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Indonesia Says Singapore Cooperation Key In Graft
Battle
Indonesia needs an extradition treaty with Singapore in
order to track corruption suspects who have fled to the city-state
with allegedly embezzled funds. Saleh indicated that
he was unaware of reports
that Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. had made allegedly
illegal payments to security forces posted around the company's
massive Grasberg gold mine in remote Papua province. The New York
Times reported last month that Freeport made payments of nearly
$20 million to military and police officials in Papua from 1998 to
2004. (Reuters)
Pact with Indonesia some way off: Downer
FROM THE EDITOR:
When
the law gets ready... You got to move.. -Jagger/Richards
If you have
visited BuGils in the past month you might have experienced a
rowdy crowd of loud and tall blond people. They are part of a
group of around 100 people from Iceland, who are hired by
Indonesia to fly the pilgrims to Mecca for the Hajj. The pilots
are the more quiet ones and they drink whisky. The mechanics are
the young and loud ones, drinking beer. No surprise that the
BuGils regulars have quietly retreated to the Cazbar for the time
being. The BuGils staff in the meanwhile, first impressed by the
young and innocent looking 'cute' guys, are now less enthusiastic.
After a few weeks here the Icelanders have become more 'berani'
and some of them already managed to get a
girlfriend. I know I shouldn't judge about this but frankly
speaking I am pretty sure not many of these girls would last long
in Reykjavik.
Last weekend Uci, the cashier of BuGils, sent me a worrying
SMS. It turned out that one of the Icelanders had received credit
from the BuGils staff, and right the next day
all Icelanders took
the liberty to drink and leave the bill for another time. No, I am
not worried that they will not pay; they are all honest people.
Problem is that Iceland is a small country where everybody is
family from each other and they are all called
Gudjohnson. It will be
interesting to see how the staff is going to collect this.
I have my own
headaches. Last Monday Cazbar was heaving. But according to the
rules of the government we had to close early as it was a holy
Muslim day. I closed all the curtains and turned down all the
outdoor signage, but 9 O'clock the police knocked on the doors. I
quickly apologized, explaining that I was in the process of
getting the customers out. I invited one uniformed army officer
and one police officer to come in and see for themselves. They
settled down in a dark corner of the bar and I offered them a soft
drink. While I was trying to get the customers out,
one western female customer whispered in my
ear: 'I like men
in uniforms...'. I had a better look at her to see if
she was serious. She was. Her eyes were staring at the green man
in the corner. 'Four stripes on his shoulder....', she whispered
again dreamingly. Before I could say anything she went straight up
to them. The two men quickly moved from a 'hanging
under the table position' into a 'sit
straight' position to welcome the young and tall
western lady to their table. I have no idea what she said but it
didn't take long before she was adjusting a button on the Army's
officers' uniform. The two officers didn't finish their drinks and
they were gone even before the customers were out,
leaving a confused and disappointed
bule lady behind. I
wondered if they would tell their colleagues about this
experience. And if they did, would their colleagues believe them?
Is there an uniform for a bar manager she could fall
for? Keep on dreaming Bart.
Yesterday evening
I was asked
to speak to a group of European consultants and explain to them
how they, during their one month stay in Indonesia, should
approach the locals. After a few beers the chat become more
informal. When they told me they were staying in Hotel
Ciputra I informed
them about a place just behind their hotel. If they ever were
planning to go for an afternoon stroll or if they wouldn't feel
that well, they should go to a place called
Medica,
just behind their
hotel. 'Is it a good place to do a medical check-up?', asked one
Dutch visitor. 'Very good', I said. 'They check you from top to
toe'. The few people around the table were looking at me with
serious eyes. Now I was in trouble. These were professional office
people from Europe, probably married and I was informing them
about a notorious place called
Medica and they
believed it was a health clinic. 'That's a good tip. They have a
lot of skilled doctors there, isn't it?', asked an Austrian guy. 'Yes',
I confirmed. 'Around 200...
and they are all female!' Their tired eyes opened
up. They nodded, impressed by the number. But finally their
Indonesian guide started laughing. He smashed his both hands on
the table. 'I think the session is finished!' he shouted and
raised his beer. I have no idea
if the consultants ever
knew what I was talking about...
On my way home I
wondered how many Indonesian girls would be living in far away
Iceland. Then I wondered how many uniformed men the
bule lady had
conquered. She must have the happiest satpam (security
guard) in front of her house. If tomorrow there is a uniformed
Icelandic pilot in BuGils, I am sure he
has read this story and he
is trying his luck. I think, we, foreigners in Indonesia, we all
need a check up. Well, at least I do. I feel so normal in
comparison with the people around me... There must be something
wrong with me... No,
its not too late. Medica,
here I come....!
Bartele
Cazbar is now offering
free WI-FI service!
This bar & restaurant is located
opposite the exit from Hotel Ritz Carlton, just across the road
on the corner of a building named Kantor Taman. Cazbar is in unit
A1. Tel. 021-5764582
Open from 07.00 AM (breakfast) till midnight. Happy Hour Prices
for beer until further notice. The second floor with bar, pool
table and big screen can be rented for parties, launchings, etc.
Contact
bartele@thecazbar.com for more info.
ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD:
Woman all shook up over Elvis song
- An Australian woman will face court charged with repeatedly
stabbing her partner because he played an Elvis Presley song over
and over again, police said Tuesday. (Reuters)
Robbery Suspect 'Sings the Blues'
- Memo to robbers: If you disguise yourself as a Smurf, make sure
you wipe behind your ears afterward. Anchorage police said a man
painted his face and tried to rob a hotel, but was arrested when
officers spotted residual blue stains on his neck, ears and
forehead.
Jakarta’s Best Bar Awards 2006
It's that time of the year again when Java
Jakarta Kini's intrepid drinkers venture forth into the myriad
of bars, clubs and pubs to bring you the best in which to enjoy
yourself for 2006. Whether it's a quiet pint of Guinness to shed
a homesick tear into or a full-on meltdown of the senses at
Jakarta's hottest clubs you'll find most of the info you would
possibly need to know in the next few pages...
more
 NOW
FOR SALE: THE BUGILS-CAZBAR CALENDAR 2006 (limited edition)
The 2006 Calendar is an combined effort of BuGils and
Cazbar staff to show their gratitude to their loyal customers. The
price of the calendar is Rp. 50.000 rp. (additional Rp.25.000 for
delivery)
For orders send an email to
bartele@bugils.com
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