Jakarta, a sinking giant

Saya mendapat artikel dari seorang teman yang isinya membuat saya malu, gemas, sebal, kecewa, dan tergugah. Artikel ini menceritakan tentang keadaan Jakarta secara telak dan mengena, dihubungkan dengan kondisi pemerintahan, masyarakat dan sosial kultural penduduknya. Membandingkan keadaan Jakarta dengan ibukota negara lain, khususnya negara-negara Asia tenggara.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA — A SINKING GIANT?

by Andre Vltchek

Today, high-rises dot the skyline, hundreds of thousands of vehicles belch fumes on congested traffic arteries and super-malls have become the cultural centers of gravity in Jakarta, the fourth largest city in the world. In between towering super-structures, humble kampongs house the majority of the city dwellers, who often have no access to basic sanitation, running water or waste management.

While almost all major capitals in the Southeast Asian region are investing heavily in public transportation, parks, playgrounds, sidewalks and cultural institutions like museums, concert halls and convention centers, Jakarta remains brutally and determinately 'pro-market' — profit-driven and openly indifferent to the plight of a majority of its citizens who are poor.

Most Jakartans have never left Indonesia, so they cannot compare their capital with Kuala Lumpur or Singapore; with Hanoi or Bangkok. Comparative statistics and reports hardly make it into the local media. Despite the fact that the Indonesian capital is for many foreign visitors a 'hell on earth,' the local media describes Jakarta as "modern," "cosmopolitan," and "a sprawling metropolis."

Newcomers are often puzzled by Jakarta's lack of public amenities. Bangkok, not exactly known as a user-friendly city, still has several beautiful parks. Even cash-strapped Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, boasts wide promenades, playgrounds, long stretches of beach and sea walks. Singapore and Kuala Lumpur compete with each other in building wide sidewalks, green areas as well as cultural establishments. Manila, another city without a glowing reputation for its public amenities, has succeeded in constructing an impressive sea promenade dotted with countless cafes and entertainment venues while preserving its World Heritage Site at Intramuros. Hanoi repaved its wide sidewalks and turned a park around Huan-Kiem Lake into an open-air sculpture museum.

But in Jakarta, there is a fee for everything. Many green spaces have been converted to golf courses for the exclusive use of the rich. The approximately one square kilometer of Monas seems to be the only real public area in a city of more than 10 million. Despite being a maritime city, Jakarta has been separated from the sea, with the only focal point being Ancol, with a tiny, mostly decrepit walkway along the dirty beach dotted with private businesses.

Even to take a walk in Ancol, a family of four has to spend approximately $4.50 (40,000 Indonesian Rupiahs) in entrance fees, something unthinkable anywhere else in the world. The few tiny public parks which survived privatization are in desperate condition and mostly unsafe to use.

There are no sidewalks in the entire city, if one applies international standards to the word "sidewalk." Almost anywhere in the world (with the striking exception of some cities in the United States, like Houston and Los Angeles) the cities themselves belong to pedestrians. Cars are increasingly discouraged from traveling in the city centers. Wide sidewalks are understood to be the most ecological, healthy and efficient forms of short-distance public transportation in areas with high concentrations of people.

In Jakarta, there are hardly any benches for people to sit and relax, and no free drinking water fountains or public toilets. It is these small, but important, 'details' that are symbols of urban life anywhere else in the world.

Most world cities, including those in the region, want to be visited and remembered for their culture. Singapore is managing to change its 'shop-till-you-drop' image to that of the center of Southeast Asian arts. The monumental Esplanade Theatre has reshaped the skyline, offering first-rate international concerts in classical music, opera, ballet, and also featuring performances from some of the leading contemporary artists from the region. Many performances are subsidized and are either free or cheap, relative to the high incomes in the city-state.

Kuala Lumpur spent $100 million on its philharmonic concert hall, which is located right under the Petronas Towers, among the tallest buildings in the world. This impressive and prestigious concert hall hosts local orchestra companies as well top international performers. The city is currently spending further millions to refurbish its museums and galleries, from the National Museum to the National Art Gallery.
Hanoi is proud of its culture and arts, which are promoted as its major attraction — millions of visitors flock into the city to visit countless galleries stocked with canvases, which can be easily described as some of the best in Southeast Asia. Its beautifully restored Opera House regularly offers Western and Asian music treats.

Bangkok's colossal temples and palaces coexist with extremely cosmopolitan fare — international theater and film festivals, countless performances, jazz clubs with local and foreign artists on the bill, as well as authentic culinary delights from all corners of the world. When it comes to music, live performances and nightlife, there is no city in Southeast Asia as vibrant as Manila.

Now back to Jakarta. Those who have ever visited the city's 'public libraries' or National Archives building will know the difference. No wonder; in Indonesia education, culture and arts are not considered to be 'profitable' (with the exception of pop music), and are therefore made absolutely irrelevant. The country spends the third lowest amount in the world on education (according to The Economist, only1.2 percent of its GDP) after Equatorial Guinea and Ecuador (there the situation is now rapidly improving with the new progressive government).

Museums in Jakarta are in appalling condition, offering absolutely no important international exhibitions. They look like they fell on the city from a different era and no wonder — the Dutch built almost all of them. Not only are their collections poorly kept, but they lack elements of modernity — there are no elegant cafes, museum shops, bookstores or even public archives. It appears that the individuals running them are without vision and creativity. However, even if they did have inspired ideas, there would be no funding to carry them out.

It seems that Jakarta has no city planners, only private developers that have no respect for the majority of its inhabitants who are poor (the great majority, no matter what the understated and manipulated government statistics say). The city abandoned itself to the private sector, which now controls almost everything, from residential housing to what were once public areas.

While Singapore decades ago, and Kuala Lumpur recently, managed to fully eradicate poor, unsanitary and depressing kampongs from their urban areas, Jakarta is unable or unwilling to offer its citizens subsidized, affordable housing equipped with running water, electricity, a sewage system, wastewater treatment facilities, playgrounds, parks, sidewalks and a mass public transportation system.

Rich Singapore aside, Kuala Lumpur with only 2 million inhabitants boasts one metro line (Putra Line), one monorail, several efficient Star LRT lines, suburban train links and high-speed rail system connecting the city with its new capital Putrajaya. The "Rapid" system counts on hundreds of modern, clean and air-conditioned buses. Transit is subsidized; a bus ticket on "Rapid" costs only $.60 (2 Malaysian Ringgits) for unlimited day use on the same line. Heavily discounted daily and monthly passes are also available.

Bangkok contracted German firm Siemens to build two long "Sky Train" lines and one metro line. It is also utilizing its river and channels as both public transportation and as a tourist attraction. Despite this enormous progress, the Bangkok city administration claims that it is building an additional 50 miles (80 kilometers) of tracks for these systems in order to convince citizens to leave their cars at home and use public transportation.
Polluting pre-historic buses are being banned from Hanoi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and gradually from Bangkok. Jakarta, thanks to corruption and phlegmatic officials, is in its own league even in this field.

Mercer Human Resource Consulting, in its reports covering quality of life, places Jakarta repeatedly on the level of poor African and South Asian cities, below metropolises like Nairobi and Medellin.

Considering that it is in the league with some of the poorest capitals of the world, Jakarta is not cheap. According to the Mercer Human Resource Consulting 2006 Survey, Jakarta ranked as the 48th most expensive city in the world for expatriate employees, well above Berlin (72nd), Melbourne (74th) and Washington D.C. (83rd). And if it is expensive for expatriates, how is it for local people with a GDP per capita below $1,000?

Curiously, Jakartans are silent. They have become inured to appalling air quality just as they have gotten used to the sight of children begging, even selling themselves at the major intersections; to entire communities living under elevated highways and in slums on the shores of canals turned into toxic waste dumps; to the hours-long commutes; to floods and rats.

But if there is to be any hope, the truth has to eventually be told, and the sooner the better. Only a realistic and brutal diagnosis can lead to treatment and a cure. As painful as the truth can be, it is always better than self-deceptions and lies.
Jakarta has fallen decades behind capitals in the neighboring countries — in esthetics, housing, urban planning, standard of living, quality of life, health, education, culture, transportation, food quality and hygiene. It has to swallow its pride and learn from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Brisbane and even in some instances from its poorer neighbors like Port Moresby, Manila and Hanoi.

Comparative statistics have to be transparent and widely available. Citizens have to learn how to ask questions again, and how to demand answers and accountability. Only if they understand to what depths their city has sunk can there be any hope of change.
"We have to watch out," said a concerned Malaysian filmmaker during New Year's Eve celebrations in Kuala Lumpur. "Malaysia suddenly has too many problems. If we are not careful, Kuala Lumpur could end up in 20 or 30 years like Jakarta!"

Could this statement be reversed? Can Jakarta find the strength and solidarity to mobilize in time catch up with Kuala Lumpur? Can decency overcome greed? Can corruption be eradicated and replaced by creativity? Can private villas shrink in size and green spaces, public housing, playgrounds, libraries, schools and hospitals expand?
An outsider like me can observe, tell the story and ask questions. Only the people of Jakarta can offer the answers and solutions.

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Soeharto wafat

Akhirnya, setelah masa-masa yang dramatis, bapak pembangunan era orde baru, Haji Mohammad Soeharto, meninggal pada hari Minggu, 27 januari 2008 pukul 13.10 WIB. Pak Harto dirawat di rumah sakit pusat pertamina (RSPP) selama hampir satu bulan. Selama itu juga pemberitaan tentang pak Harto menghiasi seluruh media massa. Menenggelamkan berita bencana alam yang sebelumnya mendominasi. Korban lumpur lapindo-pun hilang tak berbekas.

Setelah 32 tahun menjadi orang paling berkuasa, ternyata pengaruh pak Harto masih tetap ada sampai wafatnya. Ribuan orang ikut mengiringi dan menghadiri proses pemakaman beliau di Astana Giribangun, Solo, jawa tengah.

Kini pak Harto telah tenang (mudah-mudahan tenang) di alam kubur. Sebagai seorang manusia mungkin rakyat indonesia yang merasa dirugikan dan di zalimi sudah memaafkan beliau. Namun proses hukum perdata harus tetap dijalankan. Hukum di Indonesia harus ditegakkan.

Saya tidak akan berkomentar banyak. Karena saya malas berkomentar. Saya menulis ini karena wafatnya Soeharto adalah peristiwa penting dan bersejarah. Dan saya tidak ingin peristiwa sepenting ini tidak ada di blog saya. :)

Saya hanya bisa berdoa, semoga amal kebaikan beliau di masa hidup di terima oleh Allah, dan segala kesalahan beliau dimaafkan.

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Agar hidup lebih hidup..

Sudah lama tidak lagi posting di blog ini. Entah kenapa semangat untuk nge-blog pudar nyaris hilang. Dulu awal-awal mempunyai blog pribadi, saya begitu bersemangat dan keranjingan untuk terus mengisi dan melakukan posting. Namun semakin lama semakin malas. Komitmen memang sulit. Istiqomah memang tidak mudah. Jangan pula untuk hal-hal yang baik dan penting, bermain dan besenang-senang saja bisa hilang semangat dan bosan.

Pernah saya bersama teman-teman berkomitmen untuk rutin olah raga bulu tangkis setiap malam minggu. Hal ini dipicu karena kesadaran perut yang semakin berlemak dan membulat. Minggu-minggu pertama kami jalani dengan penuh semangat, bahkan semua perlengkapan mulai dari sepatu, kaos, raket, kock, sampai menjadi members salah satu tempat latihan bulu tangkis kami lakoni saat itu juga. Bahkan saya rela menempuh perjalanan 20 km menuju tempat latihan. Tidak jarang sampai menginap di rumah teman karena sering latihan selesai larut malam. Dan setelah beberapa kali bulu tangkis, kami bosan. Jarang datang latihan, dan akhirnya berhenti total.

Berhentinya bulu tangkis pindah ke memancing. Hampir tiap malam minggu selalu begadang di pemancingan. ‘Ngalong’ istilah orang bogor untuk memancing semalam suntuk. Lagi-lagi kegiatan ini hanya bertahan sebentar. Beberapa kali memancing sudah membuat saya bosan. Beruntung alat pancing belum membeli.

Maka tak heran bila dalam hal bloging mem-bloging, saya juga mudah untuk bosan. Sulit istiqomah. Tidak bisa berkomitmen untuk terus menulis posting. Rasanya otak sudah ‘mbulet’, sudah tidak mau berpikir. Ya sudah. Akhirnya postingan saya tidak rutin, melompat-lompat. Bulan kemaren rutin, bulan berikutnya kosong, bulan lain lagi kadang hanya ada dua postingan. Itupun hanya sekedarnya. Yah mungkin demikian hidup. Kadang semangat, kadang hilang tak bergairah, ‘nglokro’. Lemas. Hambar. Basi..

Saya jadi mengerti mengapa kadang orang berpenampilan lain, malah cenderung aneh. Potongan rambut yang aneh, di cat warna-warna terang, giwang di hidung, ada juga yang di lidah. Malah saya pernah melihat puting payudara-pun ikut menjadi korban (tentu saja pria yang saya maksud, ). Bila saya tanya kenapa, mereka menjawab, “cari suasana baru..”, ada juga yang menjawab layaknya iklan rokok, “bikin hidup lebih hidup..”. Mungkin maksud mereka adalah agar mendapat semangat baru, new spirit, agar hidup tidak bosan, penuh gairah. Yah, bikin hidup lebih hidup..

Dengan maksud seperti di atas, kemarin saya bermaksud mengganti model rambut. Agar hidup lebih hidup.. Tukang cukur saya (dia minta di sebut hair stylist), merekomendasikan salah satu model rambut yang sedang ngetrend saat ini. Rambut dipotong pendek, dengan bagian depan yang di biarkan panjang. Mengingatkan saya pada model rambut masa kanak-kanak. Model kuncung.

Baru setengah jalan, perasaan saya sudah tidak nyaman. Sang hair stylist yang rupanya sudah terlatih melihat gelagat mencoba menenangkan, “tenang saja, mas-nya cocok koq dengan model begini, bentuk muka mas kan agak bulat lonjong..”. Saya langsung membayangkan sebutir telur ayam. Bulat lonjong.

Hampir mendekati tahap akhir, semakin jelas model kuncung terlihat. Badan saya sudah panas dingin, lemas, membayangkan bagaimana reaksi teman-teman nanti. Karena tidak gaul, tidak tau mode, saya pun merasa tak nyaman, akhirnya saya meminta sang hair stylist untuk memotong saja kuncung bagian depan. Biar sekalian botak. Saya nggak biasa dengan model-model seperti ini. Sang hair stylist mencoba meyakinkan kembali. “Ini bagus lho mas, model saat ini, seperti para eksmud (eksekutif muda)”. Eksmud apanya, saya melihat wajah saya sendiri begitu aneh. Bulat. Dengan jambul bagian depan yang panjang. Tiba-tiba saya melihat di cermin wajah saya menjadi sebuah telur yang berjambul.

Bukannya bikin hidup lebih hidup, suasana baru, semangat baru. Malah membuat saya malu keluar rumah. Akhirnya saya bersikeras memotong jambul depan. Sang hair stylist yang merasa ke-profesionalan-nya diragukan berkata, “sebagai orang awam, mungkin mas-nya menganggap aneh. Tapi sebagai seorang hair stylist, saya menyarankan model seperti ini. Memang mas-nya nggak pernah liat sinetron ya??”. Halah.. sinetron. Saya anti sinetron.

Jambul-pun tetap di potong. Botak. Sang hair stylist senyum sambil geleng-geleng kepala. Maksud hati mencari suasana baru, semangat baru, malah model kepala telur yang saya dapat..

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Tentang saya

Wahyu Riyadi

‘Wahyu’ berarti pesan dan petunjuk tuhan, dan ‘Riyadi’ adalah ungkapan Jawa untuk keselamatan. ‘Riyadi’ juga dapat berarti hari raya Idul fitri, hari suci bagi umat Islam. Sehingga ’Wahyu Riyadi’ secara keseluruhan berarti petunjuk dari Tuhan yang membawa keselamatan.

Saya dilahirkan ke dunia ini pada tahun 1981, pada hari yang sama saat bayi tabung pertama, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, dilahirkan di Amerika. Saya orang biasa yang kebetulan memiliki sedikit pengetahuan di bidang kimia, dan hal ini membawa saya bekerja di salah satu lembaga riset milik swasta yang bergerak di bidang bio-teknologi.


Saya menamatkan sekolah menengah pada tahun 2000 di Sekolah Menengah Analis Kimia Bogor. Untuk selanjutnya saya terdampar di satu-satunya Universitas Negeri di Yogyakarta masih setia bergelut dengan bidang Kimia. Pendidikan Master dan Phd, juga masih di bidang Kimia, saya selesaikan di benua eropa tepatnya di negara ilmu pengetahuan German sana (untuk yang terakhir ini masih dalam angan-angan, semoga terwujud..).

Saya orang yang tidak terlalu banyak bicara, mungkin bagi orang lain saya terkesan dingin dan sombong. Namun memang seperti itulah saya, meskipun saya terobsesi untuk selalu menyenangkan orang lain, namun saya masih cukup bijak untuk tidak membiarkan diri saya kehilangan jati diri dengan menjadi orang lain demi menyenangkan semua orang.

Hobi saya mendengarkan musik, terkadang juga bermain musik meski sebatas untuk konsumsi pribadi. Saya suka membaca surat kabar dan memperhatikan informasi terkini yang terjadi di masyarakat. Politik, ekonomi, sosial.. semuanya. Saya juga suka mengetahui hal-hal baru terutama hal-hal yang berbau ilmu pengetahuan dan sciences.

Saat saya menulis ini, saya sedang suka warna putih. Saya adalah seseorang yang tidak fanatik terhadap satu warna tertentu. Bahkan warna favorit saya selalu berubah-ubah dari waktu ke waktu. Terkadang saya suka warna-warna terang dan menarik perhatian. Terkadang lagi saya suka warna lembut dan tenang. Bagi saya semua warna indah dan menarik.

Saya tidak suka terhadap orang yang terlampau sering mengeluh. Orang yang tidak mau berusaha dan selalu mengandalkan orang lain meski hanya untuk pekerjaan ringan yang dia sendiripun pasti sanggup mengerjakannya. Saya juga tidak suka dengan orang yang selalu ingin mengetahui urusan orang lain sampai ke hal yang sangat personal. Selalu bertanya seolah dia adalah wartawan investigasi yang sedang menjalankan tugas mulianya sebagai pemberi informasi bagi masyarakat umum. Meskipun mungkin maksudnya agar terlihat peduli, tapi bagi saya setiap orang mempunyai sisi tertentu yang ingin disimpannya hanya untuk dirinya sendiri.

Selain blog ini, saya juga bisa ditemukan di http://sciencebiotech.net/ sebagai sarana untuk berbagi ilmu dan pengetahuan, khususnya dibidang bioteknologi yang bisa dibilang masih relatif baru di Indonesia.

Cita-cita saya adalah. Saat dimana saya harus pergi dari dunia ini untuk selamanya, saya ingin banyak orang yang peduli dan mendoakan saya, banyak orang yang akan mengantarkan jasad saya menuju tempat peristirahatan terakhir. Dan banyak orang yang merasa kehilangan dan merasakan ’manfaat’ saya selama saya hidup di dunia. Saya ingin menjadi orang yang berguna bagi orang lain sebanyak mungkin.

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