Shock News From Falatehan – Top Gun No More?

Just got a news flash from Falatehan, the short jalan in Blok M once described tongue-in-cheek by expat revellers as ‘The Street of Dreams…’

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…famous, or infamous, for its dodgy bars, dodgy women and dodgy taxis, as one ancient put it when I was still new here.

An sms arrived ten minutes ago to say that Top Gun is said to have shut down!

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This place was one of the oldest bars on the Blok, established before I appeared on the scene not far off twenty years ago, always crowded back then…

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…and lots of fun.

I won’t this morning recount my own outings, merely give you the link to all the bars here in Jakarta and you can inspect others’ views. http://www.jakarta100bars.com

So if Top Gun truly has passed into the annals of night-life history, then it may soon be time to start writing an epitaph for the whole street.

A tempora, a mores….

G

‘Immoral Activities – Sitting in Coffee Shops Laughing and Talking…’

 Harlot!

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Today, however, some of the women of Aceh have strayed far from the teachings of Islam and have engaged in immoral activities such as sitting in coffee shops and laughing and talking about unimportant things.   – See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/18/your-letters-let-aceh-be-with-its-sharia-law.html

I know it’s just a letter to an editor, and indeed when I first read it yesterday, as I was en route to a party where beer and wine would flow freely and lots of attractive bright gals would undoubtedly be laughing and talking about unimportant things…

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…..my initial reaction was that it must be some kind of spoof, written by a simple-minded ‘Islamophobe.’

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Naaah, surely nobody’s going to make such an imbecilic assertion as part of a serious argument?

But I persevered.  

This geezer was responding to an article on the shariah subjugation of Aceh women, which mentioned that in the past there were outstanding female characters in that sorry province.

As I may have mentioned before, before the descent into sectarian barbarism, Aceh had queens, sultanas who ruled successfully, and one of the heroes, heroines, rather, of Aceh’s struggle against the Dutch was the famed Cut Nyak Dien – 

 

Cut Nyak Dhien,

She clearly managed to lead the Resistance without wearing the scarf that denotes second-class status.

And her daughter, Cut Gambang, also distinguished herself  in those wars.  

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And another Acehnese lady named Cut ( it’s pronounced Choot and denotes blue blood) is also recognised as a national hero.

 Cut Meuthia

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But this fellow writing to the JP reckons women nowadays are a cut below Cut.

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 Why were so many women successful in the past?
The answer is their behavior. They did not go out with someone who was not their Muhrim (related by blood), nor did they spend time doing useless things. Most importantly, Acehnese women in the past obeyed anything that the ulema commanded them to do. 

Oh.  Anything?  The ulema (‘scholars’) should be obeyed in everything?  I could go through the ludicrous list of Indonesian Council of Scholars fatwas, on everything from yoga, bike-riding and wedding photos…

…but this post is already quite long – just use our search box inserting MUI, then laugh or cry at the results!

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Now, again,  we can dismiss the retarded rot as just another letter to the Ed.

Until we recall the reality of Aceh, the gross, grotesque sexism,  in which, sad to say, some women are collaborators.

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Aceh women taken prisoner by the shariah gestapo

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Banda Aceh Mayor Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal ordered venues including restaurants, sport centers, Internet cafes and tourist attractions to not serve women after 11:00 p.m. unless accompanied by their husbands or other male family members…

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/09/mayor-orders-curfew-women-acehs-capital.html

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• Pathetic, but nothing less than one expects from this fanatical female.

Does she really ask her male masters for permission to go out at night? Does she feel not even a tincture of shame at having her own sex relegated to the status of kindergarten kids, infantilised, unable to go to and fro without supervision?  

At least tots can go out with either mum or dad. Up in Aceh, an honest middle-aged woman can’t enjoy a night out with her girl-friends unless some geezer tags along to legitimise the outing.  

And the Mayor abhors religious liberty as much as she despises fair play for her own sex. She has distinguished herself over recent years for Dark Age drivel exemplifying intolerance. 

• Islamist Inquisition in Aceh – ” Minority Religious Creed ‘Worse Than Tsunami!’ “

Islamist Mayor – We Know Where You Live! Submit to Indoctrination OR ELSE! 

I’m not sure what she means by tourist attractions.

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The Sharia Hell of Aceh!

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Presumably the mediaeval mentality up there on the self-styled ‘Verandah of Mecca’ would include that vile venue where women are publicly whipped, for reasons only comprehensible to the savages who order the whippings.

Not Fasting – How About A Whipping? Aceh Slips Deeper Into Barbarism 

I was also going to comment on the next sentence from the Jakarta Post report – The directive, dated June 4, also prohibits women from working in such establishments after 11:00 p.m. –

One of the immediate benefits of going out to a cafe, resto or bar or anywhere at night in Jakarta is to be served your cold beer by a cute smiling waitress.

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 a welcoming smile in a Jakarta bar

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But then up there in Nasty Land, there can’t be many bars to go to! 

Just as, if Indonesia’s Parliament presses on with the Islamist prohibition law currently going through its initial legislative stages, the entire archipelago will be submerged in the same sort of twilight zone, to become  –

Indonesia, Truly Arabia!  

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/09/mayor-orders-curfew-women-acehs-capital.html

 

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Well Said, Sir! Some Sense on Ramadan Shut-Downs…BUT!

Well, after reminding you all of what could most kindly be described as the careless talk we once heard from the MUI’s Amidhan about Ramadan … 

Islamist ‘Scholars’ – “Don’t Complain if You’re Attacked!” 

…I am delighted to note that he has talked some good sense, according to a Tempo.com report.

Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Amidhan Shaberah, said the closure of the food stalls during Ramadan is a tradition….not related to the state. According to him, there should be no controversy over whether food stalls should be opened or closed.

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 Amidhan

 http://ramadan.tempo.co/read/news/2015/06/11/151674159/mui-buka-tutup-warung-saat-ramadan-itu-tradisi

He recognised that in some areas they will close because that’s what the people, presumably including the stall-holders, want to do. Fair enough, so long as there’s no coercion by bigot bullies, like these IslamoNazis in Makassar.

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• Even so, said Amidhan, in other areas stalls can still be opened because many people are still in need. “Leave it to the respective areas in accordance with tradition.”

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• It turns out that this latest discussion of the topic arose because Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin, whose tenure as Minister of Religion is a welcome change from his bigot predecessor, Suryadharma Ali, has declared that people who are not fasting should be respected.

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 Lukman

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Stalls, said Lukman, do not need to be closed for Ramadan.

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The Government, he said, does not need to make rules whether the food stalls should be closed or not. “Leave it to tradition and awareness.”

Excellent, echoing the words of the late Gus Dur on the same issue. 

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‘We Muslims should fast with respect for those not fasting.’ -A REAL Muslim scholar, the late President Gus Dur

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But even as we read this outbreak of common sense, another Tempo report reminds us that there’s a long way to go before the state takes its sticky-beak nose out of where it shouldn’t be.

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Jakarta’s SatPol PP (civic militia) have launched their annual prudery blitz on people who like to have fun! Their operation was endorsed by the capital’s Vice Governor, Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

He announced that the city would restrict the operating hours of nightclubs during Ramadan. He wouldn’t hesitate to take stern action against the owners of nightclubs that violate these rules.

Why the heck should hours of revelry be restricted? Yes, if disco music is drowning out the sermon at a nearby mosque.

But mosque loud-speakers here can hold their own against any poor DJ.  https://rossrightangle.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/mosques-above-the-law-too-sensitive-to-enforce-noise-control-and-criticism-an-outrage/  Nor do they need to comply with city rules, so we’ve seen.

But the point surely is that if people feel like praying or whatever, they can, and same with the self-denial from terrible fleshly pursuits, like singing, dancing and drinking.

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Nobody rushes out of bars to drag the passing faithful in. Nor does anybody force anyone else, least of all the devout, to stay out late having a good time.

If there’s no alternative to being self-denying, it’s not self-denial, merely sectarian coercion.

 

http://ramadan.tempo.co/read/news/2015/06/12/151674525/satpol-pp-awasi-tempat-hiburan-malam-jakarta

Ramadan Approaching – Beware ‘Routine’ Vigilante Raids!

Aaah, the ‘holy month of contemplation and reflection’ is fast approaching, Ramadan!

And in keeping with that solemn spirit, the IslamoNazi whiteshirts of the FPI, the ‘Islamic Defenders Front,’ are revving up for what their Bekasi Gauleiter calls ‘routine‘ vigilante raids on ‘discotheques, bars, and even luxury hotels!’

“One week before Ramadan we will comb the places allegedly used for vice, to curb the practice of immorality in the Muslim fasting month,” said Imam Al Budry Mulyana.

http://www.gobekasi.co.id/2015/05/15/fpi-bakal-razia-tempat-prostitusi/

Well, obviously not every luxury hotel (there aren’t that many!) in Bekasi is a den of iniquity – or is it?   I lived there for three tiresome years, and it was hard going to find any places to have fun. Maybe things have improved!

Only the IslamoNazis seem to know –  Mulyana says his merry men can’t rely on the local police – and how, one wonders, are these sectarian louts so knowledgeable about these interesting matters?

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One can only speculate how they spend their spare time! But it’s depressing to contemplate the imminence of kill-joy hooliganism again.

Of course it’s not just imbecilic raids on entertainment spots – even the right of honest citizens to sit down to lunch is under threat.

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•  FPI savages attack eatery
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• Many had hoped that the election of President Jokowi would herald a sturdy defence of pluralism and a crack-down on these nasty hoodlums.

It remains to be seen what will happen this year.

But given the new government’s failure, so far, to tackle easily remedied abuses by bigots – the churches sealed by sectarian jihadists, for example, have not been opened for their congregations to worship in peace  – I tend to fear that once again the Islamist gangster groups will be able to intimidate with impunity in the run-up to Ramadan, which starts just four weeks from now.

I truly hope to be proven wrong.

 

Warem2 Indonesia – Will Prohibition Herald a Land of ‘Dimly-Lit Stalls?’

 

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Here we are folks, one of those ‘dimly-lit stalls’ we keep hearing about. Just insert the phrase in our RRA search box and you’ll find plenty of references to this  phenomenon, which is the bete noire of kill-joy sectarian gangs across this beautiful archipelago.

I’ve gotta hand it to Harian Terbit for that alluring picture.  http://www.harianterbit.com/megapol/read/2015/03/24/23147/29/18/Masyarakat-dan-FPI-Desak-Pemkot-Bekasi-Tertibkan-Warem-di-Jatisampurna 

It was taken in Bekasi, a place not much fun when I lived there ten or more years ago, and increasingly so today, regrettably, given the bigoted regime of the Regent, No-Shame Neneng, whose loathing of religious liberty we have oftimes covered. 

• Bekasi’s Hitlerian Ultimatum to Ahmadis – Update on Golkar Party’s Intolerance 

However today’s post will be confined to more mundane matters, with these dimly lit stalls (warem) paradoxically in the spotlight.

 

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All Our Tomorrows – Jakarta Pedestrians Breathalysed? 

I’d noticed it when first published last month, but with the Government’s declaration that ALL consumption of alcohol, not just in Bekasi but across the archipelago (except Bali) is to be outlawed, it offers a glimpse of Indonesia’s potential Prohibitionist future.

It appears that ‘people’ in the Bekasi district of Kranggan Jatisampurna are ‘complaining,’ because ‘although often urged by the public, the city government is reluctant to take any action.’

The Regent is responsible for a wider area, but the actual city is the fief of yet another Golkar Party bigwig, Mayor Rahmat Effendi, also well-known to regular RRA readers.

• Bekasi’s Hitlerian Ultimatum to Ahmadis – Update on Golkar Party’s Intolerance 

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• i. No-Shame Neneng and Rachmat Effendi

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So what’s Rahmat done, or not done, to upset these ‘people?’

One resident of Kranggan, Edi (40) complained that until now the city government has not dared to bring order to the warem area at Jatisampurna, though its existence has an impact on the social life of the surrounding community.

And Edi’s ire is echoed by the War-Lord – a free translation but fair, I think – the head of the Laskars (Warriors) of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) in Greater Bekasi, Ustadz Cecep M Hudzaifah.  Oddly, Google Translate gives his name as Cecelia ( reminds me of the old pop song – ‘you’re breaking’ my heart!’) but I know he’s a fellow, not a female.

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 Cecep – not a happy man

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I am fairly certain the IslamoNazis don’t have women warriors – it would be inappropriate, given the definitive statement by their Jakarta boss (recently sentenced for ring-leading a riot)

• IslamoNazi Gauleiter – “Women Already Have Limitations, Let Alone Non-Muslims!” 

According to his Bekasi comrade, Cecep, the Jatisampurna warem are still in operation, Bekasi city government unfortunately just sealed off the place without any concrete action.

This, he rails, has given rise to immorality – and that comprises adulterated alcohol and alcoholic beverages, as well as the proliferation of naughty rented houses, as well as massage parlors!

http://www.beritaekspres.com/2015/03/21/laskar-pembela-islam-kompleksitas-masalah-sosial-marak-pemkot-bekasi-tutup-mata/

Well, adulterated booze can be damaging to one’s health.

And the risk has surely been exacerbated by the ludicrous anti-alcohol lobby here, which recently enacted an intolerant edict that won’t even let you buy an honest beer to take home from any of the many mini-marts which previously sold it.

Nor can you buy one and sit inside or outside the store to ease the strain of a hot arvo/evening, of which there are also many here. 

Now we face an escalating narrow-minded prohibitionism.

If the patrons of the dimly-lit stalls could get a decent drink for a decent price, would they not do so? Like the working-man in Cambridge’s Clarendon Arms in the UK, or Stratford’s Dominion House, in Ontario, non-affluent Bekasi blokes feel a need to relax over a drink after a long, hard day. 

But the tax on booze makes it expensive even for a mildly prosperous middle-class Indonesian, never mind your average working stiff. 

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The queue at my local dentist? No, if so I’d be eating candy and drinking Pepsi all day long! Actually, it’s a picture illustrating warem nightlife, allegedly. No address supplied by the media links – sorry!

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Oh, and I just LOVE this photo, prohibitionist charmers in yesteryear USA. As Grandpa used to say  ‘Twould drive ye tae drink!’ 

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Ironically, Cecep continued, it’s not far, only 100 meters, from the police station…where are the security forces and the city authorities..inert, silent, just letting this go on…?

Fair enough, his questions might well deserve an answer, if an illicit retail outlet is in operation as Cecep claims.

But as for the dimly-lit stalls’ other attractions, why whine about the girls?

If you want to crack down on poor slappers trying to get by in a very hard world, why urge the cops to pick on the gals in warem2?   One law for the rich, one for the poor?

Take a walk into any five-star hotel in Jakarta – especially after 10 pm on ladies’ nights, when the Falatehan over-spill arrives! The only difference between their bars and the warem2 is the amount customers pay for a beer – and everything else that’s on offer.

So when did the FPI – or the Police – last raid a glitzy international hotel?

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Speak-Easy slappers, aka flappers,  in Prohibitionist America

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Once prohibition is in place, they’ll have their hands full as ‘dimly-lit stalls’ AKA speak-easies, proliferate across the land.