McDonald's vs. Toni Jack's...

There is probably a good legal article in this dispute somewhere. But, truth be told, I do not have the time to read everything I need to in order to find it. But, maybe I will, it seems the interest might be in why the name Toni Jack's was chosen.

However, it would seem that the one-time franchisee, Bambang Rachmadi, of the McDonald's restaurant in the Sarinah Building in the heart of Jalan Thamrin in Jakarta had a falling out with the franchisor. In essence, what was once a landmark site and attraction for tourists and locals alike ceased to be. The dispute started back in 2009 and was to all intents and purposes resolved today.

What better day than Valentine's Day to signal the restoration of love between franchisee and franchisor.

It is hard to imagine the Sarinah building without Mickey D's. For as long as I can remember it has always been there. To see something else there would have been unsettling. After all, it was perfectly situated for the late night munchies. Not only was it close to the office, it was also close to lots of entertainment venues in that part of town.

Now that the Golden Arches are back in Sarinah it is time to start planning a holiday to Jakarta. It just would not have been the same without the famed restaurant in the fold.

Maybe the burgers are better at Toni Jack's? Sounds like an ad...for "Hungry Jack's"!

Ho hum...

Heath Ledger, "Whacked"...

I have heard some bizarre things, but Heath Ledger being "whacked" by some sort of Hollywood Hit Gang is way up there. Thanks to Mr Randy Quaid for letting us all know that at least eight actors have been victim to this gang of 'whackers'. Aside from Ledger, the whacker gang has also had success with Chris Penn and David Carradine.

Randy Quaid and his other half, Evi, have fled from justice in the USA to the 'safer' confines of Canada. According to Randy, he is being pursued by the whackers. Presumably this means he is next in line to be whacked.

The legal troubles and the stories surrounding the Quaids just keep getting weirder all the time. The Quaids legal problems include squatting and burglary among others. The fact that they need to flee to Canada in order to avoid being whacked is icing on the weirdness cake.

Kretek Cigarettes, the US, and the WTO...

The Indonesian kretek export sector is destined to take a big hit as the ban imposed on flavoured tobacco products by the US kicks in. The ban is going to significantly, and adversely, effect sales and foreign reserve income from the export of clove flavoured cigarettes between Indonesia and the US.

For the Government of Indonesia, the The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 is going to see about USD 6.5 million in foreign reserves income dry up almost instantly. Therefore, the government has determined that the US Act is in breach of US obligations under WTO agreements and is seeking WTO assistance in resolving the dispute. The essence of the Indonesian claim is that the US is illegally discriminating against Indonesian products (kretek cigarettes). The legal issues will be interesting to watch as they unravel before the WTO Dispute Settlement body in Geneva.

I am not a smoker. I would be happy if smoking was banned on a global scale. That said, I do appreciate that some people may claim to be happy smokers and content with their addiction and any harm that it might be doing to them and those around them. I also appreciate that tobacco is big business and employs a lot of people. This is most definitely the case in Indonesia where labour is cheap and labour laws are not always enforced as they have been enacted (even with the creation of a labour court). The cold hard reality is that many Indonesian workers, and mostly women, will be likely to become redundant now that the US market for clove cigarettes is to all intents and purposes closed for business.

An unfortunate consequence of the enactment of this US Act is not that smoking companies will not be making any money, but rather that this will be used to downsize and make redundant workers who can least afford to become redundant. In the big scheme of things this legislation is going to have noticeable social and economic impacts in the small communities that roll these clove cigarettes for the US market.

I am not confident that the cigarette companies or the Indonesian government will be able to mitigate the hardships that some workers will be forced to endure as a result. With a little bit of help to re-train and re-skill  many of these soon to be redundant workers could remain valuable contributors to a brighter economic future for Indonesia.

Sumpah Pocong...

Sumpah Pocong is often referred to as the ultimate oath. However, it is more like an oath of innocence. Sumpah pocong involves the oath taker being wrapped in white cloth and then swearing an oath to their innocence. The white cloth that the oath taker is wrapped in resembles the death robes or shroud that Muslims are buried in. Therefore, the sumpah pocong is considered to be the ultimate oath because one is said to risk death or chronic illness if they lie about their innocence while wrapped up.

The sumpah pocong has always been a part of the Indonesian cultural landscape, and there is many a horror film that uses the pocong as a means of instilling fear. However, the sumpah pocong is coming back to the fore as a means of attempting to clear one's name in legal disputes. Prita Mulyasari, who has been battling the state and public prosecutors in a defamation matter has recently offered to take one, a sumpah pocong that is, as a means of declaring her innocence of a defamation charge.

I am not sure how the sumpah pocong would do this other than perhaps to indicate that Prita did not intend to defame Omni International Hospital. But, a more pertinent question would be, "how long should the courts wait to see whether Prita has told the truth?" This is important because the risk of lying while doing the sumpah pocong is death or chronic illness. It is my understanding that death and chronic illness may not necessarily be instantaneous if the oath taker tells a little fib about their innocence.

In any event, in a case from Banyuwangi in East Java, Rahmatulloh has offered to take a sumpah pocong to prove that he is innocent of charges that he is a shaman (dukun) and that he did not kill his nephew, Hamid, by using black magic on him. Hamid's father, Pon, claimed that Rahmatulloh used black magic to kill his son as his son was healthy one day and then died after suffering from some bizarre symptoms. This presupposes that bizarre symptoms are indicative of black magic. Maybe, the villagers need to sit down and watch a few episodes of House to see that bizarre and weird symptoms are not always indicative of black magic.

TV One carried some coverage of the sumpah pocong being performed. The sumpah pocong oath is usually done in a local mosque under the guidance of an agreed religious leader of the relevant community.

The video is in Indonesian and is embedded below.