No new clothes for Idul Fitri<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Shopping malls are crowded these days. Big bargains offered by
\nvendors make customers more eager to buy various items, from food
\nand beverages to shoes and clothes. After all, Idul Fitri is
\ncoming and after one month of fasting, it is time to have a big
\nparty with family and friends. It's a special occasion where
\npeople want to look their best with their new apparel.<\/p>\n
But no. Not all can afford that, especially those on low
\nincomes.<\/p>\n
Asnawi, a street sweeper who works at Gambir, Central Jakarta,
\nclaimed that he could not afford to buy himself new clothes for
\nIdul Fitri, at least for the last five years.<\/p>\n
"Even if I had the money, my five children need new clothes
\nmore than me and my wife," he told The Jakarta Post while
\nsweeping Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat with his partner, Amin, in the
\nsmall hours of Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
Asnawi said that as the only breadwinner in the family, with
\naround Rp 300,000 (US$33) in monthly salary from the Jakarta
\nadministration and no holiday or year-end bonuses, he's barely
\nable to make ends meet, let alone set aside extra money for Idul
\nFitri.<\/p>\n
He added that he got his clothes from charity.<\/p>\n
As for Ma'mum, a cotton candy vendor, he has to work hard to
\nsave money to cover the transportation expenses of taking his
\nwife to the annual family gathering at his mother's home in
\nRangkasbitung, West Java.<\/p>\n
Ma'mum, who sells candy at the National Monument (Monas) park
\nsquare in Central Jakarta, claimed that he could only make a
\nprofit of Rp 12,500 per day, which sometimes had to be shared
\nwith hoodlums who usually demanded a portion of his profit.<\/p>\n
He used to sell newspapers on the street, but he left the job
\ndue to high competition and the risk of being chased away by city
\npublic order officers. He envied his former colleagues, the
\nnewspaper boys, whom he said received Idul Fitri bonuses from the
\nnewspaper agents.<\/p>\n
His wife worked as a housemaid in Cileungsi, Bogor, but
\nreceived only a small salary, said Ma'mum, without elaborating.<\/p>\n
With such a small income, new clothes are a luxury Ma'mum
\ncannot afford. And even if he has the money, Ma'mun will not
\nspend it on new clothes.<\/p>\n
"I don't need something luxurious to make the holiday special.
\nIf I can save money, I prefer to allot it to my children's future
\neducation," Ma'mun, who has yet to father a child, told the
\nPost.<\/p>\n
The lack of new clothes, however, does not affect people's joy
\nat celebrating Idul Fitri.<\/p>\n
"What really matters is our act of devotion," said Edi, an
\nojek (motorcycle taxi) driver who resides in Cimanggis, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Edi did not believe that new clothes were essential for Idul
\nFitri, but conceded that they could help to liven up the New Year
\nholiday.<\/p>",
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