Vindaloo Boo-Hoo! It’s ‘Unfair’ To Enforce UK Law?

Immigration officers visited Tayyabs on 25 August, “acting on intelligence”, according to the Home Office.

=

They arrested six Pakistani nationals, five of whom were detained ahead of removal from the UK, while a sixth was required to report regularly to immigration authorities.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/09/uk-curry-house-owners-say-immigration-raids-unfair

So no less than five illegals scooped up in one raid on one London curry resto in one day?

Not bad, most of us would say.

=

=

But not all of us say that.

Curry house immigration raids ‘unfair’, say restaurant owners

I declare an interest.

I like curry.

Last evening last week I enjoyed a very large helping of excellent curry in Kemang, South Jakarta, in one of the many eateries (and drinkeries!) where British and other expats go to seek that succulent cuisine that originates from the Indian Sub-Continent.

=

Rock on,Tommy!

=

But the fact that lots of Brits like to eat lots of spicy Asian food should be irrelevant to the enforcement of British immigration laws.

It’s not as if that one hot-spot in  the UK is a one-off.

Other raids have resulted in arrests and heavy fines this year on restaurants as far apart as Kent and North Yorkshire, and the permanent closure recently of one in Twickenham.

So it’s a nationwide problem?

Then there’s nothing remotely ‘unfair’ about raids that result in the detention and deportation of illegals.

…

…

What is glaringly unfair is the restaurateurs’ evidently common practice of flouting the law.

If fish n chip shops were perceived to be operating with similar disregard for legality, no doubt they’d be targetted as well.

I have no time for that most unappetising individual, Home Secretary Amber Rudd…

=====

Arrest Amber Rudd? Calais Crimmigrant “Age Checks Not Carried Out! “ 

…but the case for action quoted from the statement statement issued by her Ministry is irrefutable.

Using illegal labour is not victimless. It cheats the taxpayer, undercuts honest businesses and cheats legitimate jobseekers of employment opportunities.

We are happy to work with businesses to ensure the right pre-employment checks are carried out, but we take robust action against employers who deliberately flout the rules…

Indeed!

=

=

All these whining employers have to do to avoid trouble is recruit staff who are entitled to live and work in the United Kingdom!

THAT’S FAIR!

 

,

Breaking news – Hundreds Of German Cops Raiding Islamist Lairs!

Just heard, breaking news, from Germany, HUNDREDS of police in Germany raiding offices, apartments and mosques.

Police raid mosques, flats across Germany

How many recipients of Mama Stasi Merkel’s warm welcome are among the detainees? 

• 

Watch this space. 

So If Your Waiter Picks Your Pocket, Don’t Complain?

I’m hoping to take a trip back to The Old Country later this year, if all goes well, for a grand reunion!

=========

—

————-

Usually, the culinary high-point of any such trip is a pilgrimage to a certain chipper…

——-

–

…..

…where, the last time I was over there, the divine dish was still retailing at a mere 2 pounds fifty pence…though that was a while back…

But this time I may ‘go posh,’ at least once, to sample whatever’s on the menu at the nearest Byron.

–

–

That’s a chain I had never heard of until this week, but which has attracted the ill-will of a ‘number of groups’ for daring to cooperate with law enforcement in getting a bunch of illegals detained.

=====

I have to say I am entirely bemused by this story.

If the company had  unfairly tormented some of its employees for being black or white, or tall or short, or Protestant or Catholic, I could see the point in protests.

But are British businesses now to turn a blind eye to law-breaking?

==

…………………………………………………………….

If the cooks encourage bugs and rodents into the kitchen, if the cashier misuses your credit card, if your waiter picks your pocket…

———————–

—–.

                         ==

…should management not display concern?

But according to the protesters, the company betrayed its workers! –by cooperating in an investigation into illegal immigration.

And it was no small success, because ‘migrant workers at gourmet burger chain Byron Hamburgers have been arrested…

—

—–

—–

Good–Oh!

Or so all law-abiding citizens would presumably say, but that sort of citizen must be in short supply there days, because the intrepid reporter tell us there been a public backlash against the company…

——-

.

——

Why on earth would anyone be angry, or indignant, that crimmigrants have been caught. It’s not as if there are hardly any crimmigrants about,  that illegal immigration is a rare offence and no threat to the realm.

It’s massive!

Even in this current case, where 35 individuals have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences at restaurants in London,…London-based Spanish language newspaper El Iberico reported that some 150 more staff were “in hiding” after the raids…

===================

Time to intensify the hunt for these miscreants.

,

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/byron-burger-chain-condemned-migrant-staff-latin-america-deported-immigration-raids-a7158846.html

The report quotes one worker that “people are angry and frightened by this situation. In the years I’ve been in the business I had never seen anything like it.”

If that’s true, then a lot of resto managements need to be checked out for collaborating with crimmigrants, and perhaps some of these pro-crimmigrant protestors need to be looked at too, if they are aiding and abetting, or at the very least inciting, lawless actions by employers.

…an assemblage of independent groups called on the general public to boycott the company and join in protest next month over Byron’s treatment of its staff.

======

So Byron oughta cover up criminality?

Let’s hear what Byron has to say!

“We can confirm that several of Byron’s London restaurants were visited by representatives of the Home Office.

These visits resulted in the removal of members of staff who are suspected by the Home Office of not having the right to work in the UK, and of possessing fraudulent personal and right to work documentation that is in breach of immigration and employment regulation.

Frauds, phoneys, fakers, huh? Sounds like a fair cop to me!

 LET’S ALL MAKE PLANS TO DINE AT LEAST ONCE THIS COMING MONTH AT BYRON’S.

Or book your Christmas office party in the nearest outlet run by this responsible company.

……………….

===============

One pinko cretin came out with this hogwash.

 “No human being is illegal. No one is disposable.”

==

==

Of course certain ‘human beings’ are illegal. Illegal immigrants are illegal. What’s so tough to grasp about that?

And if illegals are caught, the price they pay for their lawless activity is that they are disposed of by means of deportation.

OUT THEY GO!

=====

 

Byron burger chain faces backlash after migrants detained 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T – That’s How Ramadhan Must Be, Mr. UK Ambassador!

Fascinated by the comments of Her Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador to Indonesia this week …

–

In his first year celebrating the annual Muslim celebration of Idul Fitri in Indonesia, British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik says he feels the traditions of joy for Muslims are not that different from those observed in his native UK.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/07/idul-fitri-tradition-in-ri-comparable-to-uk-envoy.html

As I prepare to go into town this beautiful Jakarta morning, I am looking forward to seeing the trappings of intolerance gone from fancy restos and humble eateries alike. 

I refer of course to those offensive curtains erected in their windows, to which I made reference very recently.

Big Mackistan? Ramadhan Lock-Out at McD Sarinah? 

 

Lukman

=========

Those who do not fast must respect those who fast and vice versa, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said…  http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/06/13/tolerance-and-mutual-respect-a-must-during-ramadhan-religious-affairs-minister.html

Lukman is of course correct,  echoing a similar sentiment I’ve often quoted, the words of the late President Gus Dur.

———–

• 

‘If we fasting Muslims want respect, let us also respect those who aren’t fasting.’

===

If somebody wants to go from pre-dawn to dusk without eating and drinking, and manages to do so, I respect his or her tenacity, and would not seek to interfere in such acts of self-denial.

---

—

Equally, anyone, of any faith, who wishes to eat and/or drink during those hours should feel free to do so, unmolested by either IslamoNazi thugs like the FPI…

IslamoNazi Thugs Amok, Jakarta Cops Say ‘No Charges!’ 

… or by sectarian fanatics like those benighted local government regulators up there in darkest Serang, in Banten Province.   Bigot Goon-Squad Bullies Vendor – Decent Indonesians Open Hearts AND Wallets!

Lukman again – “During Ramadhan, the holy month, we must reinforce and strengthen our tolerance, not only among the Ukhuwah Islamiyah [Islamic brotherhood], but also the Ukhuwah Wathaniyah [brotherhood of the nation],” he told journalists at the State Palace.

I like Lukman.

Even when I disagree with him, he is such a refreshing improvement on his predecessor, Suryadharma Ali, a politician so beyond the ken of normal folk…

—————–

 

White-shirt fuhrer Rizieq with Ali.

———–

…..that he was prepared to accept awards from those afore-mentioned IslamoNazis.  Good Indonesians Denounce ArchBigot Ali’s Latest Intolerant Outburst

oooo

But it would be good if Lukman tried to be a little more pro-active. He could take a giant leap for fair play, tell his government colleagues to give up on kill-joy diktats which target those not abstaining from fun…

Ramadhan Begins! Sectarian Reminders Issued! 

 But even a small step would be progress of sorts, a ministerial exhortation to all the warungs, wartegs, restos and all eateries in Jakarta to remove those ridiculous pieces of cloth draped across their windows during Ramadhan.

They have two disadvantages.

00000000000000000000

• 

• First, you can’t watch girls go by if you are sitting within.

===============================

Second, and arguably more compelling, the silly little sheets are a condescending insult to every fasting Muslim who passes the place.

Those draped windows mock their tenacity and suggest their commitment to self-denial is as flimsy as the cheap cotton of which the curtains are usually made.

—

—

As if the sight or smell of sate kambing or nasi goreng would bring them to break their fast!

Rather they should welcome such temptations, which can demonstrate they’re above mundane distractions. 

oooooooooooooooo

Back to Pak Malik. 

“There are a lot of Muslims in London, and even if we are not the majority, we observe traditions that are similar to those in Indonesia, such as pilgrimages to family graves, gathering with family for meals and silaturahmi,” Ambassador Malik said on Wednesday.

Yes, Your Excellency, those are nice traditions, worthy of respect, and yesterday I sent out quite a few SMSes wishing various friends ‘Selamat Idul Fitri,‘ the local equivalent of ‘Merry Christmas,’ with which, despite the ranting bigots’ manic antics…

IslamoNazi Christmas Warning – Don’t You Dare Disturb Us Bigots! 

…they greet me in December.

But there are other very different ‘traditions’ here, like sectarian sticky-beak raiding parties… 

Ramadan Raids In Righteous Indonesia – Oh Yeah? 

—————

…which are staged not only by the white-shirt hoods but by tax-funded civic militia and the constabulary, which need to be STAMPED OUT if Indonesia wants to show the world that it’s a better place to be than the shariah police states in the Middle East.  

It’s important that readers in Western nations should remember that their nations too face the intrusion of primitive intolerance.

We saw it in France this year…

IslamoNazi Intimidation…in Nice, France! 

 …and we’ve seen this vile phenomenon in London too, maybe not in Harrow, where Mr. Malik grew up, but most certainly in Tower Hamlets, and elsewhere in England.

Police ‘covered up’ violent campaign to turn London area ‘Islamic …

And what, may we ask, did Home Secretary Theresa May ever do about that?

Will Theresa May Countenance A Ban On Nobbly Knees? 

But then, she has some odd notions, hasn’t she?

Ramadan Raids In Righteous Indonesia – Oh Yeah?

Crimes of course ceases altogether during Ramadhan in Indonesia, as elsewhere.

ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp

• 
• —————–

• Hence work has to be found for numerous cops with nothing better to do, and at the weekend the authorities in Banjarmasin, in South Kalimantan Province duly found the bored constables some exciting, and ever-so-useful, duties to perform.

They raided hotels and dragged off no fewer than ELEVEN couples for being intimate outside of wedlock! http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/06/27/11-unmarried-couples-netted-in-ramadhan-hotel-raids.html

00

—

Did they actually catch them ‘at it?’ Or were the arrests before or after the dreadful deeds were done?

No answer to be found in the reports.

“The couples could not prove that they were husband and wife so we detained them and brought them to the station,” Banjarmasin Sabhara Police Adj. Comr. Syaiful Bob said on Monday.

• 

=

So 22 people doing no harm to anyone – most of them teens – were hauled off and made to sign a pledge that they would not repeat the offense.

Funny how fornication is okay according to the time of year it’s committed. Downright laughable that the excuse for this display of selective moral policing is that it’s to create a conducive atmosphere ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday.

But even the most devout are allowed to eat, drink, smoke etc, except during daylight hours.

So how come no bonking?

Ooops! Of course, it’s because they’re not man and wife. So are we to understand that adultery and related activities are AOK every other month except Ramadhan?

Great to live amid a society so respectful of matrimonial vows.

After JIS, More Reasons For Expats To Beware- ‘Always Carry Passports!’

Only yesterday, with that JIS shocker…   https://rossrightangle.wordpress.com/2016/02/26/jis-shock-will-canada-match-tough-talk-with-action/  …the expat community in Jakarta was abuzz with concerns about what goes on here.

If one falls foul of the law, one can find oneself in a precarious situation – to say the least.

• 

• So here’s another bone to chew on. 

Expats in Indonesia will maybe remember our previous post on their document concerns…

Iya, Cinta Indonesia…Tapi Jangan Pakai Fotokopi2! 

…about eight months ago, although I myself had forgotten all about it.

It arose from reading an article in Indonesia Expat magazine, and it was only when I came across the latest issue of said mag, last weekend, that the concerns expressed then re-entered my mind.

I should take this opportunity again to praise that vastly improved publication. They had an outstandingly beautiful girl on the front cover just before Christmas…

———–

———-

…apparently her name’s Zahara – but the content too is usually well worth perusal!

Anyway, what sparked interest then was  a story of an Imigrasi raid on Jalan Jaksa, when some ill-starred expat showed a photocopy of his documents and that was deemed insufficient.  http://indonesiaexpat.biz/featured/the-immigration-inquisition/

Only the real thing would do!

—

—

Prior to that, most of us carried photocopies, for the good reason that if your actual passport is lost or stolen, or even, bizarrely, gets wet in the rainy season, you can find yourself steeped in worry, expense or even worse.

Being a cautious fellow, I’ve been asking about and now I am given to understand that at least one major Western Government has recently altered its guidelines. 

Non-Indonesian nationals must be able to show and submit their valid travel document (e.g. passport) or stay permit (e.g. KITAS / KITAP) that they hold at any time when required to do so by an active Immigration Officer in the interests of Immigration control.

And if the UK is advising its nationals so to behave, it’s reasonable to assume other countries’ citizens face similar hazards as they go about their lawful business, or leisure!

Indonesia, of course, is perfectly within its rights to enforce this stern requirement. And we strangers in a foreign land are obliged to acquiesce.

But, especially in the rainy season, do wrap the document in waterproof plastic.

Iya, Cinta Indonesia…Tapi Jangan Pakai Fotokopi2!

 

 gado2

=========================

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!

============================

———————————-

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.

===============

•  Jalan Jaksa
• ====================

• 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. 
• ===================

•   rainy season in Jakarta
• ===========

• 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.’

–

————————–

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.

=========================

• 
• ……………………….

• 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!

Gotcha, Grandpa! Pre-Ramadan Raid Nets Immoral Oldsters!

You gotta laugh, or you’d weep!

• –

The ridiculous ‘Pre-Ramadan’ raids on hotels here are a sad feature of the self-righteous mind-set that seems to regard ‘immorality’ as only an annual regret.

But this report from Klaten, in Central Java, about the civic militia (SatPol PP) takes the biscuit!

=============

• 

====-

SatPol PP units from Central Java and Jogjakarta held a joint raid before the month of Ramadan, on the border of Klaten and Sleman. In the operation, five immoral pairs were netted, with seven bottles of liquor( alcohol content of up to 40 percent) on Thursday , 4th June….  http://bangka.tribunnews.com/2015/06/06/kakek-nenek-terjaring-razia-di-kamar-hotel

 

================

Along the way from Jogja to Klaten, officers combed the cheap hotels. But unfortunately, the officers did not find cheating partners or vice. Officers held a sweep on the Candisewu road, where they did find a lot of immorals, ranging from young couples to those in the twilight of their years.

=

=

I’ve been to both Klaten and Sleman, but never noticed that the elderly there were any more energetic than elsewhere. Mind you, dukuns (sorcerers) are often at work in Javanese kampungs, so who knows?

BTW, I’m not talking about sexual ‘naughtiness’ – but were the oldsters in possession of all SEVEN  bottles? Pretty good going!

Well, there’s that invigorating mountain air…

What a crock!

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

oooooooooooooooooooo

• 

• Good thing that those ‘Grab-A-Granny Nights,’ as we, with the arrogance of youth, described the Over-25s Disco at Raffles, in Cambridge, many decades ago, never had a civic militia to contend with!

 One of the couples were grandparents Tuginem (54) and Soekad (69). They were caught in the middle of fun together in a hotel.. Soekad is known to be a retired person…

………

………

Good on ya, Soekad! Heck, you’re even older than me!

Provincial secretary of the municipal police in Central Java, Agus Waluyo, explained that the operation is an effort to maintain conduciveness ahead of Ramadan.

 No comment!

‘Paha Panik’ Bojonegoro – A Thigh Risk Strategy!

Pos Kupang’s latest report moves me once more to ask if there is no Indonesian equivalent to the UK offence of ‘wasting police time.’

But even if there is, I guess the cops in Bojonegoro won’t arrest each other for doing just that!

I refer of course to the annual flurry of self-righteousness which heralds the advent of Ramadan, raids on places people like to have fun, often characterised as ‘dimly-lit stalls,’ sometimes carried out by arrogant IslamoNazi gangsters, but also, and in this case, by the forces of law and order.

—-

—,

Such swoops reflect the double-standards embedded in so many minds here, whereby knocking back hard liquor and carousing with ‘strumpets’ – that’s the Google Translation gem I got today, quite charmingly old-fashioned, really –  are execrable activities – but only to be significantly targetted during one month of the year, purely on sectarian grounds. 

I should mention that the actual Indonesian phrase in the report was kupu kupu malam, literally ‘night butterflies,’ a much prettier term to apply to these harmless girls, surely?

—

a typical ‘dimly-lit stall’

— 

Ahead of Ramadan fasting, Bojonegoro police raided the circulation of alcohol at five locations on Tuesday (26/05/2015) from 10pm till daybreak…   http://kupang.tribunnews.com/2015/05/27/polisi-datang-wanita-penghibur-ini-buru-buru-tutupi-dada-dan-pahanya

The reporter breathlessly recounts how the raids created panic among the strumpets and patrons…, when karaoke rooms were entered, there was haste to cover bosoms and thighs –

That’s dada and paha in Bahasa Indonesia.

Dada can be translated as bosom, breasts or even just a decent spot of cleavage.

Paha? – thighs, the bete noire of crackpot kill-joys here!

=

 Not Bojonegoro, but just as good examples of paha, I’d say!

=

Always makes me think of that awful man, Suryadharma Ali, until recently Minister of Religious Affairs, who infamously decreed that hem-lines below the knee were a ‘universal criterion’ for morally acceptable women’s wear.  

“These raids are in order to create conditions for welcoming Ramadan….every day we will conduct raids like this, ” said Commissioner Saibani, Kapolsek Bojonegoro.

Since raids like this cause not only panic, as stated, but also stress, anxiety, fear and disruption, I remain slightly bemused how they contribute to welcoming Ramadan, which, I’m reliably informed, is supposed to be about introspection and contemplation…

———————————-

• 
• ———————–

• …and something about self-denial in terms of worldly pleasures.

SELF-denial, not denial of those pleasures by kill-joy cops or white-shirt hoodlums.

That surely negates any free choice on the part of the individual, and thus no sort of moral benefit accrues to those bullied into acquiescence.

Nor of course to those who bully them.

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?

–

–

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.

===================

•  FPI savages attack eatery
• =====================

• 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.