Renewing my Indonesian Passport at the Embassy in Singapore (KBRI)

A lot has and can happen in 5 years. For me, I got married, moved house 2x, own a HDB, got a kid..

As such, renewing of passport provides opportunity to give our government some form of updates with regards to the citizens well-being, development and status.

I stay at the north east end of SG, married to a Singaporean and my kiddo is a Singaporean too!

Question is then - what am I doing maintaining an Indonesian citizenship.. Oh well, call it love for motherland or insane belief that I can still contribute to the well-being of my country..

Anyhow, things to take note for renewing of an Indonesian passport in SG KBRI:

1.       Yourself. You gonna take photo for the passport. Digital copy of photo is needed along with the biometric finger-IDs

2.       Wear decently-smart casual. My recommendation for guys:

a.        Jeans

b.      Covered footwear

c.       White shirt or polo tee

d.      If you don't, you might waste your trip..

3.       Photocopy of the following documents:

a.       Current passport - 1st 2 pages will do

b.     Birth certificate - akte kelahiran (no need original)

c.      Identity card for SG residents. In my case, my blue IC (no need original, but you need photo ID to enter)

d.      SG marriage certificate - Akte perkawinan (no need original)

4.       Get the perdim-11 form online and print it out, then fill up before going down to save time.

5.     Application time is weekdays only 9am to 12noon (I reached at 11:55am, I was able to get in!)

6.       Check the embassy holiday schedule here.. Ensure that they are open!

7.       They don't accept any other form of payment.. Bring cash of sgd 38 for normal passport, and cash of sgd 70 for e-passport. I should have made the E passport.. Hmm!

How to get there:

1.       There are many ways to get to a place in Singapore. For me, I am a spendthrift and time is precious.. Plus I seem to be always late. (some info here)

2.       I took MRT to Dhoby Ghaut on a Monday late morning, then go behind plaza singapore to catch a taxi. My fare was SGD 6.30, with no peak charges. Time taken to travel down is approx 10mins with light traffic.

3.       I would have tried bus 75 from Outram MRT as per suggestion here… but I was late.. So..

4.       You could also take a taxi from Orchard MRT Lucky Plaza or Wisma Atria Taxi Stand as it will be relatively smooth-plenty of taxi and the fare should be no more than SGD 6 if you take at non-peak, normal standard taxi, no booking and no ERP.. (My advice, 10-10.30am on weekdays)

Process:

1.       Reached.. Ran to the guard post.. Provide Photo ID. If you have not photocopy your IDs, don't give your IC! Give another form of identification like driving license, anything with photo la.

2.       No security checks as of 2015-apr, they just let me in and I ran to the counter to get the queue number…

3.       Lady at the queue-recept and info was VERY PLEASANT! Kudos to KBRI! She is well versed with English and very helpful and friendly!

4.       She provided all documents, asked me to photocopy stuff, then gave me queue number.

5.       I waited 10mins before my queue was called, and I was requested to present my marriage certificate. I forgot to photocopy…

6.       Lady assigned me to canteen area where photocopy was at nearby block.. 50cents per page for black and white photocopy. For IC, they also charged 50c for a single page of front and back - NICE! (I am beginning to like our embassy manager!)

7.       Came back to the counter after photocopy, and went straight to the counter to submit document.

8.       Then waited for 15-min, I was then called in to take photo, and submit finger-prints.

9.       Process took another 15-20min, give the people there chances for re-take of data.. It happens..

10.   Then proceed to pay at counter. Remember - cash only!!

11.   That's it! Whole thing.. 1-hr? No major queue on Monday late morning though…

12.   Oh yes, I went to eat indo food at the canteen.. LIKE!

How to leave the embassy:

1.       I provided how to get there, of course I need to provide a way out..

2.       Easiest - take cab, go to orchard MRT at SHAW CENTRE LIDO or the hotel opposite Far East plaza. That should be your cheapest cab route to an MRT.

3.       For me, I took a slow walk down the slope, then cross the main road and head left against the traffic to a bus stop that has bus number 75.

4.       The wait is long, but it starts when you started walking towards the bus stop.. :)

5.       Then, proceed with bus 75 heading towards Outram MRT station (for purple, and the green line)

 I also referred to some info from here... You're welcome to study their experiences too!

1) Blog by Shilvia Tang

2) Blog by Michelle Love

Disclaimer:

The Info that I have provided above is a sharing of my own account and experience in getting my passport renewed. I am in no way affiliated to the Embassy other than the fact that I am a fellow Indonesian living in Singapore. For greater accuracy of info, I suggest that you give the embassy a call to clarify my points above. Please do not use this information above against me, nor sue me for any misinformation or damages. 

Learning about salvation

"Salvation is a mysterious combination of God's grace and our response in obedience!"

It's been a while since I posted anything here. Not that I have stopped learning, but I learnt that I don't have much time to post!

Anyway, I thought this was an interesting quote. My senior pastor made this quote, and preached about our obedience and its essence in the salvation that we believe to be part in.

My initial thought, was why obedience and not something else? Can a better word be used?

How about this instead:
"Salvation is a mysterious combination of God's grace and our response in faith"

Faith, without faith, it's impossible to please God, quoting Hebrews. Faith requires deeds or its dead, quoting James. Faith is a requirement for 'moving mountains', quoting Jesus.

"I desire mercy, more than sacrifice..."

Will our community learn that it takes greater effort to "be" than to "do", and inspiration for something greater is required to build a more equipped and better generation?

Do we want to raise leaders who simply obey, or courageous leaders who can go beyond the measures we've placed in ourselves because of fears?

Just some thoughts... :)

Location:Changi Road,Kembangan,Singapore

Faith in God, a simple and hard truth

I learnt today that having faith and trusting God is the simplest yet most difficult thing to do because it sounds too unbelievably simple for such a complex thing to be handed and put to God.

Example: in the way we live our life, complexity in the way we are faced with problems... Can I simply trust God, and believe that he will provide?

I guess the more simple we hope to be, the harder the challenge to simplify!

When should i Test God

I started this morning with Isaiah 7, and in v.12 I learnt that there are times in our lives that we ought to test God.

Considering the fact that Jesus, during the dessert-days, said that we shall not test God, I'd think twice these days about seeing myself testing God.

Yet the old testament is filled with different people testing God isn't it? From Moses and the burning bush, Elijah and the prophets of baal, and Gideon with the dew, I guess there are many more examples as well.

Question is, when is testing God valid?
I'd like to think that when an element of faith is at stake, and where faith is to be increased, testing God may seem quite scary. Scary not because of the result, but how my responses should be with those results.
On the other extreme, we may be testing God daily in our lives...
Eg. When waiting for public transport, we'd say: God please, 1 taxi or get the bus here soon. I'll promise to be holy and do my quiet time longer tomorrow. Or things like our jobs or praying for health...

I will think through what test do I want God to prove to me, for the increment of my faith...soon!

Getting to know God deeper

I realized how lacking in depth my relationship with God has been. Being stagnant in knowledge of God's character really doesn't help...

I see my faith dwindling away as imaginations and emotions start taking over reasons and belief. Perhaps it's time to re-discover new characteristics about God which I have overlooked.

I was taught by a visiting preacher that the book of psalms was written from man to God, depicting the passion and emotions of the people in those days towards God. Therefore, I'd safely assume that the prophets would be the book that God would be saying to the people! If I read and meditate on the book of the prophets, I guess I would then be able to know God's heart and character better!

I'd be starting with Isaiah.. Then Minor prophets...

Evolution and intelligent design

Didn't know there such a term till recently. Intelligent design, apparently, doesn't necessarily mean creationism.

Definition I've learnt is that when we are intelligently designed, there is a specific purpose or reason why certain thing is created. Especially in the context of life.

I never knew that nobody can for certain answer the source of life. Mankind in all it's technological splendor still is unable to grasp the meaning of existence scientifically. Strange but true... Could we be focusing too much on the unnecessary details than we should?

Evolution is another term which I learnt today!
Evolution can be known as a change over time. While that may be agreeable, a lot of people also define evolution as a change of species from a common descent of a single cell organism. That fact, many people couldn't agree. however, that's the definition of evolution in neo-darwinism theory.

I have never read the origin of species... And I don't think I belong in the circle of intellect where the micro-biologist or evolutionary-biologist reign. Having said that, I do feel that since there is no firm answer in science on how and where life began on earth, I'd say that the most improbable and truth, will be the truth!

In any case, if the world revolves around Darwinism theory, the saddistic part of mankind where cruelty is applied to the less fortunate and disabled, will prevail...

Hmm, I do hope i can visit the mizpah museum one day in Germany.

Learning to live while being tired

Christmas eve gift wrapping exercise spanned till an ungodly christmas day - 4.30am...
On Christmas morning, I woke up a zombie.
I realized my temper became so-so short with lack of sleep that I have to watch my own interactions with other people or I might injure people!!

No more late night-early morning gift wrapping!!