People snap up cloth for Idul Fitri<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In the midst of the country's economic woes due
\nto the weakened local currency, many Jakartans were still
\nflocking to stores over the weekend to buy up new cloth for Idul
\nFitri which is two weeks away.<\/p>\n
Shoppers, most of whom were in the low-income group, told The
\nJakarta Post that they would continue the tradition of wearing
\nnew clothes at Idul Fitri even though they were facing financial
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
\"(Monetary) crisis is crisis. But we still need to respect the
\nIdul Fitri tradition of wearing good clothes,\" a university
\nstudent, Melati, said.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that our future, faith and fortune is a gift from
\nAllah, not from anyone else,\" she explained as she was looking
\nfor a new Moslem outfit in the heated Blok M shopping center in
\nSouth Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Farida, a housemaid who works in the well-to-do Pondok Indah
\nhousing estate, said: \"I find nothing different this year. My
\nboss still gives me a good THR (Idul Fitri allowance). So, why
\nshould I keep my money and forgo new clothes this Idul Fitri. No
\nway, hi... hi...\"<\/p>\n
Among the packed stores Saturday and yesterday were those in
\nthe Blok M shopping area in South Jakarta, such as Melawai Plaza,
\nAldiron Plaza, Blok M Plaza, the Ramayana department store,
\nRobinson department store and Matahari department store.<\/p>\n
Thousands of other shoppers piled into stores in the Pasar
\nBaru shopping complex in Central Jakarta and the Pasar Mangga Dua
\nshopping district in West Jakarta in their quest for textile
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
Similar chaotic scenes were also to be seen at the Mega-M
\nsupercenter at Lippo supermall in Karawaci, Tangerang.<\/p>\n
Although it was very crowded, shoppers were selecting their
\ngoods in a purposeful way.<\/p>\n
\"I could only buy cheap shirts and pants for my two kids. In
\nother words, we just bought these because they were cheap. Just
\nas long as they look new to the children,\" said Arham, who had
\njust lost his job as a tailor at a Tangerang factory.<\/p>\n
\"Otherwise, you'll see them crying for the whole two weeks.
\nWhat else could we do? They are just kids who know nothing about
\nthe current economic situation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It seemed that many stores knew exactly what to do to rake in
\ngood earnings. Many of them were cutting their prices to attract
\nbuyers.<\/p>\n
\"The market has been good since Saturday even though it was
\nnot as good as in previous years. But, it's still better than we
\nexpected,\" said a cashier at a Matahari department store in Blok
\nM. (bsr)<\/p>",
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