Gary Dean
> These essays were assembled in an unusual way, by an unlikely person, in an unlikely place. So before starting, you are owed an open account of all three; not as credentials, but as disclosures: where the work comes from, who helped make it, and --…
> Dharma: A word almost no one can define, without a lot of hand-waving, and almost everyone uses anyway. At its root it means something very plain, "to hold"; the interesting part is how far that plain idea reaches. The word is everywhere, once you …
> Why does every society grow a dharma, and why did so many of the greatest ones appear, in different worlds, at almost the same moment? The answer starts with a problem that arrives the day your village gets too big to know. Picture two human worlds…
A Rant
> `Bash` is the fifth most-used programming language in the world, and the one that most programmers refuse to take seriously. This must change. --- According to the 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, 48.7% of developers worldwide use Bash. Not "h…
It's Time for Indonesia to Act
Last week, a coalition of European tech companies held a press conference in Berlin and announced a new office suite called Euro-Office. Documents, spreadsheets, presentations -- standard productivity software. Except this wasn't a product launch. It…
Sudah Saatnya Indonesia Bertindak
Minggu lalu, sebuah koalisi perusahaan teknologi Eropa mengadakan konferensi pers di Berlin dan mengumumkan paket aplikasi perkantoran baru bernama Euro-Office. Dokumen, spreadsheet, presentasi -- perangkat lunak produktivitas standar. Tapi ini bukan…
Looking Back After 25 Years
In July 2001, I wrote an essay on doing business in Indonesia. It was commissioned by the East Asia Analytical Unit of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as part of a book entitled Indonesia: Facing the Challenge. At the time, In…
The Law Finally Catches Up
The Chief Justice of the Indonesian Supreme Court, I Gusti Agung Sumanatha, recently described the practice of foreigners buying land through nominee arrangements as a "circumvention of the law" (penyelundupan hukum / fraus legis). The Governor of Ba…
A Case Study of Collaboration Across Departments Between Gen Y and Gen Z
## Abstract > This research examines intergenerational communication and collaboration between Gen Y (born 1981-1996) and Gen Z (born 1997-2012) employees at Okusi Associates, a management and consultancy firm in Central Jakarta, which has several de…
Bridging Theory and Practice for Real-World Impact
Applied anthropology is the practical application of anthropological methods, theories, and insights to address real-world challenges. It serves as a bridge between academic anthropology and actionable solutions, engaging with contemporary social, cu…
wtf? SRSLY? :facepalm:
Some friends and I have a YouTube channel called 'a secular dharma?'. This channel has long -- often boring -- discussions about the nature and definition of dharma, and about life in general. In Sept 2024, YouTube removed a video entitled "Metaphysi…
ways, paths, cultures, outlooks
## The Etymology of 'Dharma' The word dharma is one of the most enduring and multifaceted terms in human thought, with deep roots in ancient Indian languages and cultures. While it is often associated with religious or spiritual traditions, its etymo…
An open letter to my friends and clients in Indonesia.
The global economy has taken a blow, with volatility in exchange rates and commodity prices and mass unemployment. National monetary authorities have adjusted their predictions for economic growth in 2020-2021, with negative growth expected in 2020 a…
Reflections 14 years after the Asian Tsunami
In 2004 and 2005, in addition to running my consultancy firm, I also moonlighted – quite literally – as a copy editor at The Jakarta Post. This meant my work day averaged 16 hours at that time. I totally didn’t need this additional workload, but it w…
this is a video from a point-of-view perspective that i took while walking around the kyoto imperial palace grounds. it was during a solo visit to japan at the end of 2017. it was cold and snowing. i had visited japan in the [northern hemisphere] spr…
A nothing story
I was 14, a quiet boy living in an outer suburb of a small and isolated city called Perth1, in a large and remote state called Western Australia, in a large and isolated continent called Australia. The Perth of that time considered itself a bastion o…
a way of trading that will soon disappear
A walk through the Beringharjo traditional market on Jalan Malioboro in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, using a chest height POV camera.
This is a video of a circumcision celebration for my son Rama Dean, which took place on 19 December 2014 at Graha Okusi, Jakarta, Indonesia.
From the West, Northward to the East
I was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia, in the pre-Sputnik era, and brought up in a mono-cultural English/British suburban environment. I am a Gemini and a Rooster. My MBTI is INFJ, my blood type B-, and I’m an Aspie. Here’s a snapshot of …
A Jakarta Expat interview with Gary Dean
Parts of this interview were published in Jakarta Expat, March 2013 Jakarta Expat: So Gary, where do you come from, where did you grow up? Gary Dean: I was born in Perth, Western Australia in the pre-Sputnik era. I grew up in the northern suburbs of …
Indonesian Land Law is quite different to the laws that apply in most Western or developed countries. Foreigners wishing to use or purchase land for whatever purpose need to be aware of these differences and not assume that legal conventions that app…
On Tuesday, 17 December 2002, BM wrote: > I think, on balance, that if I am to be ruled, I would much rather be ruled by complete fucking moron civilians than by clever army generals, or religious fanatics for that matter. > A friend, who had been a …
digital music experiments from 2002
dikotomi is a collection of atmospheric midi music, best experienced whilst sailing through the open air in a solar-powered airship, at moderate altitude, under a clear, high sky, and with no particular destination. synthesized over a period of month…
From a Western Perspective
NOTE: This article has been completely updated. See Doing Business in Indonesia 2026. > This is a modified version of a report commissioned by the East Asia Analytical Unit of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in July 2000, as pa…
An email exchange with Dennis De Tray, Indonesia country director, World Bank 1997-1999
> The views contained within this article are entirely my own and do not necessarily reflect past or present opinions or policies of any other person or organisation. Culture really matters when doing business, especially in Indonesia. An understandi…
A manufactured war
> "Tragically again, of the approximately 20 Christians who were killed [by Muslims] in the village of Benteng Karang, 15 of them were them were burnt alive. One of them was Mrs Rina Serpiela, a six-month pregnant woman who was killed by having her b…
Since the very beginning of a notion called 'Australia' some 200 years ago the European occupiers of this continent have rarely felt at peace with its geography. As a transplanted, predominantly European, society situated within Asia,[1] far from the…
A model development path?
The rapid economic development of the NIEs (Hongkong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan) over the past three decades has necessitated the utilisation of external resources, principally foreign capital.[1] Without such resources, industrialisation an…
Brian Toohey's article, "Time to rout the Jakarta Lobby", was published in The West Australian on 27 September 1999, just four weeks after the East Timorese autonomy plebiscite. During this period East Timor was in the process of being laid waste by …
A conflict of values
The sun began to set upon Indonesia's corporatist 'New Order' state starting in the early 1990's. Speculation about the presidential succession was rife, mainly due to President Soeharto's increasing age and frailty, and such speculation was especial…
From a Western perspective
The past two decades or so has witnessed the increasing dominance of neoliberal perspectives within international political, social and economic thinking. This has particularly been the case since the end of the Cold War, which seems to have triggere…
in comparison to South Korea and Taiwan
The rapid pace of economic development in East Asia over the past few decades has awed the world. This is particularly so for the so-called Newly Industrialising Countries (NICs) which include South Korea and Taiwan, together with the city-states of …
Same, but very different
The Western aversion and distrust towards Islam runs deep, in contrast to how 'friendlier' religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism are often considered.[1] Even Westerners better informed about Islam can have their concerns, so it is pr…
Australians have always felt uncertain about their place in the world. As a transplanted, predominantly European, society situated within Asia, Australians have always felt a sense of threat from the north. Profound differences with the nations of Ea…
> First published in OzIndo Vol 5 No 1, magazine of the Australia-Indonesia Business Council Joint ventures (JVs) have long been the working foundation upon which foreign investment has entered many developing countries. In fact, in many countries JV…
It only been these past few decades that Australia has begun to pursue a relatively independent foreign policy, from under the shadows Britain and the US. Australia's unique historical circumstances have led to the development of a certain set of att…
until 1870
To trade is human. Like the ability to communicate abstract ideas, trade is one of those activities that differentiates Homo sapiens from the rest of the animal world. And trade is more than just a mere exchange of surplus; its social and political i…
Humanity's political 'state of nature' has characteristically been defined in terms of small, nomadic family groups with little need for complex organisational structures. Continuously moving across the landscape with tenuous attachment to the land u…
It is frequently alleged that the nation-state in the 1990's is at a precarious moment of history, poised to somehow inevitably disintegrate under the pressure of globalisation. It has been a mere decade since this word 'globalisation' started to inf…
a review
In 1867, a few years after the establishment of the International Working Men's Association, Karl Marx presented his thoughts on the emergence of capitalism in an essay entitled The Origins and Development of Capitalism, as part of his wider discussi…
> "I like ideas about the breaking away or overthrowing of established order. I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that seems to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road towards freedom." -- Jim Morriso…
My house in Yogyakarta in 1998.
my merc 8-} oh, there's the merc again the back of my house in yogyakarta my laundry and water tanks and well wife. wife. again. there she is again. my tiger-proof house the road into my house. nother boring picture of my house, showing tiger-proof s…
The role of culture in Indonesian politics
The incantations and vocabulary of the new era are rapidly taking hold in Indonesia since the fall of Suharto and his New Order regime. KKN, reformasi and transparansi have replaced UUD'45, Pancasila and pembangunan as catchphrases of the emerging or…
Reformasi and the Fall of Soeharto
> The period March to May 1998 was an interesting time in Indonesian history. This journal reflects some of the things that happened in my life over this period. Some of it is perhaps rather too personal, but that was the nature of my encounter with …
> (Universitas Gadjah Mada, NIM 96/111909/EK/13500) Yogyakarta, Desember 1997 Selama dasawarsa belakangan ini kata 'globalisasi' secara berangsur-angsur masuk ke dalam bahasa sehari-hari di negara-negara di seluruh dunia. Tetapi, apa sebenarnya artin…
Satu Pandangan
Negara Indonesia adalah suatu negara besar kalau dilihat dari segi jumlah penduduknya. Catatan sejarah telah menunjukkan bahwa karena kekayaan alamnya yang besar telah menarik keinginan banyak bangsa asing untuk menguasai negara ini. Setelah 350 tahu…
(Indonesian Land Law)
> (Universitas Gadjah Mada NIM 96/111909/EK/13500) Dalam pembahasan tentang sejarah Hukum Agraria Indonesia ada dua fase penting yang harus dipertimbangkan, yaitu fase sebelum September 1960, dan fase sesudah tanggal itu. Dalam fase sebelum September…
Keinginan Indonesia untuk membangun Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Nuklir (PLTN) menimbulkan kegelisahan di seluruh kawasan Asia Tenggara dan Australia. Pemerintah Indonesia sudah memesan beberapa studi kelayakan untuk pembangunan PLTN berkapasitas 1.800 …
Songs from 1983
Songs recorded "live" on a cheap cassette recorder at various locations in Fremantle, Western Australia during 1983 (or was it 1984?). The recording quality in all cases is extremely poor, but the spirit remains audible. These recordings marked the e…