Independence celebrations more muted in elite areas<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The neighborhood looks deserted, with just a few cars passing a
\nstreet that has red-and-white flags flapping in the wind in front
\nof houses in Menteng, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Residential Menteng is one of the city's upper-class areas
\nwhere the houses date back to the Dutch colonial era.<\/p>\n
A similar sight is seen in the upmarket Pondok Indah housing
\ncomplex in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
There are no lines of small flags crisscrossing the streets
\nlike there are in the city's densely populated kampongs, but it
\ndoes not mean that affluent people do not observe Independence
\nDay.<\/p>\n
"All we can do is hoist the red-and-white flag in front of our
\nhouses as well as at strategic places in our neighborhood.<\/p>\n
"Most residents here are old people and pensioners. There are
\nnot many young people here," Haryanto, a community unit (RW) head
\nin the district, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Haryanto's neighborhood is a prominent one as President
\nMegawati and former president Soeharto Soekarnoputri both live
\nnearby.<\/p>\n
He also said his neighborhood did not collect donations from
\nresidents for celebrations.<\/p>\n
One local resident, Tashya, who lives on Jl. Sumbawa, Menteng,
\nsaid her neighborhood had not organized any events to celebrate
\nthe occasion this year as many residents were out of town.<\/p>\n
"My neighborhood organized many events in past years, but not
\nthis year," she said.<\/p>\n
"As for myself, I really don't miss the festivities because I
\nseldom took an active part in them. I just loved to watch the
\ncrowd."<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a RW spokeswoman on Jl. Alam Asri in Pondok Indah
\nsaid her neighborhood had decided to stage festivities after
\nseveral years of not doing so due to security reasons, especially
\nsince the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
"In the past several years we have only distributed staple
\nfoods to local security guards and cleaners," said Ibu Edi
\nArifin.<\/p>\n
"But we decided to celebrate this year."<\/p>\n
"We are not setting a specific amount to be donated for the
\ncelebration; it's totally up to the residents themselves. Many of
\nthem also give other things such as cakes," she added.<\/p>\n
Many expatriates also live in Pondok Indah, such as in
\nApartment Golf Pondok Indah.<\/p>\n
"We don't stage an Independence Day celebration for our
\ntenants as most of them are expatriates," said a marketing staff
\nmember cautiously.<\/p>\n
"But we have organized an internal celebration for the
\nemployees."<\/p>\n
In a separate development, city spokesman Muhayat said it was
\npossible that Governor Sutiyoso would not hold a celebration
\nespecially designed for foreign diplomats, which he did in the
\npast two years.<\/p>\n
"I haven't got the details yet because the celebration is
\nusually handled by an event organizer," he said. "We only provide
\ntechnical assistance."<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso normally holds an Independence Day event at Taman
\nSurapati in Menteng, just across from his official residence.<\/p>\n
The diplomats watch cracker-eating contests, as well as tugs-
\nof-war and sack races, which are traditionally staged on
\nIndependence Day.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/independence-celebrations-more-muted-in-elite-areas-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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