You can find these toys at Jl. Surabaya, Menteng.

Let’s play congklak!

“It’s just a statue of a boy who once lived in Menteng and liked nasi goreng [fried rice] and bakso [meatball soup],” – Friends of Obama Foundation Chairman Ron Mullers on why they put up a statue of a 10-year old Barrack Obama in Menteng

Oh this one needs unspinning soooooo badly.

If the purpose is to commemorate boys who once lived in Menteng and liked nasi goreng and bakso what you do is go to Menteng and throw a stone. There’s a good chance you’ll hit one of them. Boys who like nasi goreng and bakso are abundant in Indonesia, even in the elite area of Menteng. An overwhelming proportion of them would be Indonesians.

So why the statue of a boy with those characteristics from America instead of Indonesia? And isn’t convenient that that boy is now the President of the United States.

The mind boggles at how low people would stoop to polish apples and to gain a bit of a publicity, even when they do not enough money to build the brass statue to its full scale so that the Obama statue looks like a runt of a 10-year old instead of the normal sized child Obama probably was (Thanks for the observation, TP).

And what’s with the Barry Obama bit? The man’s name is Barrack and unless the guys here are so close to him that he would be comfortable to be called Barry, this is an attempt at familarity that would make even Washington gatecrachers the Salahis blush in embarrassment.

The Indonesians have one word to describe such behavior: L_E_B_A_Y. (American equivalent: cheesy)

So kudos to the Facebook group and the activists here. Join them and put the Jakarta Salahis in their place.

Facebook Group Wants Obama’s Jakarta Statue Taken Down

A 110-centimeter-tall statue of the young US President Barack Obama in Jakarta, the first of its kind in the world, has unexpectedly attracted the attention of thousands on Facebook who want the statue taken down.

A Facebook group called “ Turunkan Patung Barack Obama di Taman Menteng ” (“Take Down the Barack Obama Statue in Taman Menteng”), created by Heru Nugroho and Daniel Rudi, has stated that it will file a class action suit against the city if it gets 10,000 members.

More than 5,800 people have already signed up as members of the group, which was launched on Thursday — the same day the statue, erected in Taman Menteng, Central Jakarta, was unveiled.

The Facebook page has members discussing not only taking down the statue but also moving it from its current location to the Embassy of the United States of America, near Merdeka Square.

“Erecting the statue of Benyamin Sueb or Ali Sadikin would have been more appropriate,” said one member, Heru, referring to the late Benyamin Sueb, a legendary Betawi comedian and singer of the 1970s, and former Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin, who was celebrated for his ideas to push economic growth.

Ali went as far as to propose building a casino in the Thousand Islands to help growth. This proposal was declined, but he is nonetheless remembered as one of the best governors the capital has ever had.

Heru said he realized people would sneer at him and call him a “busybody,” but he said he did not mean to attack anyone.

“I want to defend my country’s dignity. Why should we glorify people who have nothing to do with us?” Heru said.

“We often hear our state officials say they cannot do much for our heroes. So why spend so much money on a statue? Today children don’t know anything about national heroes Agus Salim [a Muslim intellectual], Chairil Anwar [celebrated poet] or those who have made some of the greatest contributions for Indonesia.”

Created by sculptor Edi Chaniago, the statue depicts Obama at 10 years old, when he had just started to live in the Indonesian capital with his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, in 1967.

Obama went to the public Besuki elementary school in Menteng before he was sent back to the United States in 1971.

When contacted by the Jakarta Globe, chairman of the Friends of Obama Foundation, Ron Mullers, expressed concern over the negative reaction.

“It’s just a statue of a boy who once lived in Menteng and liked nasi goreng [fried rice] and bakso [meatball soup],” he said, adding that there was no political motivation behind it.

The bronze statue, which cost about Rp 100 million, was the initiative of the Friends of Obama Foundation and was funded by 10 Indonesians who have been acknowledged on the monument.

It was unveiled on Thursday by Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni, the same day Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

Regrettably some Indonesian people always thinks Mr.Obama still had a close relation with this country, just because he was stayed in Jakarta for  few years.   I don’t think so Mr.Obama does.  They should ask Mr.Obama to announce officially of this statue

Some members of Friends of Obama foundation posing in front of the young Barack Obama statue on Menteng Park, Central Jakarta

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The presence of Barack Obama’s statue on Menteng Park, Central Jakarta has fueled protests among some Facebook users. A campaign themed “Take down Barack Obama statue on Menteng Park” has been put in motion in the social networking site.

“I humbly ask the local government so that Barack Obama’s statue is not displayed on Menteng Park… In my opinion, it’s a matter of national pride…,” posted Heru Nugroho, the initiator of the campaign on his Facebook page, last Saturday. When this news was first released there were already 976 supporters on the virtual campaign.

Most of the Facebookers who join the campaign question the purpose of putting up a monument of Barack Obama and its benefit for the people. According to them, there are plenty of other national figures more worthy to be immortalized on Menteng Park.

“As if we don’t have any other prominent figure to be sculpted… there are many other heroes who deserve statues…,” stated ARie PRazz, a Facebooker. While another user, Mazmur Wira Semesta Bangun stated that there are still Tan Malaka, Munir, Ki Hajar Dewantara, and hundreds of other national figures that seems to be fading away from our memories.

Furthermore, a vexed user even posted bluntly, “Replace it with a statue of Benyamin Sueb… ,” he even included a photo link showing the late Jakarta comedian. (WAH/C17-09)


http://english.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/12/14/12260668/Indonesian.Facebookers.Blast.Obama.Statue

Having been a bit quiet on the review front due to feeling financially bereft, I went to Nona Bola in search of economical gastronomic satisfaction.  The Mz was quite happy at this choice as she is something of a sphere-obsessive.  “Balls!” will quite possibly be her dying word.

Nona Bola’s menu is based around Malaysian, Indian and Indonesian cuisine.  While not being a huge fan of Malaysian/Indonesian cuisine, I am a big fan of Indian food, and in particular its manifestations on non-Indian soil as it is assimilated into various cultures.  The British bastardisation of Indian cookery, Chicken Tikka Masala, is no more Indian than I am and was supposedly invented in Glasgow (albeit by a Bengali).  Myths abound of British colonists ‘inventing’ curry while over there but that is merely colonial appropriation of an established method of cooking and applying it to preservation of meats.  They did, however, to give the colonists of the raj their dues, develop/invent curry powder, to replicate the taste of curries when back home.

We were joined by Sammy and Samantha, fellow restaurantophiles,  who were feeling sociable again after a quiet period following the birth of Sammy Junior.  Sammy Senior recommended the Chicken Lebonase as an appetiser, so I followed this advice and ordered it.  When it arrived, after a considerable period of time I must add, it resembled a burrito and was packed with spiced chicken, onions, chili and and rather worryingly, limp, cooked lettuce.  I am stunned at how many times I have sent back food in Jakarta because a chef has thought it reasonable to cook lettuce.  If they had wanted to add colour, they could have chosen any of the other vegetables with texture and taste instead of inflicting this upon the unsuspecting punter.  Once removed, I set about demolishing it, for it was really rather good.  Sammy assured me that his previous Lebonase was sans lettuce and looked about as pained as me at  this development.

Our fourth friend, who we’ll call Don-Don (counting Sammy Jr as friend number three, despite his lack of interest in all things food-related that weren’t directly from Mummy) had Chicken Tikka and Vegetable curry with Naan, with a dessert of Pisang Goreng which she polished off, but she complained that the Teh Tarik was bitter, despite adding extra sugar.  Sammy Sr concurred as he stared bitterly into his drink.

Mz had the Mie Goreng Seafood Special which was ‘ok’, but further queries into why she looked unhappy revealed that it was over-sweetened and the presentation and taste of the seafood, particularly the shrimp, which were weak in flavour and not as fresh-looking as desired, thus thwarting her ability to vacuum up the food as if there may be no tomorrow as is her wont.

I went for the Chicken Curry (off the bone, which had to be specified) which appeared to be the same curry that was served with all meats, rather than the curries being cooked up separately.  The naan was a little doughy, and required rather too much chewing, despite me requesting it well done, which they translated as ‘burnt’.

A few positives can be taken from the whole experience.  100K fed me and Mz, with drinks throughout.  The place is gleamingly clean and the staff pleasant and attentive.  Their poppadoms (papadums/paperdums… choose spelling at will – most restaurants do) are spicy and served with a zingy dip, which at first seems limey but later has a spicy kick.

I thought that as a place to spend a few hours with friends, Nona Bola comes up trumps, given its cheapness, but the trade-off is in the waiting times and the generic quality of the flavours.

senayan, sunday morning, stadion, running, breakfast.

that’s a picture of jakarta people in the weekend. i mean not a lazy one. and the one who needs a recovery for her left foot. and we went there last weekend.

after our his running and my walking session, we went to taman lembang, menteng. this is one recommended place to visit when u think u need a lil relax feeling in the middle of a hectic jakarta. you can find an artificial lake there. u can go fishing in that lake. u can find some happy monkey, some colors which put in the chairs in the garden side, some tukang jajanan (a man or woman who sell some foods & drinks). u cand find ketupat, burger, ketoprak, bubur, roti bakar, and a lot of snack or main food and drink with a cheap cost here.

have a nice weekend

Jalan-jalan Malam minggu telah menjadi tradisi bagi kami anak2 lowrider priok, apalagi malam mingguannya di Taman menteng wah seru banget, ditemani juga oleh komunitas dari daerah atau team yang berbeda tetapi satu tujuan (jiaaaah ribet bener ngomongnye hehehe) diantaranya : Sunset Rider (yang punya taman menteng ni hehehe), Lowbat (Lowrider Batavia), Lowte (Lowrider Tebet), dan ada jg yang jauh2 dari selatan saat itu yaitu SIL (Sweet Iron Lowrider). biasanya sih nongkrong ampe bedug subuh ketemu pagi trus mejeng deh di HI, tapi melem minggu kemarin cuma nongkrong2 biasa aja sambil ngobrol2.  tapi ada yang berbeda kali ini kami bertemu dengan anak2 lighting graffiti mereka sedang membuat liputan tentang lighting graffiti untuk tayang di stasiun TV Belanda beruntung dari salah satu sepeda kami ikut masuk dalam liputan tersebut, sepeda andri dan beberapa sepeda teman2 yang lain ikut dalam dalam pembuatan lighting graffiti, sekilas tentang anak2 “I Light This” adalah komunitas graffiti (hobi corat coret) tetapi media yang digunakan berbeda dari yang biasanya adalah sejenis kembang api dan diberi waktu +- 30detik untuk mengambil image berupa foto, jadi saat foto tersebut diambil dalam waktu yang ditentukan itu yang tersisa hanyalah  corat-coretannya dengan kembang api tersebut, satuhal yang bisa gw bilang untuk komunitas ini “Keren banget bro..” coz gw saat itu gak bisa ikut menyaksikan secara langsung hanya dapet cerita dari anak2 dan kiriman foto melalui email…

Note: Dokumentasi dari anak2 “I Light This”, dan beberapa foto diambil dari dokumentasi “Iko S.I.L”

Courtesy : eQo & Andri – Priok

DIJUAL RUMAH DI MENTENG JAKARTA PUSAT,  LUAS TANAH 1000 M2 LEBIH , SHM …. HUB IBU ELA DI HP 021 93343805

Menteng, kepundung, atau (ke)mundung (terutama Baccaurea racemosa (Reinw.) Muell. Arg.; juga B. javanica dan B. dulcis) adalah pohon penghasil buah dengan nama sama yang dapat dimakan. Sekilas buah menteng mirip dengan buah duku namun tajuk pohonnya berbeda. Rasa buahnya biasanya masam (kecut) meskipun ada pula yang manis.

Menteng dulu biasa ditanam di pekarangan namun sekarang sudah sulit ditemui akibat desakan penduduk dan penanaman tanaman buah lain yang lebih disukai. Tumbuhan ini asli dariPulau Jawa. Di sekitar Jakarta dan Bogor kadang-kadang masih ditemukan penjual buah menteng. MORE

Sekitar 900 bangunan cagar budaya di Menteng dipugar tanpa kendali. Pemugaran yang mengubah bentuk asli bangunan itu diketahui setelah Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia dan Dinas Pengawasan dan penertiban Bangunan Daerah Khusus Ibu Kita Jakarta melakukan penelitian.

Ketua Kehormatan Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia (IAI) Budi A Sukada di Jakarta (20/7) mengatakan, banyaknya bangunan cagar budaya yang sudah berubah bentuk aslinya diketahui saat IAI dan Dinas Pengawasan dan Penertiban Bangunan (P2B) meneliti semua bangunan cagar budaya guna menyusun pedoman pemugaran bangunan cagar budaya di Menteng, Jakarta Pusat. Bangunan yang berubah bentuk itu mencapai 30 persen dari 3.000-an bangunan cagar budaya yang ada.

Bangunan cagar budaya itu berubah bentuk karena dipugar pemiliknya. Pemilik bangunan kemungkinan tidak mengetahui pemugaran harus mengikuti aturam, termasuk tidak mengubah bentuk asli bangunan.

Pemugaran bangunan cagar budaya terikat aturan UU Nomor 5 Tahun 1992 tentang Benda Cagar Budaya serta SK Gubernur Nomor D/IV/6098/d/33/1975 jo Perda Nomor 9 Tahun 1999 tentang Pelestarian dan Pemanfaatan Lingkungan Bangunan Cagar Budaya. Bangunan cagar budaya dibagi dalam empat golongan, A sampai D.

Bangunan golongan A tidak boleh ditambah, diubah, dibongkar, atau dibangun baru. Untuk golongan B, bangunan di bagian badan utama, struktur utama, atap, dan pola tampak muka tidak boleh diubah alias harus sesuai bentuk asli. Pada golongan C, bangunan boleh diubah atau dibangun baru, tetapi dalam perubahan itu harus disesuaikan dengan pola bangunan sekitarnya. Bangunan golongan D boleh diubah sesuai dengan keinginan pemilik, tapi harus sesuai dengan perencanaan kota.

Sampai saat ini ada sekitar 2.100 bangunan cagar budaya yang belum dipugar sama sekali atau sudah dipugar, tetapi mengikuti pedoman yang ditetapkan pemerintah.

Pengamat tata kita Universitas Trisakti Yayat Supriyatna mengatakan, pelanggaran pemugaran bangunan cagar budaya terjadi karena ketidakjelasan dan ketidaktegasan aturan. Pedoman pemugaran seharusnya ada sejak bangunan-bangunan itu ditetapkan sebagai cagar budaya.

Bangunan cagar budaya dapat menjadi obyek penelitian kemajuan kota tempo dulu, dari sisi arsitektur, sosiologi, maupun dari segi ekonomi-politik. Pemilik seharusnya mengerti nilai penting dan aturan mengenai bangunan cagar budaya.

Kepala Dinas P2B DKI Jakarta Hari Sasongko mengatakan, pedoman pemugaran sedang disusun untuk mencegaj perusakan bangunan cagar budaya lebih lanjut. Sementara itu, kebijakan untuk bangunan yang sudah berubah bentuk akan ditentukan berikutnya.

Sumber  :  Kompas, 21.07.2009

I contributed this very basic overview of Jakarta to the wiki-style online travel guide Travelerspoint . . . and it’s still there.

==Neighbourhoods==

Jakarta sprawls from the port to the mountains, with true centers hard to find. There is plenty to see at Sunda Kelapa port while Ancol is a separate seaside recreation area. Kota (“downtown”) refers to a crowded, poor but generally very interesting area that begins south of the port. Kota has shopping, nightlife, traditional markets and Chinese temples. Just to the south, Pasar Baru has a shaded Indian market and interesting environs. The national monument (MONAS) is a large park in an area which used to be central but is no longer, as the city has shifted vast distances in all directions, but especially southward. Not far from Monas is Jl. Jaksa, Jl. Sabang and the long-standing Sarina department store. This area retains a central feel, as does the Cikini area just to the east of Monas.

The old Dutch neighborhood of Menteng separates the Sarina area from Plaza Indonesia, Kuningan and the banking district (Jl. Sudirman). Official residences, churches and embassies are housed here, often in attractive buildings under large trees. As the sprawl finally reached Bogor and the Puncak mountain resort areas, new centers emerged. The Plaza Indonesia area and the old Hotel Indonesia has received considerable developer attention as has Kuningan, especially Mega Kuningan. However, these are more real estate concepts than neighborhoods. Just five years ago the focus was on Semanggi, less of a neighborhood than a shopping mall.

In South Jakarta, the Senayan area is full of attractive shopping centers, parks, and nightlife. To the south — once again — is Blok M, which is due for a renovation but remains popular. Even further (from Kota), are other true neighborhoods such as Kebayoran Baru, Senopati and Dharmawangsa. Here you find houses, trees, and space to breathe. Kemang, a popular residential area for foreigners, has a lot to offer in terms of galleries, restaurants, boutique stores and nightlife, but also narrow roads. Blok M is between 30 and 90 minutes from Kota, depending on traffic. Suburbs like Cilandak and Cipete are as many as two hours from Kota in bad traffic, but otherwise a part of Jakarta.