Category: Urban Views

Those who’ve been following Indonesia’s political discourse would’ve heard politicians mentioning the millennials countless times. Every time I listen to them say the word “millennial” I wonder to whom they’re referring. At times, how politicians speak of millennials make it sound as if they’re referring to college freshmen. That would be a problematic assumption because the term “millennial” refers to several different age groups.

The First Travel scam and Hasibuan’s extravagant lifestyle caused quite a stir amongst the netizens. One of my friends posted something about Hasibuan ‘forgetting’ what she did with the money of her victims, and one of the comments on that post really stuck by me.

Indonesian online news outlets reported yesterday on the news that some 300 Indonesian students were forced to work in a factory in Taiwan. A media outlet Taiwan first reported on the news quoting the forced labor allegations made by the Taiwanese politician Ko Chih-en. The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are still investigating, but speed in finding facts is important given that such news could end up being a dangerous fuel for politics.

Not long after Ahok’s blasphemy trial came to a close, my Facebook feed became a running display of candles, Garuda photos, and I heart NKRI declarations. In between were angry rants and condemnations, some of them expressing concern of the declining tolerance level, others even going further as leaving this country.