Dear reader,

They make the rules, so it comes as no surprise that they get to break ‘em.

Just like that time a lawmaker was caught watching porn on his phone during a legislative meeting (porn is illegal in Indonesia, in case you didn’t know), we now know that a lot of legislators gamble online, too.

More on that hypocrisy just below. As for the rest of us, staying away from gambling is advisable whether it is legal or not. So don’t do it. Think of your families.

Cheers,

Andra

Law/Politics

The House Plays Too

Our elected representatives truly represent us. Amid an online gambling crisis in the country, it has been revealed that over 1,000 in the House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD) are hooked on the vice, too.

Unlike most regular of us regular Jokos, these legislators like to go big, as reported by the Financial Transactions Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) today. The agency has flagged some 63,000 transactions totaling IDR 25 billion from this particularly privileged group, with individual deposits reaching hundreds of millions of rupiah.

As far as DPR goes, PPATK says it is going to forward the names of lawmakers involved to the House ethics committee, who may hand down sanctions.

In case one needs reminding, gambling, including the online variety, is illegal in Indonesia. The government is currently cracking down on online gambling, having recently formed a task force to eradicate the crime.

But with online gambling penetrating all levels of society, it’s hard to see it being totally wiped out anytime soon.

In Other News

• A man in Sambas, West Kalimantan, who was buried in debt from online gambling, allegedly killed a debt collector over an insult. Authorities said the suspect was enraged and driven to commit murder after the victim offered to take his wife to clear his debt.

• Police in Tangerang, Banten arrested the boss of an event organizer firm who ran away with a huge sum of operational cash hours before the start of a music festival last week. The incident caused bands to pull out of the event, triggering riots and looting by angry festival-goers.

Business/Economy

• Singapore is joining the race to invest in Indonesia’s textile industry, following China’s lead. The news comes as a boost to the stumbling industry, which recently saw mass layoffs, as the investments may create 40,000 new jobs from 11 factories.

• President Joko Widodo has ordered the distribution of tens of thousands of water pumps to irrigate farms throughout the country ahead of an expected dry spell and excessive heat from July to October.

• Starlink users in Indonesia pointed out that the satellite internet provider has reduced its maximum residential internet speed to 159 mbps. Prior to this, Starlink reportedly advertised that users at home could surf the web at a maximum speed of 300 mbps.

Everything Else

• The South Sumatra Provincial Government has officially declared that the province is on alert for forest and land fires amid summer’s peak. The local government is mobilizing resources to combat potential blazes in 12 particular regions, including Musi Banyuasin and Ogan Komering Ilir, which would threaten both the environment and public health.

• A video recently went viral depicting an HR officer for a nickel mining company yelling at a prospective employee for smoking indoors. While both have apologized to each other, the HR staffer was reportedly suspended while the smoker was hired with a six-month probation period.