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)