A low explosion occurred at the Tanah Abang district, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday (April 8). The explosion occurred within close proximity to the Tanah Abang police station. The Indonesian National Police (POLRI) is currently investigating the blast. [Continue reading]
Newsroom
A Move toward Coffee Agrotourism
NewsroomThe Indonesian government tried to promote the country’s tourism at the 57th Brussel Holiday Fair. They were targeting European Union tourist through Indonesian speciality coffee—Sumatra coffee, Toraja coffee, Bali coffee and also Papua coffee—, capitalizing on the fact that Indonesia is one of the largest exporters of coffee to European Union countries. [Continue reading]
AdaDiskon, Promotional Media Start-up
NewsroomShoppers always love discounts and sales to get the best deal. Adadiskon.com takes aim at this opportunity. The company is a promotional media start-up, providing information on bazaars and sales events throughout the country. On Tuesday (April 7), we managed to speak to Aswin Tanu Utomo, the founder of AdaDiskon, to understand the business. [Continue reading]
The Danger of Propaganda Websites
NewsroomAbdurrahman Ayyub, the former Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader for Australia, New Zealand and Papua told us on Sunday (April 5) that websites containing hateful speech might not directly impact Indonesia today, but it would certainly haunt us in the future. If the content of a website threatens national security, the content/website has to be blocked. Such is the argument for censorship. [Continue reading]
Beers, a Part of Modern Lifestyle
NewsroomThe Indonesia Stock Exchange has two listed breweries, i.e., PT Multi Bintang Indonesia (IDX: MLBI) and also PT Delta Djakarta Tbk (IDX:DLTA). DLTA is the producer of Anker Bir, Anker Stout, San Mig Light, Carlsberg, San Miguel Pale Pilsen and also Kuda Putih. MLBI is the producer of Bintang Beer, Heineken, Bintang Zero and also Green Sands. [Continue reading]
East Nusa Tenggara Tourism: Signs of Growth
NewsroomMany of us know that Bali has always been the prima donna, getaway tourist destination. This applies for both foreign and domestic tourists. But in the past decade, the Government has been trying to promote the other regions of Indonesia as alternative tourist destinations. One of them is the province of East Nusa Tenggara, or otherwise known as NTT. [Continue reading]
Cosmetics Industry: Wardah
NewsroomWardah is one of Indonesia’s home-grown cosmetics brands. Many believe them to be a new player in the industry, but Wardah has in fact been producing and distributing cosmetic products since 1995. It’s thus interesting that Wardah has only become somewhat of a household brand in recent years. [Continue reading]
A Wake Up Call for Education Minister
NewsroomLast week, Indonesians were shocked by the revelation that several public school textbooks contain hardline religious teachings. We obtained a copy of “Pendidikan Agama Islam dan Budi Pekerti” and noticed the second paragraph of page 170 stating, “Yang boleh disembah hanyalah Allah SWT dan orang yang menyembah selain Allah Swt telah menjadi musyrik dan boleh dibunuh”, which in English means, “Only Allah SWT should be worshiped and those worshiping Allah SWT perform idolatry and can therefore be killed.” [Continue reading]
The New Visa-Free List
NewsroomThe Government of Indonesia is planning to add 30 countries into the list of visa-free countries. Citizens whose country is in Indonesia’s visa-free list would be granted entry for 30 days without the need of an immigration visa. The Government hopes to attract 10 million foreign visitors by 2015 and 20 million foreign visitors by 2019 with this new immigration policy. [Continue reading]
Indonesian Akik Fever
NewsroomThere’s today a newfound excitement over akik stones in Indonesia. In general akiks are stone of the agate variety. Most of them are so cheap and readily available they’re sold by many street vendors over the years. But not all akiks are equal, with some considered as gemstones—stones with rare mineral qualities—and others invaluable because of their perceived mystical qualities. [Continue reading]
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