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Mr President: Apart from professional help, you need honest feedback

Even the usually mild-mannered Endy Bayuni was forced earlier this week to rant against the President and his team’s egregious handling of the Coronavirus outbreak in the usually tepid The Jakarta Post.

He counseled seeking professional help instead of relying on amateurs for something as serious and critical as the matter staring us in the face.

His advice, like so many well-meaning ones,…

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Beware the normalization of floods by Anies Baswedan

Beware the normalization of floods by Anies Baswedan

Normal is when something happens often, becomes predictable and loses the power to shock, anger and spur people into action.

The biggest danger that Jakartans face is the normalization of the widespread floods which is happening so often lately, I think about seven this year so far.

Each time time it floods the same things happen. From early on Netizens start posting photos of floods in…

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Who is responsible for the rise and continued presence of Siti you-can-get-pregnant-while-swimming-with-men Hikmawatty?

That Siti Hikmawatty is stupid is a given fact. What else can explain an official for the Commission for the Protection of Indonesia Children (KPAI), and supposedly a one-time academic, would say that women can get pregnant from swimming in a pool with men?

Her stupidity is stupendous. In apologizing for her statement she said she had been inaccurate but it was a “personal” statement rather…

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On Whining palm oil bosses

On Whining palm oil bosses

This is what I wrote for the Palm Scribe about the defensive palm oil bosses in Malaysia when it comes to NGOs

  Palm Oil Bosses and ‘toxic’ NGOs: Goliath whining about David – The Palm Scribe

I always find it laughable when corporations blame the bad publicity they receive on “black campaigns” waged by their rivals. It is laughable because most of the time the bad publicity they receive is a…

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Non-festive Chinese New Year at KLIA

Non-festive Chinese New Year at KLIA

Landing in Kuala Lumpur’s low-cost and international airport a couple of days just before Chinese New Year is depressing.

There are perfunctory signboards and decorations to mark the Lunar new year but there is nothing festive about it. There is no longer the annoying raucous Chinese New Year music that used to annoy me but now I miss.

The upbeat tunes full of drum beats, cymbal clashes and…

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Kurawa, Big Media, and the GoodBener who would be president

Kurawa, Big Media, and the GoodBener who would be president

A battle royale is raging on Twitter between established online media houses including kompas.com, kumparan.com and professional buzzer @Kurawa and so far there have been threats of legal suits, applying the Draconian UU ITE and others.

The story unfolded on January 5 when Rudy Valinka, aka @kurawa, tweeted an accusation against Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan for media placement carrying the…

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Second Apotik Senopati crash highlights lack of law enforcement

Second Apotik Senopati crash highlights lack of law enforcement

A BMW jumped the curb and ploughed into Apotik Senopati at about 4am today. The driver was apparently a 19-year old student. A video post by @TMCPoldaMetro showed  what looked like the driver showed a young man wearing a black cap whose breath, said police, smelled of alcohol.

This morning’s crash was the second. No fatalities except damage to the pharmacy.

  This was the second car to crash into…

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Garuda’s Ari: when its OK to experience schadenfreude

Garuda’s Ari: when its OK to experience schadenfreude

Schadenfreude or, in English, epicaricacy, is mostly a guilty pleasure. That’s because it is the joy you feel at the misfortune of others.

Not much changed since the bad old days. Still soft and privileged bums on the seats of Harley Davidsons

In the case of now-sacked Garuda President Director Ari Askhara, however, schadenfreude is a legitimate and just pleasure.

Here was a man who lived a life…

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Something amiss about the Government’s handling of demonstrations

Something amiss about the Government’s handling of demonstrations

There is something amiss in the Government’s handling of the demonstrations that have taken place in at least nine cities over the past week.

It is at best, half-hearted and amateurish; at worst, grist for a conspiracy theorist’s mill.

Contrast this week’s handling of protests with that of how it handled the protests surrounding the riots of May 21 and 22, after Prabowo refused to accept the…

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The mystery behind the police apology

The mystery behind the police apology

There is something very strange about this story.

Early this Police stopped 5 Jakarta City (DKI) ambulances on Jalan Gatot Subroto.

In at least one they found rocks and petrol. They suspected that the ambulances were being used to supply rocks for throwing at police and fireworks.

The ambulances were impounded and police released a video of the interception on their twitter feed.

In the video, a…

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Will The Indonesian Government end up like the one in Hong Kong - reviled, untrusted and ineffectual?

Will The Indonesian Government end up like the one in Hong Kong – reviled, untrusted and ineffectual?

Communications, or lack of, is digging the government into a bigger hole than it is in because of issues surrounding the amends to the KPK and criminal Code laws, Papua, forest fires and the president’s family.

With public sentiment at best skeptical at worst critical of the government, communications can make the difference between people’s perception of the government as open, responsive and…

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Jokowi, the DPR and the beautiful, valiant students of Indonesia

Jokowi, the DPR and the beautiful, valiant students of Indonesia

Today, thousands of students have taken to the streets in Jakarta and other cities demonstrating against the Criminal Code. Traffic in Jakarta was clogged up and as the day progressed, water cannons and tear gas were used on them, but it could not dampen their spirit.

A couple of days ago, after widespread protests,  President Jokowi had announced that he has asked the House of Representatives to…

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KPAI isn’t all wrong about PB Djarum

KPAI isn���t all wrong about PB Djarum

Something important is lost in the rancour against KPAI (The Commission for the Protection of Children) for calling out PB Djarum’s (Djarum Badminton Association) badminton auditions.

KPAI, as we know has accused the cigarette maker Djarum of using its foundation, PB Djarum (Djarum Badminton Association) to exploit children.

To be sure, KPAI has chosen its accusation poorly, using the word manipu…

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OOne of the reasons why I love PR

OOne of the reasons why I love PR

I love my job because every now and then we get to bring our networks, know-how and contacts together to make things happen for a good cause.

The blogpost in Maverick is about how OPPO and Patrick Owen got together to raise Rp103 million for Rachel House in one night.

So uplifting a young man such as Patrick being so open hearted, capable and generous not to mention creative; and out client OPPO…

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Maverick’s views on the Garuda fiasco

Maverick’s views on the Garuda fiasco

This is what I co-wrote with my colleague Marsha Imaniara on the fiasco surrounding Garuda after it issued a circular banning passengers from taking photos and video clips on board its airplanes.

https://m.kumparan.com/marsha-imaniara-1563432131140003103/alasan-garuda-indonesia-terjepit-akibat-menu-tulis-tangan-1rUXfXMLbKX?utm_source=Mobilesite&utm_medium=copy-to-clipboard&utm_campaign=Share

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The Rich and Patti Arguments over Rich Brian

The Rich and Patti Arguments over Rich Brian

Former US Ambassador who reinvented himself as the organizer of Supermentor,   Dino Patti Jallal, has a point in the ongoing feud with BEKRAF chief Triawan Munaf over Indonesian Rapper Rich Brian where children are concerned.

Children should not be exposed to obscenities. But the whole episode is not as clear cut as he makes it out to be.

The feud has its roots on 7 July when Jokowi met with…

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Maverick now in select circle of crisis and litigation communication experts