Jakarta Traffic Jam

(Picture taken from :www.liputan6.com)

Jakarta’s traffic has always been a big problem for the government. If you mention about the traffic in Jakarta then the image is a big and complex traffic jam all around the street. Especially in around 5.00 pm to 20.00 pm (the ending of office hours).

United Nation Environment Program (UNEP) has place Jakarta as the third most pollutant city in the world after Mexico City and Bangkok. The UNEP also said that 67 percent of the pollution comes form automobile emissions. And according to Kojima and Lovei in 2001 traffic is the biggest donator to particle emissions which contribute to the increasing of 80-90 percent lead or PB. And as we all know that PB is a very dangerous substance for human health.

Data from transportation department in Jakarta Shows that there is an increase on the amount of vehicle in Jakarta about 11 percent per years. The amounts of total vehicle in Jakarta now are about 4.9 million, 2.8 million is two wheals vehicles and 2.2 million is four wheal vehicles. According to a research from CIRUS in 1999 DKI Jakarta inhabitants who have daily activity traffic movement are 15.7 million people per year. And from that amount only 2.9 million people who use bus public transportation.

Another thing that make Jakarta traffic jam so big and complex is the unequal increase rate of street width and the increasing of vehicle significantly on the private vehicle. Data from transportation department said that the capacity of Jakarta to add the length and width of the street is less than 1 percent per years, meanwhile the increase of automobile is about 10 percent per years. So of course if we look through the data the street in Jakarta can not accommodate the increase of the vehicle per years.

If we observe the traffic jam in Jakarta we can see the rhythmic of the traffic jam. The most heavy traffic jam is always in the ending time of office hour especially in the primer street point to outer city area (BOTABEK à Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi and Depok). Such as in the Mampang-Buncit street (vehicle form south of Jakarta, Jakarta, Cinere, and Depok). A research in 2002 said that not less than 139.700 traffic take place in south of Jakarta with 716.000 total movements in traffic average speed only about 34.5 km/hours. Can you imagine how bad the traffic is??

Actually the government of DKI Jakarta has also think about the traffic jam problem and they come out with PRODASIH (clean air program). One of the example is “three in one” which means there should be three people or more in one car, but in the reality lots of the car owner use jockey to avoid the regulation. So it comes back to the people of Jakarta consciousness to make the traffic in Jakarta more enjoyable. If they can not do this then may be in the next year there will be all traffic jam in the street of Jakarta that make the people harder to go through even to go out of their home. I realize that now the traffic jam seems to be more crowded and long. Even in the place where usually never been any traffic jam now there is a jam and it is quite long and heavy.

Maybe the government can be stricter about the regulation that they have already made. And I suggest to the government if the want to build street infrastructure such as the busway for Trans Jakarta they should make a better planning in it. Because what I see now is that they make it all in one time which make all the street suffering worse in traffic jam because all the street are under construction. Can’t you make it just one by one Mr.Goverment? because if you make it one by one it will be easier for others to find alternative way in order to avoid the street construction.

Fight for the claims of Angklung rights

(Picture taken from :web.sitcom.pl)

Last night (16 September 2007) I watched Metro TV news and found out that Malaysia is trying to get the paten rights for Angklung. And I said “WHAT???” Since I was a very little child and may be since our ancestor, we have already played angklung, to prove it just see some Sudanese traditional ceremony they use angklung as one of their music instrument. And through out the world Indonesian people have already well known for their Angklung as traditional music instrument from West Java. Isn’t it weird that now Malaysia claims angklung as their music instrument by giving it the new name “Bamboo Malay” meanwhile the reality is that Bamboo Malay does not have any difference from angklung?

Malaysia even claims that Angklung was not come from Indonesia. They even put angklung as an important substance in Malaysian education curriculum. If Malaysia wins the patent rights then it will be a threat for Indonesian Artist and entrepreneurs that involving in Angklung worlds. Beside that it will also be a disgrace for Indonesian authority because our Angklung will belong to other country and we lost the rights to claim it as our traditional music instrument. How scary it will be. Does Malaysia do it in purpose to threat Indonesia authority? We have lost once in Batik rights should we lost again in angklung battle?

Jero Wacik as Indonesian cultural and tourism minister said that they have register angklung in UNESCO so it will be known as Indonesian traditional music but now it is still in process because our country is not the only one who register angklung, and now they still trying to find which country who establish angklung for the first time.

I found out from wikipedia that if we look back through our history in Hindu period and Padjajaran kingdom era, Sudanese people used the angklung to sign the time for prayer. Later, Padjajaran kingdom uses this instrument as corps music in Bubat War (Perang Bubat).

Angklung functioned as building the peoples community spirit. It was still used by the Sudanese until the colonial era. But because of that the Dutch East Indies government tried to forbid people playing the angklung instrument. Because it was forbidden to play angklung during this time, the popularity of the instrument decreased and it came to be played only by children in this era.

In 1938 Daeng Soetigna expanded the angklung notations not only to play traditional pelog or slendro scales, but also diatonic. Since then, angklung is often played together with other western music instruments in an orchestra. One of the first well-known performances of angklung in an orchestra was during the Bandung Conference in 1955.

And who does not know about Udjo Ngalagena a student of Daeng Soetigna who opens the “Saung Udjo” (House of Angklung) in 1966 as a center of angklung development for angklung. Which make more variation in Angklung world. And the origin of Angklung has also been told in Angklung padaeng in National Seminar of Angklung ITB, 26 October 1989 (from: http://angklung-web-institute.com/content/view/87/74/lang,en/).

Angklung is Indonesian origin traditional instrument and we have to fight to prove it so there won’t be any other countries who try to steal it from us. Come on Indonesian people lets fight for it. If you have any info about angklung tell it to the world lets make it possible for us to get the authority of angklung in front of the world.

20 million rupiah penalty for buying goods from street trader

(Picture taken from : community.kompas.com)

From 10 September 2007 there is a new regional regulation in Jakarta. That is prohibition to buy anything from street trader (asongan) or for giving money to the beggar and also to the street musician. And if you dare to break it by giving your donation to them, you will be fined 100 thousand until up to 20 million rupiah or put in jailed for 10 until up to 60 days. Quote from Jakarta Post, Arie Budhiman a city spokesman said that the regulation aims to clear Jakarta of beggars and street hawkers.

This regulation got much rejection from the Jakarta society such as: Agus Pambagyo (a well known politic observer) who said that this regulation contradictive to Religion believes, and from Wardah Hafidz (chairman of Urban Poor Consortium) who said that the regulation is nonsense because the fault is not from the Jakarta people but from the government who can not gave them proper occupation to support their life.

According to BPS (Indonesian statistic surveyor) 13, 56 million of people in the city on 2007 are categorize poor society. So if this regulation affective, the possibility of increasing the poverty in Jakarta society will probably happen. Because lots’s of Jakarta poor society support their live as street musician or street trader, and prohibit them to do their life occupation will make them more poor then they already are. Have the government think about it?

I myself agree if they make the regulation only for the beggar because I really think that they can do something else, but for the street traders and for the street musician I think that this regulation is not propriety If the city government wants to make Jakarta a clear city, what they have to do is provide more job vacancy for the people, an occupation that can support their live properly. And if they can not do this so they do not have the right to banned a person from their occupation that they do to support their life.

Governor Sutiyoso (quote from detik.com) said that all work effort to support life is acceptable unless they disturb other people. Well if that so then you should provide them some place else or other work so they wont disturb others, if you banned them then it will only make their life harder with out any other chance to make it a better.

PT.Dirgantara Indonesia bankruptcy

Finally the Indonesian aero plane company “PT.Dirgantara Indonesia” ( formerly IPTN) was decided to have bankruptcy status by the commerce court in Jakarta on 5 September 2007. PT DI was made by prof.B.J Habibe since 31 years ago. It was the only aero plane manufacture company in south East Asia. And it was one of Indonesia icon that made all the people of Indonesia proud when they successfully made N-25- the first Indonesia homemade aero plane.

Unfortunately there was a lot of mismanagement in PT.DI that made it have the rights to be claim bankrupt. The company have debt in more than 2 creditors and cannot paid the debt. The company own debt over 1.7 trillion, and they also have debt to their employee, according to Panitia Penyelesaian Perselisihan Perburuhan Pusat (The center committee of argument solving for laborer) dated on 29 January 2004, PT.DI have the obligation to paid pension money to their employee, and until know it has not been done yet.

By that judgment the judge committee decide that the ex employee of PT.DI have the capacity to accuse PT.DI bankruptcy. The PT.DI argument that only the minister of monetary who have the power to claim bankruptcy according to the law section 2 subsection 1 No 37 year 2004 about the bankruptcy and postponement debt paying obligation (the law of bankruptcy) was over ruled by the judge committee.

Heru Pranomo one of the committee member said that there is not enough reason to keep PT.DI. In the last five year PT.DI suffers a financial lost about 5 billion rupiah according to a document year 2006.

Arif Minardi the general chairman of worker communication forum union (SP FKK) for PT.DI, said that the winning of the bankruptcy accusation. To the PT.DI is not only the victory of the PT.DI employee but also the winning of all the labor in Indonesia.

On the other side the bankruptcy claim of PT.DI shocking the Indonesian government. Sofyan Dalin the minister of state owned trading corporation (BUMN) said that the government will make a cassation to the Supreme Court as soon as possible and hoping that the result will be different. He also said that PT.DI condition is getting well so it is not worth it to claim it bankruptcy

Well as one of Indonesian people frankly I feel terrible and very sad to hear that PT.DI as one of our icon has gone bankrupt, but may be this is the truth that the government have to deal with and learn from this reality to make it go better in the future.