How do they live? How do they make their money? How good are they for Indonesia?
Gerry van Klinken
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Indonesian opulence: The 62-year old lawyer Warsito Sanyoto and hisfamily. See story by Ben KnapenAhmad “deNy” Salman (reachdeny@gmail.com) |
This is the first time Inside Indonesia has run a whole edition on The Rich. The poor have obviously been more prominent in our pages because there are still so many of them in Indonesia. But the few with money have a lot more clout in this world. And let’s face it, we all enjoy the voyeurism of peeping into their lives. So how do you do a whole edition on the rich?
We first wanted to take a look at how they live as human beings. Deasy Simanjuntak‘s light-hearted story about wedding preparations might ring bells with anyone who shares family with social climbers. Ben Knapen’s peek into the home of an ostentatiously wealthy lawyer – beautifully illustrated by Ahmad deNy Salman – puts on display an entire class of new money. Some of their lifestyle excesses produce serious health hazards, as Madarina Julia shows in her piece on the growing childhood obesity epidemic.
Secondly we wanted to find out how they made their money. The overwhelming impression is that good political connections are a must for any aspiring tycoon in Indonesia. Akiko Morishita’s portrait of a Kalimantan timber baron is a
