I'm curious about the defensiveness RE: Jakarta. I didn't even realize it got bad press, at least not more than any other SE Asian capital. I found Jakarta surprisingly fine and easily holding my interest for 2-3 days. Friendly people and the supposed nightmare of traffic, chaos, etc. didn't materialize--or maybe I'm so used to Asian cities that I'm immune to it. My recommendation to not spend this brief time ex-KUL heading to Jakarta was based on logistics, not dislike. It just seems to make more logistical sense to spend the extra time in Malaysia and put Jakarta on a trip with more of Indonesia/Java at a future date.