Indonesia

Hi, for this week random post I would like to talk about my country, Indonesia. It is a country in South East Asia (SEA) famous for its beaches and forest fires. If you are wondering where it is, just know that it is located between Singapore and Australia. It is the biggest Muslim country in the world and also the biggest economy in SEA. Some of you might be scared to go there with all these commotions about terrorism, but do not worry. Indonesia is a really diverse country with all the other religions acknowledged and religious harmony is emphasized by the government and religious bodies. In fact, there are many Islam sects and many of them are different city to city with extremism disallowed by the government.

Beside that, it is still a developing country. The GDP per capita is only $3,475 per year. That is only roughly 1/15th of the US GDP per capita. The minimum wage in major cities are in fact only about $200-300 per month. Although that might seems the case on stats, the truth is "shadow money" plays a big role in the economy. Grafts, kickbacks, and "under the table" deals are relatively common and therefore increase the livelihood of most citizens. It is weird but in fact many experts believed that was the reason it resisted the 2007 recession because most people do not pay tax on those deals.