Bandung, West Java.  West Java, it seems, is not just a hotbed of hard-liners and religious intolerance. It is the home of Internet sensations, too. 

Two teenage girls from the provincial capital, Bandung, have captivated Web surfers and garnered mentions from media around the world after uploading a video of themselves lip-synching to a dangdut song. 



“Keong Racun” (“Poisonous Snail”), which they posted on YouTube, has grabbed more than 1.2 million hits since it was uploaded a month ago. 



It has also been the No. 1 trending topic on microblogging site Twitter for the past three days, a rare accolade for a site with a notoriously short attention span.



On Thursday, the video earned itself a mention on the Web site of British newspaper The Independent, which recorded how Twitter users were “going crazy” over the video, which sees the girls by turns giggling, grimacing, snarling, pouting, wriggling, guffawing and singing at full blast.



Sinta and Jovita “Jojo” Adityasari, both 19, told RCTI, a  private television station, that they had never expected their video to become such a sensation.



“Sinta and I have been best friends since senior high school,” Jojo said. “Last month we heard about the dangdut song ‘Keong Racun’ from a friend. We downloaded it and liked it because the lyrics are funny.



“We taped ourselves lip-synching in the living room of my parents’ house. We had originally meant to upload the video on Facebook, but the file size was too big.” So a friend suggested they upload it on YouTube. 



“Keong Racun,” written by Bandung singer-songwriter Buy Akur, was originally sung by Lisa, a local singer, but only became popular after Sinta and Jojo uploaded their version online.



The song is about a sleazy man shamelessly hitting on a girl on their first date.



The duo’s video created a buzz among Indonesian Twitter users and was linked by Facebook users and to other online forums.



Even politicians have been caught up in the craze, with House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung professing to be an instant fan. 



“Per your request, I just watched ‘Keong Racun’ and it has cheered me up,” Pramono wrote on his Twitter account, adding that the teenagers “made me laugh so hard.”



Jojo said she and Sinta had received numerous offers to make an album and act in sinetron.



“But we turned all of them down because we know we have no talent,” she said.



However, they have agreed to star in a music video. “Charly, the vocalist for [the band] ST12, asked us to be in his video. He will be singing his version of ‘Keong Racun,’ and we said yes,” Jojo said.



As a result of the video’s success, Jojo, an international relations student at Bandung’s Pasundan University, has been asked to be her campus icon and will be given a full scholarship.



But things do not look so rosy for Lisa.



Entertainment Web site Cumicumi.com reported on Friday that she had become ill due to stress. The singer claimed that Charly had reneged on his initial promise to sing  “Keong Racun” with her.



 “Charly did not specify if I would sing the song in a duet with him or as a back-up singer, but he promised to include me,” Lisa told the Web site. 



She said the arrangement on the song’s remake apparently changed after Charly met Buy.

Innovations that could help save lives won praise at the 2010 Indonesian Information and Communications Technology Award finals last week. 



A team from Jakarta’s Bina Nusantara University won the higher education category for a camera application that could help authorities spot security risks, including terrorists. 



The application, called “Jabbing,” alerts camera operators when objects or people stay idle for a pre-determined amount of time, said Fredy Purnomo, the team’s project adviser. 



He said “Jabbing” was designed for closed-circuit TV networks monitoring crowded public areas like lobbies or airports that were vulnerable to attack. 



Meanwhile, developers from Bandung were honored for hospital management software called MetaCare, which won the open source category at the awards, also known as Inaicta. 



The program keep track of the goings-on at hospitals “from accounting, logistics, and human resources, all the way to supply chain management,” designer Aries Setiabudi told the Jakarta Globe on Friday. 



The software has already been adopted by 19 health care facilities operated by state energy company PT Pertamina. 



The development team also included Hendrik Saragih, Syafikli Musyafako, Nurdiansyah Ehsan and Mohammad Reza Kamarullah. 



Other innovations honored at Inaicta included a maze-solving robot, a collaborative e-business system and an automatic resume and meeting minutes system. 



Inaicta, held annually by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology since 2007, aims to bridge the gap between the research community and businesses or end-users.

As a native of Cirebon, West Java, I was never fond of the city. Fifteen years ago, it was stifling, hot and humid, lacking in modern facilities and kid-friendly activities. 

Yet, like an abstract painting by Wassily Kandinsky, I recently realized that Cirebon is a place worth revisiting and seeing from a different perspective to fully appreciate its beauty. 

From July 16 to 18, the KKS Melati (Melati Social Group) based in Ampera, South Jakarta, shuttled 48 underprivileged children from six shelters in the capital to give them an in-depth look at Cirebon’s cultural heritage sites. 

“Kids today know more about modern songs and dances, but almost nothing about their own culture,” said Nurul, project manager of KKS Melati. “It’s very important for them to learn about their roots to respect and take pride in themselves.” 

To be eligible for the trip, the children had to pass a test on Cirebon’s culture and history. 

“In Cirebon, the Sundanese, Javanese, Arab and Chinese mix and create a unique cultural assimilation, unlike any other part of the country,” Nurul said. “In the visit, these kids can experience it for themselves and see how people from many different backgrounds live and work together in peace.” 

The city, the fourth largest along the northern coast of Java after Jakarta, Surabaya and Semarang, has always been an important port and strategic gateway to the island. 

There are many versions of its historic past. But according to an old manuscript written in the 17th century by Prince Kararangen, grandson of Sultan Syarif Hidayatullah of Cirebon, the city was founded in the 14th century as a small port town called Muara Jati, part of the Hindu Pajajaran Kingdom. 

Because of its strategic location, the port grew into a busy international harbor heavily trafficked by merchants from China, the Middle East, Cambodia and India. 

The harbor master at that time, Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang, had the port’s residential area moved five kilometers south of the harbor, where the quiet fishing town grew to become a city populated by people from many different nationalities. 

Muara Jati then became known as Caruban (melting pot), and then as Cirebon, where people of different countries still mingle and live together to this day. 

The children’s first stop was at Cirebon’s oldest palace, Keraton Kasepuhan, which was built in 1430 by Prince Cakrabuana, son of King Siliwangi of the Pajajaran Kingdom. 

The palace was handed over to the prince’s daughter, Ratu Ayu Pakungwati. She married Syarif, also known as Sunan Gunung Jati, one of the nine disciples who spread Islamic teachings in Java.

After Syarif was proclaimed ruler of the city, the palace became an Islamic stronghold. However, a red brick candi bentar , the topless split gateway typical of Hindu temples, still stands at the entrance. 

Nearby, there was a small stone monument of lingga yoni , also typical of Hindu temples. Lingga, the stone shaft, represents men, while yoni, a stone slab with a hollow space in its surface, represents women. 

“It’s a symbol of Adam and Eve,” our guide Satu said. “The monument shows that men and women need each other and co-exist in this world. 

Inside the gates, the lawns were well-manicured with old Banyan trees shading the walkways. At the center is the Taman Bunderan Dewan Daru (Dewan Daru Roundabout Park) with a pair of white lions symbolic of King Siliwangi. 

On one side of the park is a museum that showcases the palace’s antique collection, with displays of ancient kris, javelins, bows and arrows, as well as gamelan sets given to the sultan by neighboring countries. 

Across from the museum is the Gedong Singa Barong (Singa Barong Building) that houses the palace’s old chariots. Among them is a chariot sculpted for Syarif’s grandson in 1549. 

At the head of the chariot is Prabangsa, a mythical creature that combines an elephant, dragon and bouraq , a fabled beast that resembles a winged horse. 

“It’s a symbol of friendship between Cirebon, China, India and the Middle Eastern countries,” Satu said. 

He pointed out that the 461-year-old chariot was designed with a clever suspension system that prevented it from swaying when it traveled on a rocky path. 

The wheels of the chariot were also bent slightly sideways to prevent mud from spraying the passengers when it rained. 

“Four white buffaloes pulled the chariot,” Satu said. 

“The sultan used to ride on this chariot to parade around the city on the first of Muharam [Islamic New Year].” Because of its old age, however, the chariot hasn’t been used since 1942. 

Suhadi, a 13-year-old with the tour group, could not stop shaking his head as he stood before the chariot. 

“How was it possible?” he said. “Our ancestors must be very clever [to understand such technology] at the time.” 

From Keraton Kasepuhan, we went to Taman Sari Gua Sunyaragi (Sunyaragi Garden) built by Prince Kararangen in 1703. 

“Sunya means silent and ragi means body,” our guide Udin said. “The garden was a retreat for the prince and his troops to pray and practice martial arts.” 

An eerie aura of tranquility prevailed over the 1.5 hectare garden. The hilly area was covered with lush green grass and dotted with old traditional Javanese buildings with narrow peaked roofs and man-made caves. 

The facade of the caves was black rock, sculpted to resemble clouds in the traditional Cirebonese style known mega mendung (cloudy skies), while inside, narrow brick tunnels connected the different passageways. 

The children eagerly explored the cave system. “It’s like treasure hunting,” 12-year-old Ayu Ningsih said with a giggle. 

One of the caves, Gua Peteng (Dark Cave), was originally used to test the supernatural powers of the prince’s troops. 

In order to reach the cave, we all had to step, one by one, on the stone tiles across a lake. As they reached the last tile, the girls had to be very careful in navigating their way in order not to touch a disfigured stone statue at the cave’s entrance. 

“It’s the [statue of] Perawan Sunting [Unmarried Virgin],” Udin said. “Legend has it that any virgin that touches her will remain unmarried all her life.” 

Another large cave was used as the main dining hall, where the prince entertained his guests. 

At the back of the cave were secret tunnels said to lead directly to China and Saudi Arabia in the olden days. 

“Cirebon is the gate of secrets,” said Hafizoh, another escort and winner of a local beauty pageant. “The city retains a lot of interesting stories, myths and legends. It’s our heritage. I’m so proud to be Cirebonese.” 

But the highlight of the trip was later that evening, when we visited Kacirebonan Palace. 

In 1801, Sultan Muhammad Khairuddin was exiled to Ambon because of his anti-colonial agitating. In the wake of his expulsion, rebellions broke out in the city, causing problems for the colonial government. 

In 1808, the sultan was brought back to Cirebon, but installed in a new palace, Kacirebonan. His descendants continue to live there to this day. 

The ninth sultan, Abdul Ghani Natadiningrat, welcomed our group to the palace. 

“These dhuafa [less fortunate] children are also our children,” the sultan said. “We embrace them and hope that we can teach them something about our culture and tradition in this visit.” 

Performers at the palace then showcased the Cirebonese traditional arts of tari topeng (mask dance), wayang uwong (puppet dance) and turun sintren (the dance of the descending angel). 

The children watched the show with great interest. “I didn’t even blink,” Dika, 14, said afterward. 

“The [dance] movements were very graceful and the music was strong and dynamic. I think we can combine the movements with the dances that we already know and make it into something new.” 

The son of a fisherman in Kamal Muara, North Jakarta, Dika said he was also an avid student of traditional music and dances. An instructor in the Sumbangsih shelter home in Jakarta teaches dance to Dika and his friends. 

He said that the trip to Cirebon had inspired him with new passions and possibilities for the future. 

Just like Hafizoh, the trip made me proud to be born Cirebonese.

It was a simpler Jakarta, and one now lost in time. Newly-independent Indonesia’s capital was abuzz with optimism and nationalist fever in the late 1940s — not to mention the sound of electric trolleys rolling through the city center and out to Menteng, which then was just a suburb.



The city’s streets, and its relatively efficient public transportation system, largely remained that way until the early 1960s, when a fateful decision forever altered Jakarta’s history. President Sukarno, foreseeing rapid growth, had the trolleys decommissioned and replaced with buses.



“The trolley was insufficient to transport crowds because it only had [at most] three carriages,” said Jakarta historian Andy Alexander. “If you add more, it doesn’t move.”



So the trolley lines were paved over with asphalt and replaced by giant gasoline-guzzling buses. City planners dreamed up thoroughfares to help push the city southward into the wetlands beyond Menteng.



But the envisioned road network never really happened, while development flourished virtually unchecked by regulations or zoning.

“They did have plans. They just never implemented them,” Alexander said. “Jalan Sudirman-Jalan Thamrin was good planning, but that’s it. Roads grew on their own, without any planning.”



Mohammad Danisworo, chairman of the Center for Urban Design Studies in Bandung, and an adviser to five Jakarta governors, says the city before independence was basically a network of kampungs. Newer ones sprung up in the 1950s and ’60s, he said, and all of them eventually joined the sprawl. “They built the houses, and the roads came later,” he said. “And sometimes those roads weren’t designed to handle this development.”



As a result, the city is sorely lacking in major east-west crossroads, but has an overabundance of one-lane roads snaking through neighborhoods and behind high-rise buildings.



Jakarta’s newer districts also were never designed to enable people to live, work, shop and take their kids to school in the same area. As a result, more than 1.25 million people make trips into or out of the city and back every workday. Modern urban planning dictates that “you plan everything in your neighborhood,” said Harya Setyaka S Dillon, a transportation expert. “That’s the problem: There was no vision for self-sustained communities.” 



There was also no vision for pedestrians. Conspiracy theorists say foreign donors and international organizations such as the World Bank were eager to give loans and grants to build new roads and highways, all the better for imported American and Japanese cars. City officials gave scant consideration to sidewalks, crosswalks or other safety measures for foot traffic.



“Cities are [supposed to be] developed for people, not for cars,” said Milatia Kusuma Mu’min, Indonesian country director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. “The city of Jakarta provides only for cars and motorcycles. Now there’s an imbalance — all the protection is for the motorist.”



Well, most of the time. Jakarta is all but absent of public parking space, which leaves little option but to park on streets and sidewalks, thereby increasing traffic bottlenecks.



“There is only a small space on the roads, and the cars take up more space, which causes more problems,” said Sutikman, 54, a “blue shirt” city parking attendant who has worked on Jalan Sabang near Menteng for the past 30 years. “But I don’t want to say that parking causes traffic problems, because then my superior would think I haven’t been doing my job.”



The way the city’s streets have developed, someone somewhere clearly didn’t do theirs.

Television infotainment programs have come under fire over the past few weeks for their coverage of the leaked sex videos of singer Nazril “Ariel” Irham and celebrities Luna Maya and Cut Tari. The media circus surrounding the “Peterporn” sex tapes has sparked a high-level debate over whether infotainment programs have gone too far in airing celebrities’ dirty laundry. 



Earlier this month, House of Representatives Commission I, which oversees communication and information, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) and the Press Council agreed to categorize infotainment shows as “non-factual” programs.



According to the KPI, non-factual programs do not follow religious norms, moral and social values or the journalistic code of ethics, and as such, cannot be considered journalism. 



Last week, the Jakarta Globe spoke with veteran journalist Ilham Bintang, secretary of the honor council of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) and the founder and owner of “Cek & Ricek” (“Check & Recheck”), a local celebrity gossip show and tabloid. 



On the air since 1997, “Cek & Ricek” quickly gained a following and went from being shown once a week to three times a week. A year later, Ilham began putting out a tabloid of the same name under the Bintang Group. 



The success of “Cek & Ricek,” a self-proclaimed “pioneer of infotainment journalism,” opened doors for the industry in Indonesia. 



During its heyday, the Bintang Group produced more than 10 gossip shows for television stations. Some of these shows were short-lived, while others have remained on the air despite lingering concerns about the quality of their reporting. 



How did the idea for ‘Cek & Ricek’ come about? 



First, we have to remember that our local film festivals and our film industry died in 1992. Strangely enough, the film industry collapsed, but TV began to expand. 



Festival Sinetron Indonesia — which used to just be a complementary event to the Indonesian Film Festival — became huge. Harmoko [who was information minister at the time], asked me to help out with the festival arrangements and in 1994, I became its head of public relations. 



In the same year, I created an entertainment show, “Buletin Sinetron,” which was about sinetrons and the festival. I did not have money back then. I created the show to get some money. It ran for 10 years before it stopped airing in 2004. “Cek & Ricek” was born out of that. 



How was ‘Cek & Ricek’ created? 



It was RCTI’s former director of operations, Alex Kumara, who asked me to create a gossip show about celebrities. I agreed because I thought that the program could be a good medium for information and clarification. 



Usually, people only hear rumors [about celebrities]. Even deaths were sometimes reported without clarification of what happened. 



Did that happen a lot? 



PWI received a lot of complaints from the community, especially celebrities, about inaccurate reports in the mainstream media and about them being misquoted. 



In almost all newsrooms, entertainment journalists are the lowest in the journalism caste system. They usually assign entry-level journalists to cover entertainment and this explains why errors and complaints abound. 



There is an opinion that when you write good or bad news about celebrities, it’s a good thing for them because it means publicity. 



Because it’s not politics or education, some people even think that it’s OK for celebrity news to be inaccurate. This makes me furious. 



How did the situation affect the way that ‘Cek & Ricek’ was created? 



Alex wanted “Cek & Ricek” to be a gossip show. I didn’t like the idea. I told him that I was a journalist, I worked for some of the most serious newspapers in the world. 



In PWI, I also handled complaints about malpractice by journalists. [I told Alex] he was crazy to ask me to create a gossip show. 



It was not easy to create the concept for an infotainment show. I got sick and was hospitalized for three days [during the process], that’s when I got the inspiration to name the show “Cek & Ricek.” 



Alex disliked that name. He thought the name sounded too serious and a bit “too governmental” for an entertainment show. 



I told him again that I couldn’t do a gossip show. I could give him a show about celebrities sharing stories and giving tips to the public, but that we had to have values to hold on to. 



In six months, I sent 11 suggestions for the program name to Alex, but I insisted on “Cek & Ricek.” He must have thought I was being stubborn. It took a long time [for us] to get on the same page about this. 



I insisted on the name “Cek & Ricek” for a number of reasons. The program is about people, so it has to be accurate. I wanted to challenge people who accused journalists of twisting facts. 



Also, it was during the New Order era and no station except TVRI was allowed to have its own news program. 



Around that time, the newly appointed information minister, Hartono, released a statement that journalists were required to check and recheck [facts]. I recorded that statement and told Alex to listen to it. That’s when he agreed on the name. 



Why do you call ‘Cek & Ricek’ infotainment? 



Infotainment is a generic term from overseas. In foreign countries, it does not refer to any specific kind of show or content. There’s a study that says that infotainment is a marketing strategy. 



My disclaimer for “Cek & Ricek” is that it’s a medium to air information about celebrities’ careers and personalities and a platform for them to clarify rumors. 



Is producing infotainment a profitable business? 



Yes. It is very easy to sell advertising slots for an infotainment show. 



What are the ups and downs of the infotainment business? 



When the monetary crisis hit Indonesia in 1998, I thought, “What did I get myself into?” I was a journalist for print media, and suddenly I was making TV shows that required big investments. 



In 1998, I created the “Cek & Ricek” tabloid as a safety net. But I think we are doing well. It’s been 15 years and “Cek & Ricek” is still on the air. 



With the money it was making, other players started to get interested. They didn’t understand that the show was produced by people with a background in journalism, with skills and competency. 



The competition was increasing and TV stations started to create their own infotainment shows. Infotainment journalists started coming to celebrities’ homes and demanding comments. This gave other journalists a bad name. 



Do you feel responsible for that? 



We can’t tell people not to create infotainment shows. I’m sad, it’s like seeing a kid turning bad. I was even more worried because I knew that if something happened, it would get back to me. 



In 2005, PWI declared that infotainment was journalism. The problem is, this doesn’t mean that all infotainment workers automatically become members of the PWI or that all infotainment shows are doing journalistic work. I think this is the root of the problem. 



They don’t understand what is news, the philosophy behind it and the process of obtaining information. 



Infotainment became a [money-making] industry when TV stations started to produce their own shows. It became a tool to obtain high ratings. 



They don’t follow the same standards as the PWI because they have their own broadcasting law for all shows other than news. Soon, the PWI will only recognize infotainment programs that operate in accordance with its code of ethics. 



Many people say that infotainment programs have no educational value. What do you think? 



In our content, I forbid anything that involves psychics. It doesn’t educate people and it violates the PWI’s code of ethics. It is not measurable. 



The first time “Cek & Ricek” did a story about Mama Lauren [a famous psychic] was when she died. My staff thought that there had been a change in policy, but I told them that her death is a fact and her prophecies were not real. 



Once, we ran a story listing 11 celebrities who reported their lovers to the police and how the media attention that their cases received was one of the factors that contributed to their subsequent divorces. 



I think that’s educational. It’s all about the angle and the packaging. Some people are bored with mainstream news because it always talks about the government and corruption. 



I always say it takes skill to educate through news. That’s why it is important for production houses to put people with a background in journalism in managerial positions. 



Infotainment shows are perceived as intruding into the lives of celebrities. What do you think? 



If there’s a complaint about a violation of privacy, we need to check up on that. 



In the infotainment world, they call me Hitler. I have fired staff members who fabricated interviews. 



For example, I knew about Bambang Harjojudanto [son of former President Suharto] and the Halimah divorce case six months before they went to court, but I kept the file in my drawer. 



Once they went public, that’s when we published the story.