that's a very good and thorough article you have. i can see that as a foreigner you really pay interest to Indonesian history and her struggle. just hope that this country could be better in the future.
"The cult of selebritis...is a cover-up for the vacuum that exists in many people's lives. Struggling for survival does not allow much time for individual initiative and self-esteem, so gazing at the navels of dangdut stars is a simple pleasure for many of the masses".
That, and the fact that for those gazing masses the prospect of being a recording artiste or a TV soap actor is about the only prospect of being rich. Where real, accessible financial capital (through say government grants for entrepreneurs)is in short supply, make-believe dreams take its place.
Cult of celebrities aside, another phenomenon I notice in Indonesia is inordinate worship of the latest "branded" goods. Spending hard-earned monies on the latest Nokia or Hermes lulls one (and more importantly others) to believe one has arrived.
J...
Interesting take on the idea that another tectonic shift might be required to unify the country...
If this is the case then the possibility exists that another tectonic shift might have the opposite effect of ensuring that the socio-political construct that is Indonesia comes apart at its fragile seams...
Fascinating times in which we live...
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono , who has now served under five Indonesian presidents, told Australian Broadcasting Corp, "Out of 235-million Indonesians now, I would say only 25-million have the capacity, the ability to enjoy the trappings of political democracy because they've had their social economic, basic needs met."
Says it all really, doesn't it.
The ghost of Suharto lives in the Indonesian judiciary.
Yes all very true. I was thinking of doing a 10 years on column although it's quite depressing really. Try again in another ten maybe?
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