Business comes to a halt for Chinese New Year

Business comes to a halt for Chinese New Year

JAKARTA (JP): Business downtown was mostly on hold on
Wednesday as people celebrated Chinese New Year.

Most of the stores in the Glodok and Harco electronic centers,
and in Pasar Pagi, Mangga Dua and ITC (International Trade
Center) shopping centers, whose owners are mostly Chinese
Indonesians, were closed.

Vendors who ran their businesses as usual were mostly native
Indonesians.

A Kiong, one of a few Indonesian Chinese in Glodok Chinese
business center who did not close his shop, said he decided to
open the store because he did not want to lose money.

"I won't earn any money if I close the shop," he told The
Jakarta Post.

But he admitted that there were not as many customers as
usual.

Rudi, another vendor, opened his store for just half a day.

"Usually, I close the store at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., but today, I
will close about 2 p.m.," he said.

Normally crowded streets in the area were quiet.

The Roxy Mas trade center, Central Jakarta, was also unusually
quiet, with most stores in the building opening for only about
one hour.

"It is a Chinese tradition to temporarily open the store on
Chinese New Year as a symbol of welcoming good fortune in the
coming year. But afterward we close again because we have to
celebrate New Year," one of the store owners said.

He said that if a store did not open on the New Year, it had
to remain closed for the next four days to avoid bad luck.

The celebration also gave benefits to seasonal vendors who
sold Chinese New Year trinkets, decorations and cards.

Anto, 34, who usually sells sun-glasses at Pasar Lama
Tangerang, made the best of the opportunity to earn money by
selling angpau (small red envelopes containing money) and Imlek
greeting cards. His total sales were between Rp 100,000 and Rp
200,000 per day, in the past week.

"Last year, my total sales were between Rp 200,000 and 300,000
per day, because I also sold bun-bun dolls besides angpau and
cards," he said.

However, he said he made more profit this year.

Fruit vendors also earned extra income the last three days
before the Chinese New Year celebration.

Parno, 25, who sells fruits around Padumuttara monastery, said
that in the last two days his sales increased sharply to some Rp
500,000.

The Chinese New Year celebration in Tangerang was focused in
Padumuttara monastery on Jl. Bakti in Sukasari area, Tangerang.

Since 5 p.m. on Tuesday, some 7,000 Tangerang Buddhists
visited the city's oldest monastery to join the ritual ceremony,
said Kiateng, 50, a monastery board member.

The celebration was highlighted with Barongsai (lion) dances,
he added.

Outside Jakarta

Outside the capital, the Chinese New Year passed smoothly
despite rumors that violence would mark the holiday.

In the East Java capital of Surabaya, people gathered at
several Chinese temples that were tightly guarded by security
personnel.

Many shops and kiosks across the city were closed for the day.

"We are glad that everything went peacefully here," East Java
Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Hernantyo said.

He said a thousands-strong joint security force of police
officers, military troops and civilian guards from the country's
largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) had been placed on
the ready to secure the province.

"We hope the peace will be maintained. I think people are
tired of violence," he said.

In Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, some 3,000 people
thronged to the city's five largest temples -- Kwan Ong, Agung
Bahari, Istana Naga Sakti, Girinaga and Dharma Loka.

The absence of a Barongsai lion dance performance, however,
put something of a damper on the celebration. There were reports
of an agreement between the city's Barongsai dance group and the
local authorities not to stage a performance.

In the West Java capital of Bandung, the celebration was
quieter than in previous years.

"The number of people who came to the temples this year was
far less than usual," said Aca, 40, a security guard at Setiabudi
Temple.

Most temples in Bandung only opened after 5 a.m. on Wednesday,
while in past years they opened the day before the Chinese New
Year.

In Batam, most people celebrating the Chinese New Year were
seen decorating their houses with red lanterns, cookies and
candies made especially for the holiday.

"We are glad we are free to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We
used to have a very quiet celebration back then," an ethnic
Chinese vendor said. (04/07/25/26/27/nur/edt/dja)