Topic Reading-Vol.2457-1/2/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

How a country suddenly went ‘crazy rich’

A double standard is emerging among commoners in Indonesia. It is the world's largest island country with more than seventeen thousand islands. Indonesia has a population of over 260 million, the fourth largest population in the world and the most populous Muslim-majority country. The Indonesian archipelago is abundant in natural resources, such as oil, natural gas, tin, copper, and gold. On the ground, they produce agricultural produces like rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, spices, and rubber. All these resources and produces but rice make an only limited number of corporations and individuals very wealthy while the vast majority of the workers, miners, and farmers and their families live well below what is considered standard among developed nations. In fact, the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, ranks 7^th largest in the world while the per capita GDP is merely above 100^th. So, the newly emerging middle class is enjoying luxurious lives by taking advantage of their growing income and low living costs. When they’ve gotten everything tangible from home, cars, and commodities, they are now spending money on occasions like dining, travels, and events. But how luxurious or outrageous such occasions are?

Enjoy reading and learn about the extravaganza of Indonesian’s growing upper middle class.
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-46529582