Foreign fish

Man: The only thing left is foreign fish (ikan – fish, asin – salty, asin(g) – foreign)

Thanks to liberal government regulations, as of March 2011 foreign interests controlled 50.6% of national banking assets, more than half of the life insurance companies operating in Indonesia, 60-70% of the capital market, 60% of all the state-owned enterprises (SOE) that have been privatised and 75% of the oil and gas sector.

Kompas - May 22, 2011

Political football

Yet another round of political squabbling has broken out within the government's ruling coalition – this time over Golkar Party politician Nurdin Halid's leadership of the beleaguered Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) – which is being used as a political football by President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party to weaken Golkar's hold over the PSSI, a political vehicle that the party has long used to spread its political influence.

Kompas - May 21, 2011

Yogya gudeg

Kid: Yogya gudeg (a traditional Yogyakarta dish) is delicious Mr... how come you're rummaging about in it again!

Man: They're just creating new problems for themselves...

Having backed down in the face of widespread opposition to a push for the direct election of the Yogyakarta governor instead of the traditional system of direct appointment, the government is now creating more confusion with a proposal to extend the governor's term by two years.

Kompas - May 14, 2011

Forgotten or ignored?

1st Man: Is it being intentionally forgotten or just ignored?

2nd Man: Or being allowed to happen instead?

The exploitation of religious issues such as Ahmadiyah and the secessionist Islamic State of Indonesia movement by politicians for personal and political gain is undermining the country's much touted image of pluralism and religious tolerance enshrined in the country's coat-of-arms by the words Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

Kompas - May 11, 2011

Model behaviour

Man: Give us an example of model behaviour Mr...

Politician: There's that example of corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Revelations about widespread “teacher-sponsored” cheating in the national exams illustrates how the example being set by the country's leaders, from top politicians to clerics, government bureaucrats and educators, is nurturing a mentality of corruption among the next generation.

Kompas - May 4, 2011