Jakartass Home thoughts from abroad. Alien thoughts from home.

There are answers being given to solving Jakarta’s problems, but not by those in power.

That’s what I said in an earlier post and I also said that I would outline some of those answers. But first there is the problem of those in power.

They are there because they were already there back in good old bad times of the Suharto era. Conditioned to obeying the whims of the now deceased and no longer the ‘Smiling General’, their mindsets weren’t capable of adjusting to the demands of an emerging demokrasi. Few of us considered that the cries of “Reformasi” which heralded the abdication of the aging autocrat would mean that those waiting in the wings would seize what they could, and if they couldn’t, would aid and abet civil strife through encouraging religious fundamentalism.

The rakyat, the citizenry, continue to be instructed to salute the flag (and pass exams) by rote rather than through respect and pride. Yet they have the same economic woes as before, if not worse thanks to the indifference and sheer arrogance shown to their plights by those they’ve elected, or been paid to elect. Those that challenge the norms and continued practices of the embedded élite are subjected to the whims of the court mafia, vide Prita v Omni Hospital and the Supreme Court decision to jail the editor of the now defunct Playboy magazine.

Here in Jakarta, as former Gov.Sutiyoso kindly pointed out a couple of weeks ago, there remain four major problems (which he failed to solve in his two terms) – rapid urbanization, transportation, flooding and waste management.

I regularly cite Sooty’s successor – and his deputy in his second and thankfully last ‘reign’ – Fauzi Bowo as being particularly inept. To indicate my disdain and total lack of respect, I’ve given him a couple of epithetic names: Fuddy Bozo and Fuzzy Bodoh but now realise that the second one is not as appropriate as I thought.

‘Fuddy Bozo’ is in my view apposite as ‘fuddy’ comes from ‘fuddy-duddy’ – an old-fashioned person, and ‘bozo’ comes from British English and is a synonym for clown.

‘Bodoh’ in Indonesian means ‘stupid’ and for that I refer you to my recent post for the reasons why that fits.

However, ‘fuzzy’ could be a positive adjective. Things are not always clear and remain blurred; this pretty well sums up human nature and life itself. In fact, it’s this factor, sometimes referred to as WTF, which keeps me writing.

I’m no mathematician, but leaving aside the techo-babble, this definition of fuzzy logic has a certain, erm, logic.

Human beings have the ability to take in and evaluate all sorts of information from the physical world they are in contact with and to mentally analyze, average and summarize all this input data into an optimum course of action. All living things do this, but humans do it more and do it better and have become the dominant species of the planet.

As the complexity of a system increases, it becomes more difficult and eventually impossible to make a precise statement about its behavior, eventually arriving at a point of complexity where the fuzzy logic method born in humans is the only way to get at the problem.

Fuzzy Logic Control/Analysis Method

1. Input: Measurement or assessment of conditions:
e.g. road conditions and day + time (non-fuzzy)
weather + expected number of users (fuzzy).
then
2. Processing
Determine action to be taken based on human determined fuzzy ‘if>then’ rules combined with non-fuzzy rules.
then
3. Averaging
Determine centre of mass for all system conditions.
then
4. Output
Crisp control signal or decision.

It’s the ‘if>then’ rule which is consistently not applied here. In fact, the concept of consequences is conspicuous in its absence. Hence the chaos regularly exacerbated with easy to apply bandaid solutions.

When based on a complete set of variables, fuzzy logic, even when incorporated in computer-controlled systems, is human wisdom. There are already hundreds of successful, fuzzy logic based commercial products, everything from self-focusing cameras to washing machines that adjust themselves according to how dirty the clothes are, automobile engine controls, anti-lock braking systems, color-film developing systems, subway control systems and computer programs trading successfully in the financial markets.

It also gives me adverts in bahasa Indonesia related to my perceived vast wealth as an expat even when I browse the Guardian (UK) website.

So I hereby apologise to all those who may have thought I have been eulogising Mr. Moustache.

He may be variable, but he sure ain’t logical.

With 9.5 million people living in the city, and millions commuting in from the surrounding areas each day, Jakarta will not be a pleasant place to live in coming years unless significant efforts were made to slow population growth. Quoted in my last post

It may be 'home' to several million of us, but it's already an unpleasant place to live. We're only in it for the money! With staggering youth unemployment breeding uncontrollable social chaos, no cohesive transport policy emanating from City Hall which insists on building yet more roads and the usual culprits of endemic corruption, pollution, bureaucratic hassles, the lack of recreational facilities and ready accessible to open spaces, there is no way that, apart possibly from the Mayor of Solo, Joko Widodo, any Indonesian will be nominated as World Mayor 2010. Jakarta's Governor, Fuddy 'Bandaid' Bozo, is, however, my nominee for the World's worst.

The organisers of the World Mayor Project are looking for city leaders who excel in qualities like: leadership and vision, management abilities and integrity, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment as well as the will and ability to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds.

Good hunting, chaps. So, what's to be done before Jakarta's Doomsday finally arrives?

Can Jakarta go …….

from this …

and this …

to this?

Could the capital be relocated to, say, Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan? SBY likes the idea but, not unexpectedly, Fuzzy Bodoh prefers to not think about it.

Or how about building a brand new city? This should, of course, preferably be somewhere close to the nuclear power plant which keeps being talked up as if in a bad dream.

There would also be an opportunity for some revolutionary town planning, perhaps as currently being considered for Southern Sudan’s capital, Juba, which would be in the shape of a rhinoceros. The country's the second-largest city, Wau, will be in the form of a giraffe. If Indonesia's town planners and architects can't manage the Garuda, then how about the foul-smelling durian?

Enough of this frivolity. There are answers being given to solving Jakarta's problems, but not by those in power. I'll outline the ways and means in yet another post.

On Wednesday, the Jakarta branch of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) revealed the city’s population had reached 9.5 million, or 4 percent of the country’s total population of 237.6 million.

Agency head Agus Suherman told the Post that the total population in the city is 9,588,198 people, with 3 percent more males in the ratio of male to female.

(I wonder if that 3 percent correlates to the number of thugs who belong to the Betawi Brotherhood and FPI.)

Back in June, I wrote thus: The current national census cannot be completed as scheduled because rich folks in their enclaves deny access to officials because they have something, their ill-gotten wealth, to hide.

So was the census completed? Although the figure given by BPS is extremely detailed, it is legitimate to wonder how accurate it really is. Leaving aside the number of recalcitrants mentioned above, how about the "numerous" poor who cannot afford to buy ID cards and face eviction and 'repatriation' to their hometowns?

The census, if accurate, reveals a 14.4 percent growth on the 8.3 million people tallied in the previous nationwide census in 2000. That figure had only grown by 1.8 percent from figures collated in 1990.

Agus said Jakarta’s 662-square-kilometer area had a population density of 14,476 people per square kilometer – give or take 100,000 or so …

Interestingly, the City Mayors site gave Jakarta's population – as of 6 January 2007 – as 9.4 million.

Their population density chart ranks the cities with the largest land area and their surrounding urban areas by population density expressed in people per square kilometre. Most such agglomerations are economically, socially and culturally dominated by one city at their centre.

So if all the residents of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, collectively known as Jabotabek, are included, then the population is/was 14,250,000, at a density of 1,360 per square kilometre with a world ranking of 17.

Agus said that of the five municipalities, excluding the Thousand Islands regency, Central Jakarta has the highest density with 18,676 people per square kilometer. Central Jakarta, however, was home to the fewest people, with a population of only 898,883, compared to East Jakarta with 2.6 million people.

Central Jakarta has fewer residents because it has been redeveloped into the country's business and government centre. It also has the most expensive apartments, hotels, shopping malls and offices. The population density during office hours is much swollen, thus creating the horrendous rush hour traffic jams.

A senior researcher from the University of Indonesia’s Demography Institute, Djainal Abidin, said the city’s soaring population was likely caused by a lower mortality rate thanks to improvements to healthcare, a higher birth rate and increased urbanization.

Djainal is wrong about the "higher birth rate": the city’s fertility rate stands at 2.1, down from 2.2 in 2002.

With 9.5 million people living in the city, and millions commuting in from the surrounding areas each day, Jakarta will not be a pleasant place to live in coming years unless significant efforts were made to slow population growth, Djainal said.

"Will" not be? Djainal, as anyone trying to get back home this month in order to break their fast can readily attest, it already isn't.

So, what is to be done?

Answers will not be on a postcard, but there will be some tomorrow.

It was not the best moment to hold a gig on Friday. The rain was bad and the traffic was worse. It was quintessential Jakarta, save for the small section of Senayan Sporting Complex.
(fr. a review of a gig by 90's Brit-poppers where Ian Brown and Kula Shaker played 6.8.10.)

So here we have international 'stars' performing in a sports hall. Given the massive growth in Jakarta's population in the last 50+ years, one might have expected something more sophisticated.

Before 1965, when Koes Bersaudara were banned and imprisoned following Soekarno's "war against Beatle "music", declaring that "Beatleism" was a "form of mental disease", they had "regular spots at venues such as the Megaria cinema, where they played between films." They later managed "to secure a twice-weekly gig at the International Airport Restaurant in Kemayoran (North Jakarta)."
(fr. Wage War against Beatle Music! Censorship and Music in Soekarno's Indonesia by Steven Farram)

The Megaria cinema still stands, but isn't a gig venue. The Kemayoran airport is no more following the opening of Soekarno-Hatta; the area is now being redeveloped with industrial estates, a host of apartment blocks and as the venue for the annual Jakarta Fair. And just last year, 2009, the Aula Simfonia Jakarta (Jakarta Symphony Hall) was officially opened.

It was built as an answer to this big city's need of a 'proper' concert hall, as well as to fulfill the cultural mandate given by God. As the first, and currently the only concert hall in Indonesia, Aula Simfonia Jakarta accommodates 1,200 seats and offers a world-class acoustic experience. Both local and international musicians have performed in this hall, and Aula Simfonia Jakarta welcomes more good quality music performances in the future.

it is bloody difficult to get to at the best of times (i.e. at 2am when Jakarta isn't grid-locked) and I foresee further problems ahead in the rainy season as Kemayoran is in flood-prone northern Jakarta.

And I'm not sure that they have a "cultural mandate given by God" given that an upcoming concert on the 22nd (to mark Indonesia's Independence Day on the 17th) is sponsored by, among others, a women's magazine, a cigarette company, and a Japanese car manufacturer.

So, what else is there?

A search for 'music venues*Jakarta' on the World Events Guide "returned 0 results".

The real answer given by Widyasena Sumadio a year ago is 'not much'.

A number of concert venues have emerged recently in Jakarta and surrounding areas: from
the Jakarta International Expo and Mangga Dua in the centre of Jakarta, to Sentul City Convention Center in Sentul, a town in southern Jakarta known for its motor racing circuit. The well-established, if slightly dilapidated building Istora Senayan, the junior tennis indoor stadium Senayan, and the Jakarta Convention Center are also often used for festivals and events.

But these buildings were not intended for musical performances, so they are lacking in acoustics. The auditoriums in five-star hotels [and shopping malls. J.], which on some occasions have also hosted music performances, are not ideal venues for music performances either. And the number of buildings equipped with appropriate acoustics, unfortunately, cannot hold a large number of people.

As a result, for Jakarta to become a musical centre, regional and central governments, in addition to private parties, need to …. invest in specialised and well-equipped performance venues capable of accommodating larger numbers.

Not all gigs and performances need to attract large audiences, but, unfortunately, there aren't that many smaller venues specifically devoted to 'culture' either.

As a public service, I've compiled the following list. I fear that it is exhaustive, but if there are any glaring omissions, please add them in the comments box or email me so I can add them to this post, which may end up on the music links page above.

My favourite venue for performances is the beautifully restored Dutch building Gedung Kesenian. Although on the corner of a busy thoroughfare, upon entering, having traversed the car park, one can imagine a much less chaotic Batavia among a milieu admittedly 'free' of Indonesians.

There are a number of 'cultural centres' which offer a mix of exhibitions, workshops and performances. The somewhat rundown Taman Ismail Marzuki (T.I.M.) is, to my knowledge, the only facility under the aegis of City Hall.

Otherwise there are community-run initiatives such as Bentara Budaya, Theatre Salihara and Komunitas Utan Kayu.

There also a few 'foreign' Cultural Centres including Goethe Haüs, Erasmus Huis, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Centre, which are sponsored by their respective governments.

Unlike London and other western cities and towns which seem to have live music in pubs and bars within strolling distance, one has to be in the know to find them in Jakarta, and then make a strenuous effort to actually go out.

Jakarta 24.com has a now outdated list. (BB's is still going strong, but Jamz isn't.) The best list I've found, which, although not their fault, isn't saying much, is Jakarta 100 Bars.

Perhaps the $3 million that the City administration has earmarked for the Betawi Cultural Centre could be better spent on a cultural centre for all Jakartans, residents and visitors alike! Maybe a better short-term solution would be to invest this sum in the public transport infrastructure so that we could actually get to the few venues that exist.

Ho hum.

Cul’ture (kul’cher) vt: to grow (micro-organisms) in a specially prepared medium.

Yesterday the Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar advised foreign visitors, specifically western women, against going out in public scantily dressed.

At the opening of a national meeting of his ministry’s officials in Jakarta, he said, “Our country holds high moral values and wearing revealing clothes insults the women’s dignity. Women from western countries visiting Indonesia go to the market wearing only a bra.”

What? No panties??

He did not say why he raised the issue. Neither did he cite instances where he had spotted Westerners going about their business in their underwear.

So now we have confirmation of yet another blinkered government minister in SBY’s government.

Cul’ture (kul’cher) n: the ideas, customs, skills, arts etc. of a people or group, that are transferred, communicated or passed along as in or to succeeding generations.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said Wednesday that [his administration] would increase the size of Betawi Cultural Village in Situ Babakan, South Jakarta. He said, “We want the village to represent the culture and the life and tradition of Betawi people.”

Fine words? Not when nigh on everyone else, including Husein Abdul Aziz, head of the Jakarta regional representative council of the Democrat Party and also the head of the Betawi Scholars Circle (BSC), perceives Orang Betawi to be resistant to education.

“At the Betawi Scholars Circle we have a number of successful Betawi figures who have become professors and experts. The young Betawi should look up to them,” said Husein. “But habits of today’s youth and the youths in my time differs.”

I’ve already commented on the recent Betawi youth gang’s thuggery, connected with their carving up of patches for their ‘protection’ rackets.

Then there is the matter of definition. Ultra Tupai commented here as follows:

Susan Abeyasekere in Jakarta: A History has this to say about the Betawi. First, by the nineteenth century ethnic groups in Batavia “underwent the most interesting transformation.” Here Malays, Buginese, Balinese, Sumbawanese, Ambonese and others and “the catch-all category of slaves” were intermixed to such an extent that by the 1820s “observers could no longer divide the Indonesian community into distinct ethnic groups.” In the nineteenth century Indonesians born in Batavia generally came to be called Orang Betawi.

Also, an observer of Betawi culture, S.M. Ardan, once said Betawi people had almost no original arts of their own because most of the arts had emerged through the intermingling of various arts from those ethnic groups.

So, what ‘culture’ is going to be displayed for the reported $3 million of City Hall’s money? If the intention is to prevent the further acculturalisation of Betawi culture, then it is obviously wrong to “mostly facilitate the Muslim-Betawi culture” and marginalise certain groups such as Betawi Pinggir [Rural Betawi] and the group Cina Benteng in Tangerang, the township south of Jakarta.

Tatang Hidayat, the head of the Betawi Culture Institution (LKB) said, “Cina Benteng arts and the cokek dance of Rural Betawi are not Betawi culture.”

Yet beauty pageants are.

It’s surely about time for Jakarta residents to tell the Governor, Fauzi Bowo to his acolytes, to take a hike. It’s just over three years since he took over the city’s helm and much seems worse – apart from his personal fortune.

Governor Fauzi Bowo is today about Rp 9 billion ($1 million) richer than when he ran for office in 2007, with a total fortune of Rp 50 billion, while his deputy reported a Rp 440 million decrease in his net worth.

“My assets did not increase nor decrease,” Fauzi said at City Hall. “The value only changed because the taxable value of my properties increased.”

He is reportedly a scion of a “wealthy family”, although some may suspect that his 30+ years in City Hall may be a significant source factor.

He’s always offered excuses for his inaction. For example, I quoted him pre-election in 2007 as saying that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent Jakarta’s floods because they “happen everywhere in the world.”

On the day of his accession, I suggested that he set up a Public Transport Authority for the city. Since then, we’ve been offered nought but a few bandaid solutions, such as the current police drive to block private transport from access to the Busway lanes and an extra car-free half Sunday. But then, there are other interests at play here.

A couple of days ago, he and Jakarta Police chief Insp.Gen.Timur Pradopo attended the 12th anniversary celebration of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), “leading critics to say they both feared the hard-line group.”

This was a day after the FPI (in the vernacular – the Effing Perverted Islamists) visited the Jakarta Police headquarters to offer the group’s services in enforcing a city bylaw that bans some entertainment establishments from operating during Ramadan.

FPI leader Habib Rizieq told reporters after the meeting, “We will protect the police and public order officers by enforcing the bylaw. We are ready to face thugs who stand in the way of these law enforcers.”

Most Jakartans think that the definition of ‘thugs’ – aggressive and violent young criminals – applies to the FPI themselves, as do the many synonyms: hood, hoodlum, punk, strong-armer, toughie, goon, tough, bully.

That the police and City Hall are in thrall to them only serves to prove that point. Why else allow 5,000 of them to parade through main thoroughfares?

A quick glance at this photo shows several flaunting their disregard for the law (and their own lives) by not wearing crash helmets.

Furthermore, in not prosecuting them for their witnessed thuggery in Banyuwangi, East Java, when they violently broke up a meeting of parliamentarians discussing the new health bill, the police continue to lose public trust.

But back to Bozo, who has another bunch of thugs at his disposal – or is it the other way round? He is a ‘native Jakartan’, a Betawi Asli, who are considered the original inhabitants of Jakarta. 

They originated from the mixture of peoples who arrived in Batavia (Jakarta’s historical name), and they have occupied the port city since the 15th century. The authentic Betawi people can be found in the outlying areas of Jakarta, such as in Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta, in Condet in East Jakarta, the area of Kampung Sawah in Bekasi, and in the neighbourhood of Jakartass Towers.

It is difficult for the Betawi to be separated from their family. If they are in their hometown and experiencing difficulty, they can request financial assistance from their family members. This situation sometimes gives the impression that they are less industrious in seeking a livelihood compared with outsiders. The formal educational level of this indigenous Jakarta population is usually rather low. Possibly, they have connected “school” with the Chinese or Dutch Colonists’ lifestyles, which they have rejected. This antipathy to public education is reinforced when Islamic teachers urge them to avoid government schools and instead study in Islamic schools (pesantren) and seminaries (madrasah).

There are only about half a million Betawi, out of a day time population of 13 million, and it is easy to understand that they feel marginalised. As Jakarta has grown, their land holdings have been grabbed, often at the behest of City Hall, and they have not been allowed to continue their previous trade in the new locations they have been allocated, thus resulting in poverty. Young men readily form gangs, such as the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) and the Betawi People Communication Forum (Forkabi), in lieu of regular employment; in the past week or so a turf war broke out between the FBR and Forkabi in South Jakarta.

Other groups, including Pemuda Pancasila (PP), formerly “an organization of bullies at the disposal of [Suharto's] Presidential Palace“, and Kembang Latar were also involved. The police made 26 arrests, but as yet there have been no convictions.

Tri Aryadi, 30, the secretary of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum’s (FBR) South Jakarta chapter, said the organization had allocated “tactical funds” to “smooth” negotiations with law enforcement. There is a Betawi Consultative Body (Bamus Betawi), which supervises activities of Betawi-based organizations.

However, they stated that they “cannot prohibit or interfere with our members’ policies.” Vice chairman Amarullah Asbah also said, “We hope to maintain public order across the city by helping the city public order agency.”  Surely some contradiction here Husain Sani, a member of the Bamus Betawi advisory board, chaired by Fauzi Bowo, said “Fauzi is our asset.”

Some asset if he is powerless in the face of thugdom, as are the rest of us in the absence of the police who are similarly cowed. Does anyone else seriously believe the ‘promise’ of the thugs’ that they won’t resort to violence in the month ahead?

Whatever: Fuzzy Bodoh has advice for us. He has called on Jakarta residents to love the capital city. “This is important, otherwise Jakarta will suffer.”

On Saturday, Bozo gave donations to “1,000 orphans and poor people”. Were some of them the beggars he vowed to clear off Jakarta streets for Ramadhan?

Jazz has long been my favourite music genre because I believe that it is one of the few art forms which are an honest reflection of 'soul' and, when improvised, collaborative empathy.

That so much of what currently gets labelled as 'jazz' is formulaic, appealing to the lowest common denominator by catering to commercial trends, is unfortunate. Of course, everyone is entitled to earn an income, but I am often disappointed when talents are seemingly wasted on 'background' muzak.

This week Jazzuality has a really fine interview with Riza Arshad, the current 'guv'nor' of Indonesia's jazz scene, and much more complete than his contribution to the next edition of Culture Shock! Jakarta – to be published later this month. This is what he wrote.

Jakarta has a number of jazz festivals, the biggest being JavaJazz. There is also JakJazz and the oldest one in Indonesia, the third oldest in the world, Jazz Goes to Campus which started in 1977.

These festivals indulge jazz at its most marketable, so this has inspired other places around Indonesia to follow suit. and although people have started to accept jazz, not only as music but also as a 'lifestyle', this doesn’t mean that the city has facilitated any aspect for the musicians. We still have to strive to present and express our ideas and musical ability just like our colleagues around the world. But unlike jazz musicians who live in the US, Europe, Australia and Japan, musicians here lack good jazz education. We have no more than three ‘reliable’ institutions which provide decent knowledge of this music.

Programs like Serambi Jazz (curated by Riza – J) were created to raise the value of the music performed by dedicated and idealistic jazz musicians. Other small gatherings, in ‘Jazz at Café Au Lait’ or Indra Lesmana’s studio where jazz musicians frequently gather to jam and express their creativity, also help maintain the greater values of this music.

Another movement, world jazz, presents jazz with local/ethnic values. Even though there isn't much in Jakarta, in cities such as Bandung, Solo and Jogja, this is a new trend. Some festivals are related to this.

This demonstrates that jazz lovers around the globe have their own ways of presenting jazz as a very moderate and democratic 21st century cultural product.
…………………………..
Some 'ethno-jazz' albums to look out for.

Kulkul – Welcome To Bali
Karimata – Jezz
Simak Dialog – Trance Mission, Patahan, Demi Masa
Dwiki Dharmawan's World Peace Orchestra

All these fine albums, and more, can be ordered from Warta Jazz.com.
…………………………………………………………………….
Riza will be a guest of the Mery Kasiman Project next Thursday, August 12th, 2010, from 7:30pm at Goethe Haus, Jl. Sam Ratulangi 9-15, Menteng, Jakarta
Entry is free, but seats are limited.
For more info, please contact: (+62 21) 2355 0208, ext.116.