Current affairs

In West Bekasi, where I live, there is a mall called Bekasi Cyber Park where there are many shops selling PC-related equipment, such as ITC Manga Dua in Kota and Ambassador Mall in Kuningan, and unlike Jakarta, Bekasi, which is in the countryside, the shopkeepers are not arrogant and easy to talk to.

In Indonesia, the spread of the new coronavirus has led to growing speculation of an economic slowdown, and Bank Indonesia, after cutting its policy rate from 4.5% to 4.25% in June, decided to cut it further to 4% on July 16, but in times of recession, the rate Lowering the price to make it easier for companies to borrow money and motivate them to invest in capital equipment is a common monetary policy of central banks to stimulate the economy.

Yesterday, July 16, in front of the National Assembly DPR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat), there was a massive demonstration by the Presidium Alumni 212 (PA 212), Front Pembela Islam (FPI) and other Islamic organizations, workers and students.

In Jakarta, the PSBB (Large Scale Social Restrictions) have been phased out in June, and about two months As if to vent the frustration that has built up during the self-restraint in the interim, last week's 21 Car Free Day (CFD, HBKB = Hari Bebas in Indonesian) resumed on Sunday. Jakarta citizens crowded into the Kendaraan Bermotor (Kendaraan Bermotor) in large numbers, and the crowd was so large Feeling threatened by the denseness by the Jakarta Provincial Government today, Sunday 28, from Thamrin Street Ban Car Free Day on Sudirman Street to 32 locations in the city so that the denseness is dispersed instead. The strategy was to establish a pedestrian zone.

Looking at social networking sites and personal blogs of Indonesian expatriates, there are cases where, due to the spread of the new coronavirus, there are cases where only the family members of the expatriates return home temporarily, and cases where the expatriates themselves follow suit and return home temporarily, as well as cases where they remain in Indonesia.

Tol Jakarta-Cikampek, 34km from Cibatu exit, turn left immediately If you follow the road, you can see the May Carta buildings under construction, circa 2016. A construction project named Orange County began and A sign announcing the construction of a Japanese kindergarten and a Japanese school with capital participation from Mitsubishi Corporation The name was changed to Meikarta before I knew it, and then The sale of apartment units began to develop with great fanfare in the malls of Jakarta and Cikarang.

In 2015, China and Japan engaged in a battle for orders, and the introduction of the Japanese bullet train system, using yen loans While it was seen as a certainty, the Indonesian government flipped out at China's proposal of zero financial burden. The Japanese proposal was kicked down, but the Japanese proposal was submitted to the Indonesian side It is rumored that the same construction specifications that were submitted by China have been submitted by a Chinese company. The Japanese feel that they have lost their footing in the negotiations with the Indonesian government, and there is no small amount of resentment against the Indonesian government. I remember hearing

It's mid-June and while we thought we had already entered the dry season, the sudden heavy rains last night seemed to have caused immediate flooding (banjir) in Ancol, North Jakarta, where land subsidence is at its worst, said to be moving at a rate of 8 inches (about 20 cm) a year.

Lion Air, Wings Air and Batik Air, the three Lion Air Group airlines - Lion Air, Wings Air and Batik Air, which resumed operations on June 1 but were suspended on June 4 due to a number of deficiencies in passenger health certificates - will resume operations from Domestic Terminal 2E at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport today, starting on June 10.

Yesterday, President Jokowi visited the Sumarecon Mall near his home to inspect the preparations for the reopening of the business on June 8.

I moved to Bali in June 2001 after working in IT for 3 and a half years in Jakarta in October 1997, because when I launched my business of exporting furniture and handy craft, Japanese customers such as furniture stores, sundry stores and restaurants regularly visit Bali for both travel and shopping.

In the period from January to March, before the implementation of the PSBB (Large-Scale Social Restrictions) due to the corona pandemic, the total number of vehicles shipped from January to March stood at 260,804 units, down 15.9% compared to the same period last year, but in April, after the implementation of the PSBB, the total number of vehicles shipped was 7,871 units, down 90.7% compared to the same month last year, and the target number of vehicles shipped in 2020 was lowered from 1.08 million to 600,000.

As of May 21, there were 1,278 deaths in Indonesia, including 498 in Jakarta, and while the number of infected people in Indonesia increased by 973 per day, the number in Jakarta increased by 70 per day, indicating that infection is spreading beyond Jakarta.

The impact of the new coronavirus led to the implementation of the PSBB (Large-Scale Social Restriction) in the automobile sales market of Jakarta, the province of West Java, where Bekasi and Karawang are production bases, as well as the implementation of the new coronavirus, causing both supply and demand to stagnate.

Whenever I see such insidious Japanese incidents of bullying the weak, I even feel that Indonesia has a higher level of citizenship than Japan, where the strong should help the weak and give alms to the poor, even though their economic status is lower than Japan's.

Since I came to Indonesia, I have seen the economic recession several times, but because of the spread of the new coronavirus this time, the economy will definitely go into recession, and in a few years' time it may be called corona shock or corona recession.

On February 4, a cluster (mass infection) of a new type of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) broke out on board the Diamond Princess, which docked in Yokohama, Japan, and a sense of crisis was immediately heightened.

Last August, my wife and I tried to stay at a hot spring hotel in Guci, a village deep in the mountains, 45km south of Tegal, Central Java, without a reservation at around 8pm, but we were asked to show our surat nikah (marriage certificate) in accordance with Sharia (syariah).

When I entered university in 1991, at the end of the bubble economy, land and stock prices were exploding, Mitsubishi Estate had bought the Rockefeller Center Building, a symbol of America, and the women of the one-length body-con (like the Bubbly Dance of Tomigaoka High School's dance club) were dancing at Juliana Tokyo in the waterfront bay area, waving their fans.

The situation in Japan is that even if public works investment is made, the money stays in the savings of companies and individuals, and domestic consumption does not increase, while the situation in Indonesia is that even if domestic consumption increases, the ratio of imported consumer materials is high, and domestic assets are flowing out to foreign countries.