I found these pictures loitering around my blackberry.
1. Hati Hati
Setiabudi Mall
Indonesia produces a shitload of cigarettes and a shitload of people to smoke them. The government helps pave the way for its citizens by removing all barriers to churning through all this tobacco.
Indonesian cigarettes carry small warnings on their packets but they are not scary. They are simple messages like "smoking sux", "not good" and the like.
Australia's smoking laws obviously forced many people to head upstairs to Indonesia.
This smokers' paradise called Jakarta ensures that most Indonesians and expats can smoke. Continuously.
Sometimes it feels like everyone decided to stop watching tv in the 50's, when everything was healthy.
Jakarta restaurants have also started offering non-smoking tables, sometimes with ashtrays. I have never seenanyone here request a non smoking table. I have never seen anyone annoyed by smoking. You cannot live in this country if you get annoyed by smoking. It would be like an anti-semite moving to Jerusalem. (Palestinian, anyone?)
I was intrigued to see this long warning under the LA Lights sign at my local supermarket.
It's un-Indonesian to discourage smoking. But it's very Indonesian to be long-winded in attempting to disagree with something. Sometimes at work I stand there staring for ages trying to figure out people's answers to my simple questions ... long stories that ramble on continuously about nothing ... going nowhere ... "So you mean no then?" I interrupt, which often triggers another pointless story.
Once I was in a meeting with my CEO and we were discussing a project issue. I asked him if we should go and meet the client later that week and he started his answer thus:
"Anthony you've been in Indonesia for some time now so you'll understand what this means ..."
He then started banging on about how they were considering outsourcing our printing a few years back but he eventually rejected the idea and now the printing stays in house. I had no idea what he was talking about and after 10 minutes I had to make a guess that the answer was "yes". I made a mental note to warn people not to mention the printers.
I translated this photo when I got home. This is what the sign says.
SMOKING CAN CAUSE CANCER, HEART ATTACKS, IMPOTENCE AND TROUBLED PREGNANCY AND FETUS.
It's pretty straightforward but I'm struggling to see how smoking could cause impotence and a fetus. But like I said - they don't like to exclude anyone - so what the hey.
2. Blind Dates
Plaza Indonesia
I just don't think the client would have approved this slogan in Australia.
3. Internal communication
17th Floor
I mentioned above about how Indonesians can be a little long-winded. This sign was on the door of a locked meeting room last week.
It took me a while but I finally worked out what they meant. They are moving some people to a new floor and this meeting room is storing surplus furniture for a few days. That's it.
As an aside, I like the Braille numbers on the door. They are very inclusive ... even though we have no blind people in the office ... and even though we use the room names (not numbers) when we make bookings.
But if we did have blind people, and if we start using numbers, and if these blind people could get themselves to the correct door on the right floor and fondle the sign in the right place ... it will tell them the room number.
If I was blind I'd probably try to memorise the room names when I stepped them out the first time. Or ask my dog to. Or maybe if I was stuck I would ask someone for help, just like the sighted people do. It would be easier than patting my way around the filing cabinets and up the corridor, hoping to come across some lumps.
4. Toilet
I mentioned earlier that Indonesians love using the word toilet. This was the first sing put up on the new floor.
All the toilets in the building are in the same place, but I guess someone wanted to make it clear.
When you get to the toilets there is no sign (yet) to say which is male or female. Not even in Braille.
5. Supervision
Setiabudi Residence
In Indonesia every transaction is closely supervised. Unless there is someone standing there watching a transaction take place, I would argue that it could not be done.
I bought some wine glasses 2 weeks ago and 9 people were behind the counter. There were 3 people specifically allocated to watching the credit card machine being used.
When I went to pay my electricity bill on Saturday, there was only one person serving me. She went over to another desk to process my credit card, the cleaner must have realised she was alone. He stopped what he was doing and went over to ensure everything went smoothly.
I thanked them both as I left. He seemed to take most of the credit.
6. No, Honey
Gedung Wisma 45
I hate it when they just give away honey toast like it's anybody's business. It's reassuring to see that some restaurants are fighting back.
