if, the Indonesian government, indeed, plans to use the "profit" for the welfare of its citizens?

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought ... it figures
-- Alanis Morissette

Ironic? Dreaming?

[Read more...]

Indonesians are the least unhappy: inferiority complex?

Unspun's "Not unhappy is the Indonesian employee" discusses a global employee survey. One of the findings was

"Those with the lowest percentages of employees feeling unhappy or very unhappy are Indonesia (3 per cent), India (9 per cent) and Thailand and Denmark (both 11 per cent). Those with the highest percentages of disgruntled employees are Luxembourg (36 per cent), Italy (30 per cent) and Belgium (27 per cent)."

Something I didn't expect - that Indonesian employees are the least unhappy in the world. As far as I remember, most of my friends who work in Indonesia complain about their workplace. Yes, confirmation bias.

This result also reminds me of a topic discussed in my alumni mailing list some time ago: inferiority complex. It was the first time I heard the term, and I'm still not sure if I understand the meaning correctly. But here's a definition from Wikipedia:

Wikipedia: "a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way."

There are more in it though. But taking the definition literally, one might argue that Indonesians are experiencing inferiority complex. That these people feel OK (or not unhappy) while people from other countries may feel unhappy being in the same workplace. Possible...

[Read more...]