Jakarta: A Closer Look
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| A View of Buildings in Central Jakarta (Personal Image/RE) Taken from: Plataran Ramayana, Hotel Indonesia Kempinski |
It's 10 pm on a Monday night. The busiest day of the week at one of the busiest cities in the world. I just got off from my overtime at work, patiently wait for the bus to take me home. As I wait for the bus, I grab my phone and automatically put on a headset, searching for my favorite song on Spotify.
The bus stop near my office still full of people, they're all doing the same gestures while waiting for the bus (looking down at their own smartphones). I look around the streets, and it is unbelievably still crowded with cars and motorcycles at 10 pm, makes me wonder if my bus was stuck on a traffic jam.
Jakarta. The capital and the biggest city of Indonesia with the largest population amongst other cities in the country. It is where the central government, big companies, big opportunities take place. Simply, the city of dreams for most Indonesians.
For me who have been living in Jakarta for the entire of my life, it is always one of my dreams to get away from the city and try to find my luck in other cities or even other countries. But to see it from another point of view, especially from the people who live in small cities, Jakarta is (still) the most wanted city to make a better living.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Jakarta's population in 2015 reached 10,18 million people, then the number was increasing to 10,28 million people in 2016, and the latest data in 2017 shows that there are 10,37 million people. That means, in between 2015-2017, the population in the city grows to 269.000 people everyday or 11 people every hour (katadata.co.id, 2018).
It is not a surprising number at all, since Jakarta has become more and more crowded every year, and how it affects the daily commute in the city: traffic jam. For native Jakartans, living with traffic jam is already a lifestyle. There is nothing you can do than to just deal with it.
A lot of young people in all over Indonesia still want to make it through Jakarta, as they believe that their lives will be better in the city. Well, it is understandable to think that way since Jakarta has the highest Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) in Indonesia. In 2018, the government has stated to increase the wages by 8,03%. That makes the wages for employees in Jakarta is the highest at Rp 3,940,972 or 278,34 USD (tribunnews.com, 2018).
But the ironic things come to the fact that not everyone get the privilege to 'enjoy' that minimum wages. It still depends on how well-educated you are. Some private companies don't even pay their employees appropriately. And the real challenges for the government here is to equalize the education system in all over the country.
Many people want to get their lives better in Jakarta, but it turns out otherwise. People from small cities don't expect that it's going to be harsh, living in a big city. So, they ended up jobless. In today's evolving world, big challenges come for everyone. It is hard to deny that even for someone who attain a bachelor's degree still having difficulties in finding jobs.
The Central Bureau of Statistics also noted in 2018, the numbers of unemployment in Jakarta rises to 314,840 people (Kompas.com, 2019). Of course, it is a big number for a metropolitan city where opportunities should be found everywhere. That is why, in my personal opinion, having skills is as important as having a degree.
Apparently, those challenges don't change the fact that Jakarta is still the city for dreamers. It is not wrong to see it from that point of view, of course. But just like other big cities, Jakarta offers a lot of things to try, it offers you noisiness and quietness at the same time, it offers you luxury and modesty, it offers you triumph and failure, it offers you endless dreams if you want to.
And, it offers you a privilege, to live in such a hustle.
Source:
https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2018/01/24/berapa-jumlah-penduduk-jakarta
https://makassar.tribunnews.com/2018/11/01/daftar-lengkap-ump-2019-di-33-provinsi-jakarta-tertinggi-daerah-ini-terendah
Many people want to get their lives better in Jakarta, but it turns out otherwise. People from small cities don't expect that it's going to be harsh, living in a big city. So, they ended up jobless. In today's evolving world, big challenges come for everyone. It is hard to deny that even for someone who attain a bachelor's degree still having difficulties in finding jobs.
The Central Bureau of Statistics also noted in 2018, the numbers of unemployment in Jakarta rises to 314,840 people (Kompas.com, 2019). Of course, it is a big number for a metropolitan city where opportunities should be found everywhere. That is why, in my personal opinion, having skills is as important as having a degree.
Apparently, those challenges don't change the fact that Jakarta is still the city for dreamers. It is not wrong to see it from that point of view, of course. But just like other big cities, Jakarta offers a lot of things to try, it offers you noisiness and quietness at the same time, it offers you luxury and modesty, it offers you triumph and failure, it offers you endless dreams if you want to.
And, it offers you a privilege, to live in such a hustle.
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To all fellow dreamers who don't stop believing, cheers.
Source:
https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2018/01/24/berapa-jumlah-penduduk-jakarta
https://makassar.tribunnews.com/2018/11/01/daftar-lengkap-ump-2019-di-33-provinsi-jakarta-tertinggi-daerah-ini-terendah
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