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Politicians are often criticized for being all talk and no substance, but for me Kevin Rudd, Australia’s current Prime Minister seems to be one of the worst. I read through his speech which he gave at the Australia-Indonesia Conference Dinner which was published in the Jakarta Post.

I wonder if he was trying to be funny when he said, “in the year 2008, the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and I met on seven occasions. We’ve now entered that into the Guinness Book of Records under the bilateral relations heading.”

In 1,840 words we learn that he has met the President of Indonesia a few times and the two countries have helped each other out a few times during natural disasters.

For anyone from Australia or Indonesia with an interest in either country, there was nothing in the speech that gave you anything to look forward to. Wouldn’t it be nice to see the relationship between Australia and Indonesia go a little beyond what we have now. The average Australian’s knowledge of Indonesia doesn’t go beyond Bali and perhaps a place to build a few more new mines.

In today’s Jakarta Post I also read how there is less interest in people studying about Indonesia in Australia and Curtin University have even closed down their Indonesia department.

Not only are Indonesian specialists from Australia an endangered species, but if Indonesian courses continue to be closed at universities across the country, as has happened this year at Curtin University in Perth, WA, they will become an extinct one too.

To close Indonesian courses at Australian universities based purely on financial issues is an incredibly shortsighted step to take. Pro-Vice Chancellor David Wood and Vice Chancellor Jeanette Hacket, who are responsible for these closures, have acted in complete contradiction to the stated aims of the Federal and State governments, and of the university itself.

In short, like many others, I am appalled at the treatment of staff and students in the Indonesian department at the hands of the Vice Chancellors of Curtin University.

I am also dismayed and thoroughly embarrassed at the narrow-minded decision to scrap Indonesian language courses and will be relocating to a different university next year.

I have just moved to Indonesia and spent a bit of time looking for a place to live. I am staying in Medan, which is the third largest cities in Indonesia. Medan doesn’t have any large skyscrapers or apartment blocks, so I was wondering where I could find a decent place to live.

Having lived in Tokyo for many years, I am used to living in small apartments. My only requirements were a hot shower, western toilet, AC and some kind of internet access.

There are some big, beautiful homes here, but they are expensive and you would probably need to have a small staff to maintain the place. Fortunately wages are low here, so it wouldn’t be unusual for a wealthy family to have maids, a cook, driver, gardener…

There don’t seem to be any western style apartments here in Medan like other major cities. Then I found “kosts”, which I suppose translates as boarding house in English. I only looked at a couple of places which I found advertised in a local newspaper. I did spend some time searching on the internet, but could only find a place which was out of my budget.

The first place I looked at was a room in a large house, which was in a secure compound. The area was pretty nice with lots of greeenery and big western style houses. The room was 1.5 million rupiah a month (US$126). The room was furnished, but a little bit scruffy and didn’t have internet. The next place I looked at was a little more expensive at 2.2 million rupiah (US$185) a month, but included internet and cable television.

The 2.2 million includes all bills and they even have staff to do your laundry. It is just a single room, with attached bathroom, but it has been newly renovated. It also has hot water and air conditioning. I had a friend help me contact the owner, but it turns out he speaks fluent English and has relatives in Australia.

I really wonder if there is anywhere else in the world that you could rent such a room so cheaply.

Unfortunately, this picture is not my room, but somewhere I would like to live one day!

Police in Tangerang 20km west of Jakarta raided “no-star” hotels looking for alcohol and unmarried couples.

By-laws in the city ban adultery, premarital sex and alcohol. The article says their names were recorded and then they were released.

I don’t think I will be going to Tangerang in a hurry.

It goes without saying that Indonesia is a deeply religious country.  Many of the people are also very superstitious.

Muhammad Ponari who is just 9 years old and lives in Jombang in East Java was supposedly struck by lightning and found a stone on his head when he came to.  That stone is now said to have magic healing powers, with people coming from all over Indonesia to be cured from their ailments.

In the stampede to the boy’s house at least four people have died in the crush.    The magic stone is dipped in water which the sick people then drink.  The boy’s name Ponari, sounds like the Japanese sports drink “Pocari”, so the magic water is now being called “Ponari Sweat”.

“Not only in villages do we see this phenomenon, but also in big cities,” Kartono Muhammad, a medical expert and former chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association said. “People who want to be healed quickly go to a shaman. People who want to get rich, they also go to a shaman.”

“Rich or poor has nothing to do with it. These people pay millions and travel across the country. It’s like these people don’t use their common sense so they are easily persuaded by promises and quick-fix solutions.”

Read more: ‘Ponari Sweat’ Magic Blasted As Ignorance and Exploitation

This is my new blog on Indonesia.  I plan on writing about news, events and travel in Indonesia.  Having just moved to the country, I have found it a fascinating place.  I love tring to understanding different cultures, religion and languages.

Well, there is a lot to try and understand here!  Hillary Clinton just visited the country, which for a day or two put the country in the news.  There are some upcoming elections in the country this year, which are also going to be interesting to follow.

I am planning to be based in Medan for now, with some travel around Sumatara and later other parts of the country.