Alistair Speirs
Alistair Speirs: My Journey to Work
For those of you who are regular readers of this magazine you will know I regularly rant on about the traffic and how it adversely affects our lives, and try, in a very small way, to suggest things that could be done to improve our daily slog to and from work. We started the “My
Jakarta Wins Four Awards for Best City, Innovative Planning
This month we celebrate the achievement of our home city in being awarded four amazing awards by, I believe, the Central Government. Here’s the story, lifted directly from The Jakarta Globe. “The Indonesian capital’s administration has been awarded four awards, dubbed the Anugerah Pangripta Nusantara 2016 and the Millennium Development Goals 2016, for its outstanding
An Interview With H.E. Mr. Taiyoung Cho, South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia
The South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia has taken Indonesian culture to heart and has learned many Indonesian songs, and wants to sing “dangdut”! He wants to have a deep understanding of Indonesia through its history and culture and says he will remain as “Indonesia-Watcher” even when he retires. In the meantime, NOW’s Alistair Speirs found him to
What is The Future of Jakarta?
There are some things you can predict with certainty. Some not at all. With organisation comes order. With order comes predictability. With predictability comes certainty. So where does that leave Jakarta? Well organisation has become almost impossible since so many crucial do- by dates have passed. The whole mass transit system is so totally behind,
The Gulf Widens
Some fantastic new hotels and apartments have opened in Jakarta, proving that real world class quality is possible with the right planning, execution and financing! If you haven’t already visited them, head for Raffles Jakarta, with its amazing collection of art, The Four Seasons which has exceptional quality in its interior design, and the brand new Westin which also raises the quality bar
The Politics of Everything
By the time you read this there will be a new Governor of Jakarta, or an old one reelected, or possibly a second round of elections if no clear winner emerges. I am not going to change my text to reflect either event. What will be will be. The person elected will have been chosen
Life in The Big Durian: A letter to The Governor of Jakarta “Bapak Ahok”
A huge birthday wish to the city of Jakarta from all of us here at NOW! Jakarta. Congratulations on completing what must have been a very difficult year. Painting by Sudigdo[/caption] Well every year is difficult in Jakarta, but I would like to congratulate you on some notable success: Parks: some green and leafy areas
An Interview with H.E. Mr. Moazzam Malik, British Ambassador to Indonesia, ASEAN, and Timor Leste
The British Ambassador is himself a great product of multi-cultural Britain. He epitomises the modern world, bringing British expertise from his experience in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. His very positive and proactive stance on Indonesia is very encouraging. In this insightful interview he updates us on the very important visit of President Jokowi
The Quality of Life
Many years ago my Economics Professor at Edinburgh University unveiled a wonderful fact which no-one seems understand or work towards at virtually any level in society even till today! The fact: that “welfare” and “economic welfare” are not the same thing. Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? But it’s not. “Welfare”, on a personal level, means the
An Interview with H.E. Patrick Herman, Ambassador of Belgium to Indonesia
H.E. Patrick Herman, Ambassador of Belgium to Indonesia for the past 2 1/2 years, recently talked to NOW! Jakarta’s Alistair Speirs about the relationship of the two countries on a political, economical and cultural level. Please tell us about the most important events for you since we last met in March last year? The Visit
Wynne Prakusya Looks Back On Her Career as Tennis Player
When Wynne Prakusya was 14 years old, she competed in her first professional tennis tournament. Having grown up in a tennis-loving family, Wynne decided to turn pro in 1998. Throughout her career, which lasted until 2007, Wynne has won 2 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) doubles titles, 9 ITF (International Tennis Federation) singles and 17 ITF
Introducing the World’s Best Education System to Indonesia
When Singaporean engineer Jaspal Sidhu first came to Indonesia almost three decades ago, he was alarmed by the country’s lack of good, affordable schools. Strongly believing that high-quality education should be accessible to anyone, he founded the SIS Group of Schools, which introduces the world’s best performing Singapore education system to Indonesia. Jaspal Sidhu spoke
My Favourite Prayer
Whether you are a believer or not, this is a lovely prayer: “God give me the courage to change the things I can change, the patience to accept the things I can’t change and the wisdom to know the difference”. So here we are in Indonesia, in its extraordinary capital city Jakarta, and we have
