Most people would agree that 2016 was kind of a total shitshow. For those of us in Jakarta, the year began with a horrific terrorist attack that killed eight people, while over the course of the year, the persecution of minority groups and religious intolerance seemed to rise steadily throughout Indonesia. Oh, and Trump won the US election.
But, as Coconuts Jakarta enters its third year of existence, we have tried to further establish ourselves as the go-to alternative media source for Indonesia (pardon the humblebrag, but we topped over 1 million unique readers in a month this year, our biggest yet).
It’s not surprising then that none of our top 10 most read stories of 2016 touched on the biggest news stories in the mainstream Indonesian media. But while some of them were ridiculous, like the one about Japanese porn being displayed on a huge billboard screen in Jakarta, many of them dealt with serious social issues like the treatment of domestic helpers and ridiculous TV censorship. That should tell you a lot about the diversity of our readers.
Without further ado, here are the top 10 most read Coconuts Jakarta stories of 2016:
10. Viral: Moviegoer supposedly possessed by demon after watching The Conjuring 2 in Bandung
In the scariest way possible that life could imitate art, hugely popular Hollywood horror blockbuster “The Conjuring 2” frightened Indonesian netizens beyond the big screen as a video showing someone supposedly getting possessed while watching the movie in Bandung went viral online.
While the supernatural might have been on display in the video, there’s probably a much more reasonable explanation – like it being part of a clever marketing strategy by the movie’s studio.
9. Famous US “breastaurant” chain Hooters will be opening soon in Jakarta’s Kemang neighborhood
First of all, we did not make up the word “breastaurant” – it’s an actual industry term. But this story was huge, which could only mean that Jakartans are craving for Hooters’ world-famous chicken wings.
Hooters plans to open a chain in the Kemang neighborhood of South Jakarta, but we still don’t know exactly when they’ll open their doors.
8. WATCH: Youtube foodie goes deaf after eating “the spiciest noodles in the world” in Jakarta
Many Indonesians have an obsession with “pedas” (spicy) food and instant noodles. Combine the two, you get “mie pedas mampus” (death spicy noodles) which is available at a little restaurant in West Jakarta. The dish combines as many as 100 ground chili peppers into a single bowl of Indomie Goreng.
Famous Youtuber Ben Ten took the life-threatening challenge of eating mie pedas mampus and immediately regretted it. He somehow managed to survive the ordeal which rendered him temporarily deaf.
7. Somebody put Japanese porn up on a huge Videotron billboard at a major Jakarta intersection
This is easily the most hilarious crime story in Indonesia this year (yes, broadcasting porn is very illegal in Indonesia).
A major intersection in South Jakarta came to a standstill one Friday when a large videotron billboard suddenly displayed Japanese porn. The work of professional hackers? Hardly. The suspect admitted that he saw the billboard’s username and password and was able to access it using his laptop… and then played Japanese porn for kicks. He is now facing criminal charges.
Beauty pageants often cause a lot of controversy among conservatives in Indonesia, particularly when it comes to the part when contestants wear revealing bikinis. But many netizens were outraged when a national TV station censored parts of the contestants’ bodies who were wearing traditional Indonesian kebaya dresses.
5. Policeman says he’d rather scavenge trash than accept bribes, wins nation’s hearts
This police officer rejected bribes before it was cool (and before the Indonesian government recently made a very public push to end bribery in all sectors). In fact, he chose to scavenge trash as a side job for years to make ends meet for his family, instead of accepting dirty money as many police officers in Indonesia unfortunately do.
4. Swedish furniture giant IKEA loses Indonesian trademark to IKEA name to a company from Surabaya
What’s in a name? Well, plenty if you want to piggyback on somebody else’s success.
Swedish furniture giant IKEA lost the trademark to their own name in Indonesia after it was found not to have actively used it for three consecutive years. That is when a small rattan producing company from Surabaya came in and adopted the IKEA name under their trademark, causing issues with the original IKEA after it finally opened a store in Indonesia in 2014.
The IKEA store in Alam Sutra still has its name, so it seems to have worked out in the end for them.
The 2004 Aceh tsunami was one of the biggest natural disasters ever, as hundreds of thousands perished in Aceh as well as other locations surrounding the Indian Ocean. Amid all the sadness and grief, a 10-year-old boy named Martunis survived the disaster and, 10 years later, ended up joining the football academy where his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, trained in Portugal.
This unlikely tale really pulls at the heartstrings, and we hope that Martunis makes it as a professional footballer.
Irma Bule, a dangdut singer whose search for fame led her to literally sing and dance with large, and sometimes poisonous snakes, became an international story after a king cobra bit her in the thigh while she was performing on stage.
Instead of seeking immediate medical attention, Irma Bule reportedly soldiered on and kept performing for 45 minutes before the snake’s poison tragically ended her life.
1. VIRAL: Photo of young maid sitting by herself while employer’s family eats moves 57,000 to share
Stories about social media bringing out the worst in people happen all the time, but it can also be used as a powerful tool to fight social injustice. This Facebook user’s photo of a young maid sitting by herself while her employer’s family ate at a restaurant exposed an aspect of Indonesian and Asian culture that is rarely discussed – the often small but dehumanizing things that employers do to their domestic helpers. The photo went incredibly viral all over the world and moved people around the region to condemn the mistreatment domestic helpers. We hope that in some small way our sharing this photo has helped people to think about how to treat their maids with more sensitivity and kindness. If it did that, then we know we’ve done at least some good this year.
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