Economic crisis affects Tanah Abang vendors this Idul Fitri

Economic crisis affects Tanah Abang vendors this Idul Fitri

By Juliane Gunardono

JAKARTA (JP): The notorious traffic jams in the Tanah Abang
area of Central Jakarta have gotten worse recently. Near the
Tanah Abang market, cars, buses and mikrolet (mini-vans) crawl at
a snail's pace if they are lucky enough to be moving at all.

The vehicles must share the road with pedestrians and sidewalk
vendors who spill off into the street itself. Making your way
through the crowds is an arduous and sometimes impossible task
because vendors have set up shop on about seven meters of one
side of the street and three more meters on the other side,
selling all types of food, clothes and toys. Any vehicles must
squeeze through a narrow opening in the middle of this mass.

The heat of the crowded market, the din of people and cars,
the smell of trash and food all combine to make the air thick.

With Idul Fitri, the end of Ramadhan celebration when Muslims
buy food for gatherings and new clothes for the family, only less
than two weeks away, the market seemed to bustle with activity.
Vendors, however, say business is slack.

A closer look at the crowd shows that most people in the
market only walk down the middle of the road, weaving between
buses and cars, merely taking quick glances at the vendors'
wares. During the present economic crisis, the typical customer
will take a serious look at the clothes, ask the price and, after
having heard the price, leave with an even more serious
expression on his or her face.

"Most of the people only have a look, they don't buy
anything," complains Erwin, who sells children's clothes.

Erwin usually sits all alone in the middle of his pile of
children's dresses from between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., quoting prices
but rarely making a sale.

"I don't want to buy anything today," said Ahyar, a mother of
three. "I just compare the prices and then go home and think
about whether or not I have enough money."

Before the crisis, Ahyar used to buy her family new clothes
for Idul Fitri in Ramayana. However, this year there will not be
a new dress for her or a new shirt for her husband, but there
will be new clothes for her children. Clothes cost about Rp
30,000 per item at Tanah Abang market. "I only have about Rp
100,000," she sighed.

Erwin has adapted to the new trend of only buying clothes for
the children, selling only children's clothes for the first time
since he began selling clothes at the market 10 years ago. In
spite of this, his turnover has decreased from Rp 1 million daily
in 1997 before the crisis, to Rp 700,000 in 1998 and now he only
earns Rp 300,000.

The situation is even worse for Erman, who has sold women's
shoes at Tanah Abang market for 20 years. He feels like he never
has customers anymore, even though he has raised the prices of
his shoes "only" 40 percent since the crisis started. He said he
now only sells five to 10 pairs of shoes a day, compared to 60
pairs before the crisis. His shop is one of the most deserted
places in the market, and this year there will not be any Idul
Fitri presents for his wife and two children.

"They'll have to understand," he said sadly.

The vendors whose businesses seemed to be flourishing were
those selling secondhand clothes. In one such establishment,
secondhand shirts, trousers and dresses, for men and women and
children were available. Eleven salespeople had been hired to
serve hundreds of customers a day.

"And every day the shop is getting busier," Kesi, one of the
attendants, said.

Clothes here cost as little as Rp 1,000. This means that
almost everyone can afford to buy clothes for their families
here, despite the economic crisis. Although the shop takes in
between Rp 1 million and Rp 2 million a day, Kesi was often told
by other shop attendants about the "good old days" when the store
made "millions" a day.

Even Samsun, who himself is a clothes vendor, bought used
clothes at the shop for his child. "Before the crisis I used to
buy lots of new clothes for my wife and my children for Idul
Fitri. And I bought them in a nice shop," he said.

This year, however, he cannot afford new clothes. "I looked. I
asked for the prices, I bargained, and still I could not buy what
I wanted. My only choice is to buy these secondhand clothes."

Paryono, a vendor of peci (traditional hats), affirmed the
trend at this year's market. "People are buying lower quality for
more money," he said.

He admitted that the hats he is selling this year are not as
high quality as those of previous years, even though they cost
more. "But the prices for quality things are too high for anybody
to afford now."

Tanah Abang is full of vendors selling various goods. It is
also full of people who want to buy this merchandise for their
Idul Fitri celebrations. However, because of the economic crisis,
the buyers and sellers are not doing much business. Even though
the market is full, the pockets are empty.