"Jakarta Bus Driver on Jakarta Birthday use Traditional Clothes""Talking about Jakarta makes me sad," Ami, a young midwife, said as she stifled a sigh. "There's so much flooding, and so many beautiful old houses are torn down to be replaced by tall buildings." "I feel sorry for so many people who have been victims of the city's unfair progress." Ami, a resident of greater Jakarta's Serpong area, was visiting the city's annual event, the Jakarta Fair. As she rested in front of a stall selling sporting goods, she contemplated Jakarta's many unpleasant traits. "I work near my residence, so I don't experience as many traffic jams as those working in Sudirman, for example, but when I go to the city's more crowded areas I can hardly breathe," Ami complained. She was also concerned about the fate of the Betawi culture. "The Betawi culture is special. The people, the accent, are all very unique and very representative of Jakarta ," Ami, who herself is a half Betawi, said, "But it seems to me that both the culture and the people are becoming more marginalized." Idan, a high school student who was also visiting the fair, had similar complaints. "Jakarta means traffic jams and floods," he said. To him, the city also projects a pompous aura. "It's all about the metropolitan and the glamorous lifestyle," he said, grinning. Like Ami, Riko lamented the dying Betawi culture. "You don't see many ondel-ondel (giant Betawi effigies) nowadays, not even at an event like The Jakarta Fair." Jakarta, which turns 482 on June 22, may have its faults, but some cannot help but be attached to it. "I used to hate this city," Rika Febria, an event organizer and singer who lives in East Jakarta's Pondok Gede area, said, "In fact, my hatred bordered on the extreme. However, I have learned to love it lately." Nevertheless, there is much room for improvement, Jakartans said. "The traffic jams and the floods have got to go," Idan said. "Whoever runs the city must take care of those problems immediately." "Nowadays it's hard even to find houses with gardens, because the city's so packed," lamented Ami of the city's lack of green spaces. Rika wants the city to break free from the hard-boiled image and show its feminine side. "How wonderful it would be if Jakarta became more womanly. It would be less violent, friendlier and more beautiful in general." Rika cited the examples of the thugs who plague areas of the city and the public order officers who have recently come under fire for allegedly chasing a prostitute to her death, as violent elements that need to be dealt with. "I would also like the city to have more authenticity that sets its apart from other cities in the world, while still maintaining progress" she said. "It doesn't have to be the next Manhattan to get ahead, it just needs to be smarter in its own way." The important thing is let's say "Happy Birthday Jakarta" (482nd Birthday at this June, 22 2009). Heem... Jakarta was the oldest city on Indonesia i think.....
Author: dis, The Jakarta Post
