Iya, Cinta Indonesia…Tapi Jangan Pakai Fotokopi2!


 

 gado2

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I was going to confine myself today to a mellow tale of the rather beautiful tukang gado2 spotted near Grogol during one of my food forays last week, a dishy lady from whom I bought two take-away portions of that spicy dish and whose small stall I shall certainly revisit, and not only because the food was good.

But instead, let me draw your attention to a disturbing story read yesterday afternoon as I sat in Ya Udah (yes, again – I do like that place!)

While a beer in the nearby Jalan Jaksa may well be cheaper, at least in Ya Udah it seems there’s less risk of being roughed up by government raiders!

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WHAT?

I’m referring to the quite long but highly readable account in Indonesia Expat magazine (copies of which were on the mag rack of said watering-hole) about a raid by President Jokowi’s Imigrasi ‘officers’ on the bars and cafes of Jalan Jaksa which, in terms of behaviour described, is rivetting enough.

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  • pappas Jalan Jaksa
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  • But what’s worse is the fact that it appears that no longer are we foreigners safe-guarded from such raiders by carrying photocopies of our documents with us wherever we go.
  • Up till now, most of us have always carried copies, because the real papers are valuable and expensive documents, not easy to replace if they are stolen by one of Jakarta’s numerous pick-pockets, or lost, or damaged, for example if you’re caught outdoors in the rainy season. 
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  • floodjokowi-baru-bisa-beri-sembako-belum-punya-solusi-banjir  rainy season in Jakarta
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  • My personal interest needs to be declared at this point, because for two months I had only photocopies to carry – the dynamic bureaucrats at Immigration took that long to process, insert the required renewal stamp and return my passport.

To be fair to them, the problem was exacerbated by my embassy’s refusal to return my expired passport (which had all my immigration stamps) on the ludicrous grounds that it was ‘damaged.’

It wasn’t.

A few rain-stains, but perfectly legible throughout. Their rationale – that my old ‘damaged’ passport could be stolen and misused, makes NO sense at all, because had it NOT suffered the rain-stains, it would have been returned with the new one, and an expired passport in 100% good condition is surely much more useful to bad guys who get hold of it than one which is ‘damaged.’

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The embassy does provide a formal letter ‘to whom it may concern’ verifying that all is in order, but clearly that two months of processing (usually nearer two weeks!) suggests the letter was of scant interest as far as Indonesian Immigration is concerned!

But that’s BTW – there I was, gallivanting round Jakarta, photocopies only, so fortunate indeed that no bureaucrat raiding party netted me in that time.

Not so lucky a mixed bag of foreigners, whose fate Kenneth Yeung relates in his well-written and most disturbing article, which I recommend you take the time to read. Here’s a brief extract, with his conclusions…

So we must always carry either a passport, KITAS, KITAP or KTP-Asing (residency card for foreigners). Should these be originals or photocopies? The law does not explicitly say so, but given the recent raids, photocopies and scans are not enough.

In which case, it’s high time for countries such as the UK to update their travel advice for Indonesia. The UK Government advises: “Carry a photocopy of the relevant pages of your passport and copy of your arrival card for identification purposes and keep the original documents in a safe place.”

…and here’s the link so you can read it all over your Sunday brunch.  http://indonesiaexpat.biz/featured/the-immigration-inquisition/

I might add that. a few years ago, an official at another big embassy here, when phoned to ask for help with an Imigrasi problem, stated very clearly that ‘we don’t get involved with immigration.’ 

And here’s me thinking their job was to help their citizens.

If all Kenneth Yeung says is true, and I’ve no reason to doubt him, it indicates an ‘attitude’ on the part of some zealous ‘officials’ here, not – which would be perfectly understandable – against illegals, but against any foreigner whose documents are kept in a safe place and who therefore goes out and about with copies.

Mr. Yeung does add that much comes down to a foreigner’s attitude.

Always be polite, friendly and cooperative. Establish a respectful rapport with Indonesian officials and you’ll find there’s less risk of being treated like a criminal…most Indonesian officials are friendly at heart, provided we don’t antagonize them..

And that’s all good advice, which I learned long ago while still new in Jakarta.

Grasp the truth, that you are a guest in someone else’s country.

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  • prisoners
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  • But if you’ve been enjoying a few beers with friends, secure in the knowledge that you have followed your embassy’s advice, clear copies of legitimate documentation in your pocket, and then suddenly you’re grabbed and hauled off to a cell, respectful rapport is not always that simple to summon up!