It didn’t take long for me to realize that Jakarta simply isn’t the place for me. I grew up in the outskirts of Jakarta—close enough for a daily commute but far enough for me to escape from the aura of melancholy the city exudes. Although I never loved Jakarta growing up, I never lived anywhere else. It was all I knew for 16 years, and I had only glimpses of life overseas through television and annual trips around the world. It wasn’t until I studied in Melbourne—dubbed the most livable city in the world for the past 3 years—that I realized how much life I’m losing in this thronging metropolis.
Let’s get to it:
1. Traffic
Voted as the world’s worst traffic city, Jakarta’s jams are incomparable. At one point, a usually 1-hour commute turned into a 5.5-hour ride. And not too long ago, It took me 1.5 hours to pass through a flyover that usually takes me no longer than 3 minutes to traverse. You will inevitably spend hours inside a car or a motorbike, leaving you to either hire a driver or beat the traffic alone, wasting valuable time. The public transport system is atrocious and unreliable, with only a handful that can do its job well. What’s left is to suck it up and admit defeat to the gridlock jams every waking hour. Not only is traffic a problem, but those driving the cars and motorbikes make it a hell of a lot worse. With no regards to their own safety and others, driving in Jakarta is pretty much a death sentence.
2. Corruption
Even though I think bribing a police officer to get out of a ticket actually saves my time, its the entire system of corruption that makes it all possible. The corruption of government officials and politicians trickles down to even the local mailman. A friend of mine was able to get away with a speeding ticket by bribing the officer with cupcakes. There is nothing you can’t do in Indonesia; with money and prestige, you can get away with murder. The police isn’t on the side of justice, but whoever can provide him with more cash at the end of the day.
3. Low quality medical professionals
After multiple misdiagnoses in the family, my parents no longer trust Indonesian doctors. Medicine isn’t our strong suit, and it’s no secret of ours either. I was once prescribed life-threatening pills that’s been banned in nearly every country in the world for its fatal side effects. Which is why when my cousin broke his knee, his parents immediately sent him to Singapore on a chartered plane for emergency surgery. Those who can afford better usually turn to Singaporean or Malaysian healthcare, while the rest suffer under the mediocrity and downright incorrect procedures of Indonesian hospitals.
4. Flood
Every year, thousands of people get evacuated out of their homes and dozens of people pass away. Flooding in Jakarta is such a common occurrence to the point where it has its own Wikipedia page. The city lies in a low, flat basin with clogged sewage pipes and waterways, which means during seasons of rain, it is nearly impossible to access several roads and areas. I remember my school closing for a few days due to heavy flooding, and no one was able to go out of their homes. Beat that, Canada's snowstorms.
5. Crime
The moment I came back from Melbourne, I was regaled with tales of criminal acts around the city. From people who kill motorcyclists merely to sell their bikes, to people who find unique ways to stop cars and rob the drivers blind. My favorite one is of people who throw raw eggs at windshields so drivers would instinctively wipe the screen, leaving the window blindingly white and forcing the driver to walk out and clean the eggs. I have never felt safe walking down the streets of Jakarta, and not many people do. I could walk anywhere in Melbourne at 3AM and be greeted with smiles and kindness, but here, walking down the streets at noon left me with a robbery. And none of the witnesses even cared enough to step in and help.
6. Passport
Our passport ranks at number 60 in the world in terms of power, alongside Senegal and Uganda. This means that we have only a few dozen countries we can go to visa-free, and it’s mostly in Asia. Unlike the EU passport that allows you to work anywhere in the continent, or the South Korean passport that allows you to go to hundreds of countries without a visa, the Indonesian passport limits your travels and work. You know those Instagram pictures of white people traveling around the world? That's because they don't have to wait 2 weeks for a single visa or get rejected for some unknown reason. In addition, many countries offer leniency when it comes to giving sponsorship visas or work visa extensions to American or Australian passports, but Indonesians aren’t given the same privileges.
7. Strange laws (or lack thereof)
From things like the anti-pornography movement to banning bra straps on television, the government adores regulating the oddest laws. When HIV became a common problem in Bengkulu, the lawmakers decided the best way to combat it is to ban condoms altogether. Because apparently, no one would have sex without contraception. Even receiving makeup products—like a single lipstick—from overseas airmail is illegal for some unspecified reason. The limitations put in place for many aspects of business and life will make you beg for the liberty that other countries can provide.
8. Inconvenience
Indonesia was built on the principle of inefficiency. From the inability to set up an appointment time with a doctor (it’s first come first serve!) to incredibly slow internet speeds, it is quite difficult to be productive in a place that tries to slow you down. While other countries use sensors when you drive through the toll—and then e-mail you the monthly bill—we still have congested tollbooths where you need to stop and give money to another human being, trapped in their little polluted box for hours at a time. Anything you need to do in Jakarta will take you minutes or hours longer than if you were to do it overseas. The ease of paying through Melbourne’s PayPass system will always be missed dearly.
9. Pollution
With traffic comes pollution. Decade-old buses emit smoke similar to that of a war zone, and inhaling the fresh morning air is a privilege that we can only indulge in out of the city. The skies are no longer blue, but a light shade of gray above the thick smoke that leaves you myopic. At night, I can only see the moon. Whenever I'm overseas, I'm always in awe of the stars, and many of those used to seeing the night sky peppered with bright lights often look at me strangely whenever I express my amazement. In Jakarta, people never look up because there's nothing to see. The sky that can transform itself into a radiant red or purple during dusk and dawn, is always disappointingly monochrome.
Now, I must say that Indonesia itself is a beautiful country. Many cities are bursting with culture, but Jakarta is not one of them. With only glimpses of our gorgeous history in between skyscrapers and shantytowns, the rest of the city is a breeding ground of human bacteria. It’s a place that only benefits the businessmen and the 1%, leaving the rest struggling to fit in the jagged puzzle pieces of the capital.
No comments :
Post a Comment