{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1831032,
        "msgid": "betawi-villages-lost-to-development-1782773477",
        "date": "2026-06-30 05:09:00",
        "title": "Betawi Villages Lost to Development",
        "author": "Karta Raharja Ucu",
        "source": "REPUBLIKA",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Social Policy",
        "summary": "The traditional Betawi community in Jakarta is being displaced by relentless urban development and population pressure. Historical migration patterns and the concentration of economic activity in the capital have transformed the city, erasing indigenous settlements. The article highlights the cultural and anthropological impact of this unchecked growth on the sedimentary Betawi people.",
        "content": "<p>On the eve of World War II, Batavia had a population of 900,000. In\nthe early 1950s, after the transfer of sovereignty, massive urbanisation\nhit the capital, triggered by the DI\/TII rebellion. Many residents of\nWest Java, particularly East Priangan, fled to Jakarta. Urban migrants\nalso came from several areas in Central Java. Consequently, during the\ntenure of Mayor Soediro in the 1950s, Jakarta became a priority for the\ntransmigration programme. To this day, transmigration from Jakarta has\nnever succeeded. The Betawi people, who were still the majority at the\ntime, would never have been interested in becoming transmigrants. It is\nno wonder that Inang was furious when Si Doel, her only child, wanted to\ntransmigrate to Sumatra. \u201cWhy would you go to the forest? You\u2019ll be\neaten by a tiger or trampled by an elephant,\u201d Inang grumbled with a\nscowl. Using an anthropological term, the Betawi people are a \u2018kurung\nbatok\u2019 (sedentary) society. As they say, whether they eat or not, they\nstick together. The reason is that since the Dutch East Indies era,\nJakarta has been the centre of government. All facilities and\ninfrastructure are concentrated in Jakarta. It is said that around 70\npercent of all money in Indonesia circulates in Jakarta. This continuous\nconcentration has made Jakarta a \u2018singular city\u2019 from era to era.\nInevitably, Jakarta now bears an increasingly heavy burden. When Ali\nSadikin was governor, Jakarta\u2019s population was three million. By 1999,\nit had swelled to 12 million during the day and 9 million at night. The\nswelling continues, and now it is 14 million during the day and 11\nmillion at night. This means that more than three million people commute\nand seek their fortune in the city every day, not just from Botabek and\nDepok, but also from Cianjur and Sukabumi. Residents are willing to live\nin cramped conditions with a worsening environment. Groundwater is\nthreatened by pollution. Rivers have lost their communication function,\nand land is increasingly scarce and expensive. In fact, most of this\nland has already fallen into the hands of the wealthy. Thousands of sex\nworkers continue to flood the capital.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/betawi-villages-lost-to-development-1782773477",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}