The Jakarta Irony
Indonesia’s most modern and bustling city, yet full of ironies
Passing through the concrete jungle, I brave the hot and humid weather with my trusted Gojek driver after a day of squeezing on the local train from work (not without the 20 minutes of unproductive waiting time at the station). I still remember how, in the first few months of taking public transport in Jakarta, I was always late by 20–30 minutes because if I missed the train in front of me, I had to wait a minimum of 15 minutes, often up to 30 minutes. This does not work well with my characteristic of being very much on time with no leeway for being early.
The first time I injured my ankle was in Jakarta, a couple of months ago. I was talking with my dad on our way back after a CFD (i.e., car-free day) in Central Jakarta (the main business district). The reason was too silly. It happened not because I was running, but because of the patchy, uneven road at a non-existent pedestrian crossing. I sprained my left leg, and it really hurt. I am no athlete, so this was my first, and hopefully last, injury. I could not walk for a few days and was still in pain after a few weeks.
Our last company trip to the Bantar Gebang landfill was an eye-opener. It is probably the largest landfill in Asia. It receives 7,000 tons of waste solely from Jakarta. What I found striking was not the smell; I got used to those smells easily (it was not as smelly as you would think!). But the life around the area. I saw people hanging their laundry literally beside the huge pile of waste. Families having their lunch with acres of waste as their background. And young kids just running around the street because it is their home. There are approximately 3,000 families living around the vicinity of the landfill.
After that trip, I took a shower and washed my clothes just to get rid of the smells. Then I started preparing to go out to meet a friend at a shopping mall. I walked into a relatively “new” MRT station near my apartment. The MRT here works great because the maximum waiting time is 10 minutes. It is predictable and reliable. The station is fully air-conditioned, so it is comfortable. Of course, though, the price is much higher and the coverage of the MRT is pretty limited. Only around 13 stations from South to Central Jakarta (which ironically, generally covers the richer neighbourhoods).
Shopping malls in Jakarta are amazing. One of the best things, really. There are so many great and well-architectured shopping malls here in Jakarta. Alighting from my MRT ride, I walked to one of the biggest malls. Hundreds of luxury fashion brands, restaurants, and even a dancing fountain. You can find anything you are looking for in this shopping mall, and the customer flow is well-designed to keep you inside and buying something. Maybe you really need it, but most of the time, due to decision fatigue, you end up getting that coffee and cheesecake. The aircon is blazing cold, making it a perfect sanctuary from the polluted and humid Jakarta. I am not someone who loves shopping mall; but since I moved to Jakarta, I can’t count how many times I have gone to a mall. Just because it is the most convenient place to meet. To hang out with friends and to do work meetings. Public parks are rarely reachable by public transport and most often too humid with polluted air; and serene rivers are…non existent :-)
I went back home that night, greeting the ever-friendly security guards in my apartment complex. Taking the elevator to the 20th floor, I went straight to my balcony, looking at the night view. On my right are the bright, modern, high-rise buildings of Central Jakarta. On my left is a rundown, seedy, low-income neighbourhood. And I thought to myself, what an irony?
We are not lacking in capability. We are not lacking in intelligence. We are capable of building high-rise buildings and great MRT systems. But the inequality is so apparent and fascinating to observe. Beside an apartment complex and a luxury shopping mall is a seedy neighbourhood. Just above an on-time MRT is a 30-minute-wait local train. Once we take a turn from a wide pedestrian path on a main street, there is an uneven, non-existent pedestrian walkway. Behind the bustling life of 10 million people in Jakarta, there are 3,000 families living beside a pile of waste.
