A very interesting first-hand report. Thanks for throwing some light on the numbers.
But why does the government want to limit aid? Are they afraid their people might learn that Americans and other Westerners are good, kind people and not monsters? Once they learned that, they'd be more difficult to indoctrinate with anti-American propaganda, yes?
I can't fully comprehend what is going on inside the Indonesian government. I can only tell you that it is not a monolith, and there are a lot of competing interests at play. I know that there are some in the government, and in politics, who are appalled at the public commments of certain individuals.
It is a shame, though. Somebody should tell Jusuf Kalla, the Vice-President, to put a sock in it.