Michael Dass is relatively new to Jakarta, but not to being an expatriate in Asia. He's the new resident manager for one of Somerset's properties and has lived and worked in Burma and Vietnam. He studied mass communications in Singapore, his home, and while he's visited Indonesia plenty of times before, he says Jakarta is throwing a completely different experience in his direction. He's re-managing his staff, focusing on tourism and agrees change is in the air.
I think people here are ready for a change, there's a lot of foreign investment here and Indonesian people want more than they have right now.
They've gone through the routine of the last 10 years, if you can call it that, and now they want to do something for their country.
There's nothing to be afraid of here for expatriates. The element of fear in Burma was overwhelming. Jakarta is so different. People move around.
I had five years in Burma and I managed a large property there too, but I would still meet new expats who had been there for years - they were hiding. There are core groups there and they only attend organized events.
Here I've met so many different people, from all over the world. And they are moving around this city, going out, at different functions. It's not so closed.
There are more malls here than anywhere I've been to in the world. It's a very functioning city. In Burma the banking system had completely collapsed and there were no credit card facilities. It was so different.
Jakarta is a better option for expatriates compared to Indochina, which is too remote, and there's more fear of political instability.
Coming here is a better choice. People know what to expect and Singapore offers a level of proximity that's safe - this gives people a level of comfort.
