It’s that time of year again. A time when the news seemingly comes to a standstill as the country remains in holiday mode, giving us the opportunity to flog at you what are essentially reruns from the past year.
We at Coconuts Jakarta invite you to revisit the year’s most popular stories published on your beloved source of the most important/wondrous/weird stories from the Indonesian capital and beyond.
In this election year, it was evident that our loyal readers turned to us to provide much-needed respite from the deluge of political coverage. True enough, we found that our most popular stories dealt with corporate scandals, viral heartwarming videos, and even K-pop drama.
Without further ado, here’s the list of Coconuts Jakarta‘s 10 most read stories in 2019 (in ascending order). Onwards and upwards to 2020!
‘Your baby doesn’t deserve that name’: Indonesian celeb says her baby’s name is exclusive, takes aim at fan for copying
You can’t copyright a person’s name, but you can certainly turn the internet against you by staking exclusive claim to a baby name you so painstakingly came up with. That is what Indonesian TV host Franda did in September when she derided a couple — who happened to be fans of hers — for naming their baby after hers. Read on here.
Indonesian actress reports ex-husband to police for saying her genitalia smelled like ‘salted fish’ in vlog
This is definitely one of the most peculiar defamation cases in Indonesia this year. Ex-husband goes on vlog hosted by famous influencer and spilled the tea on his past marriage, down to the finest details such as how her private region smelled. He may face lengthy jail time for the TMI revelation. Read on here.
Enraged Indonesian man flips and dismantles own motorcycle in front of cop after getting ticketed (Video)
Absolute rage. Zero f–ks given. How not to react when getting ticketed: an Indonesian case study. Read on here.
Bystanders, filming with their phones, urged suicide victim to jump from mall roof: witness
This is undoubtedly one of the most depressing stories we’ve ever covered — one that highlights the relative lack of seriousness suicide is treated with in Indonesia. A young man in desperate need of help instead gets egged on to jump off a mall roof, all the while people had their phones out to film the incident. Unsurprisingly, this story did not end well. Read on here.
IT Ministry to investigate popular Indonesian gaming Youtuber Kimi Hime over alleged ‘vulgar content’
Travel vlogger reported to police for posting viral photo of handwritten menu in Garuda Indonesia’s business class
Indonesia’s defamation laws are too ambiguous for their own good. So when a renowned travel vlogger posted a photo of a handwritten makeshift menu on flag carrier Garuda Indonesia’s business class service, that was evidently enough to kick start a defamation lawsuit against him. Read on here.
Indonesian actress Raline Shah says disgraced K-pop star Seungri just ‘a friend’ after their photos appeared in South Korean media
The spotlight on K-pop’s biggest scandal of the year briefly turned to Indonesia when the photo above circulated in South Korean media. The story ended up being nothing more than a footnote in the grand scheme of the scandal, but the rumors that emerged in Indonesia were quite salacious before they were addressed. Read on here.
Injustice League: DC Comics loses copyright lawsuit against Indonesian company that makes Superman-themed snacks
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman Choco Milk Wafer! Indonesian copyright laws proved to be a figurative kryptonite in a lawsuit filed against the company behind the snack by the original creators of the Man of Steel. Lex Luthor’s bald head couldn’t even come up with such a nefarious scheme. Read on here.
Viral: Grab drivers cry with happiness after finding out they won company-funded Umrah pilgrimage trips
One of the most heartwarming stories of the year from Indonesia. Motorcycle taxi drivers often have to work hard and unforgiving hours to make ends meet, so the reaction of these two men winning a company-funded trip of their dreams was of pure happiness and gratitude. More acts of kindness like these, we say. Read on here.
Former Garuda Indonesia employee opens up about ‘prostitution’ allegations involving airline bosses and air hostesses
Which brings us to the most read Coconuts Jakarta story of 2019. This was quite a surprising winner in that it was published this month and yet still managed to soar to the top spot, but not very surprising considering that it’s arguably the biggest corporate scandal in Indonesia this year. We feel there is more to come from this story in 2020. Read on here.
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