Still Samba, Not Sambal
Kenneth Yeung looks at why football-crazy Indonesia still can’t reach the World Cup. Indonesia has long languished in the global...
Top 10 Foreign Tourism Sins in Indonesia
It is often said that “travel broadens the mind”—yet this doesn’t explain the hordes of small-minded tourists fiercely competing for...
Is Free Food the Best Education Investment?
Kenneth Yeung ponders whether big spending on free meals is the solution to Indonesia’s education challenges. “The state must declare...
I Put A Spell On You
Kenneth Yeung casts an evil eye on love spell scammers. It’s that time of the year again when the lifeblood...
Top 10 Stories From Indonesia in 2025
Kenneth Yeung looks back at some of the year’s top stories, another year older but no wiser. August Riots Mass...
Sustainability Swindling
Contributing writer Kenneth Yeung politely ponders the reality of sustainability. Sustainability – a word that makes me want to run...
Learning Dishonesty (or: Corruption Starts at School)
Kenneth Yeung looks at how Indonesia’s fondness for uniforms has created opportunities for corruption and manipulation. “If I am occasionally...
Top 10 Complaints of Foreign Investors in Indonesia
Kenneth Yeung conveys some common complaints from expats who opted to do business in Indonesia. ‘Indonesia Expat does not condone...
Top 10 Scams Connected to Indonesia in 2024
As technology develops, so too does fraud, yet Indonesia remains beset by plenty of old-school scams that rely on superstition,...
Top 10 Recent Books on Indonesia
Who reads books anymore? Let alone magazines crammed with undisclosed and unreadable advertorials generated by ChatGPT. With global stupidity soaring...
ChatGPT Decoded: Propagating Meaningless Stupidity
Kenneth Yeung explains the real meanings behind the most common cliches in the ongoing plague of unreadable drivel generated by...
A Nation In Waning
With Indonesia’s 2024 presidential election almost upon us, Kenneth Yeung looks back on why there may not be much to...
Ten Biggest Indonesian News Stories of 2022
Ten Biggest Indonesian News Stories of 2022 – They’re not all entirely negative. 1. Regent’s slavery and lethal torture On...
The Curse of Corruption
“From education and business to sport, the government and the judiciary, corruption remains a curse in Indonesia, as indicated by...
130 killed as police fire tear gas to clear football riot
At least 130 people were killed when fans rioted and police responded by firing tear gas, causing deadly stampedes and...
Bali Monkeys Using Stones as “Sex Toys”
Long-tailed macaque monkeys at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, central Bali, are using stones for sexual pleasure, according...
Book Review: The Bard, the Bad and the Ugly
Kenneth Yeung reviews a poet’s prosaic recollection of expat life in Jakarta. In 2013, a 53-year-old, divorced New Zealand man...
Indonesia Denounces ‘Unacceptable’ Attack on Ukraine
Indonesia has issued a formal statement condemning Russia’s military attack on Ukraine but stopped short of actually mentioning Russia. Separately,...
Do Condoms Fit Indonesian Culture?
While many countries in the Asia-Pacific have achieved progress in combatting AIDS, Indonesia’s number of cases is growing – thanks...
Emmy Pakpahan’s Lawyers Denounce Murder Claim as Clickbait Cash Grab
The Indonesian-American girlfriend of an Englishman stabbed to death in Bali earlier this month is now taking legal action to...
Bali Police Conclude Briton’s Stabbing Death a Suicide
Police in the resort island of Bali have determined there was no element of homicide in the death of British...