re: 4 debono this is what is facing the aussies in
debono, if the drug "scam" occurs as you say, it should be sending a message to mug tourists not to try and buy drugs there, maybe that is the intent. Teach the gullible a lesson on the spot. Here they would clog up the court system. You mentioned earlier bribes being paid for traffic offences, you need to see it in the real light. Many years ago during one of the anti-corruption drives, the police issued so many summons that the court system quickly got a backlog of cases that would take 2 years to clear, so they quietly told the police to go back to the old system and allowed them to collect the penalty on the spot. If your business is so successful, how come you are so negative about the place? I have seen a lot of expats experience Indonesia over the years and sadly a lot of them fail to develop any more than a superficial understanding and become negative because they try and directly compare everything to what they know back home, and it just doesn't stack up. Nobody can cook as good as their mother. Too many of them prefer to only associate with other expats rather than move into the wider community. They assume that the way things are done in their home country is the best way, so if Indonesia is different it must be less. I feel really sorry for those who see it that way as they have missed an opportunity to open their minds and expand their horizions. However if you do get beyond the surface you will find something very different. My overall impression of the people I have been associated with over a period of 35 years which ranges from ordinary workers, students, business people, contractors, engineers, doctors, teachers, company directors, police, public servants, politicians etc., etc. through to provincial governors is that almost without exception they are positive, articulate, competent and honourable, very honourable. If anyone goes to Indonesia whether to live, work or play and they do not tap into this real Indonesia then I feel really sorry for them. Rather than question my knowledge of Indonesia I suggest you take off your blinkers and move beyond being a superficial observer. If you appear to end up surrounded by people you do not trust or respect, then maybe you need to examine your own attitudes and see why such people are attracted to you.
