A new trend?

A new trend?

Now that the holidays have passed and the celebrating is over, Jakarta has begun returning to normal. On Tuesday, according to one newspaper report, nearly 46,000 people arrived at the Pulogadung bus station after a long and grueling journey from various regions of Java. Huge crowds were also reported to have packed other bus terminals and railway stations. Officials estimate that most everything in the city should be back to normal by today.

The city's return to its usual state is an occasion for mixed feelings. On one hand many will miss the brief respite from the chronic traffic jams and the jostling for space that is so characteristic of Jakarta. On the other, for many this means that business can now get back on track. Government offices, banks and shops will open up and be regularly staffed to serve the public.

Of course, this kind of seasonal movement is nothing strange to Jakarta. Every year around the great Islamic holidays of Idul Fitri, also known as Lebaran, the same phenomenon occurs. What strikes us is the present tendency for this to happen around all major holidays.

In a sense, it is to be expected. Economic development has brought about greater affluence and more Indonesians than ever are enjoying incomes that allow them to take their holidays away from home. A more extensive road network and more satisfactory air and sea transport facilities make it possible for people to travel in relative comfort to even the most remote areas of Indonesia.

This phenomenon, however, invites a number of questions. First, will the trend towards longer holidays become routine? Are we going to see similar shifts in population during every major holiday, or every time two or more official holidays occur in a row? Second, is this kind of behavior in line with our objective of becoming a developed, modern nation?

One can imagine the frustration of a modern business executive, who, once or twice a year, or perhaps more often, is faced with a personnel vacuum during every extended holiday.

The questions are worth pondering, especially since it is the stated intention of the authorities, led by President Soeharto himself, to establish a greater sense of discipline in Indonesians. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how we are ever going to build a modern society without a proper sense of discipline, from the upper echelons of society down to the layman.

It has been argued that on certain occasions long vacations are unavoidable, especially at Idul Fitri, when tradition demands that younger people pay their respects to their elders and forgiveness be asked and offered to friends and relatives.

If this is the case, we believe the government should regulate business and civil service activities so that the drive towards modernity and the demands of tradition are made to fit each other. But extending vacations on each and every holiday seems rather extravagant for a country in the process of development and in the midst of a national discipline drive.