Families in Jakarta cut down on recreational activities
Evi Mariani The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Families in Jakarta are adjusting their lifestyles in line with the utility price hikes. They are cutting down on recreational activities due to the soaring cost of their primary needs.
Sri Utami, a housewife who lives in Bintaro, South Jakarta, has to provide meals for her nine family members. She said that she cannot reduce expenditure for her family's primary needs.
"I provide meat, either chicken or beef, for the whole family once a week and fish about five times a week. Three of our family members are children who need more nutritious meals. So, I cannot cut expenses again," she said while buying beef for cooking rendang (a spicy meat dish cooked in coconut milk, a la Padang, West Sumatra) at Kebayoran Lama market, South Jakarta.
Instead of scrimping on food, her family has been forced to dine out less and cut down on recreational activities.
Evi, a young mother of a three-year-old son, who was shopping at a high-end supermarket in South Jakarta, the Club Store, has also been forced to cut down her family's expenses. "We have reduced our family outings. I also buy fewer snacks for my son because the price of milk has increased," she said.
The recent price hikes may not had a major impact on people in Jakarta in the middle to high income bracket, but certainly they have forced people -- rich and poor alike -- to live more modestly.
Meanwhile, they also see that many officials are not suffering the same hardships.
"I'm angry because of the hikes. The officials should also tighten their belts. But I see that they live a luxurious life and make us pay for it," said Sahniar Sudarno, the wife of a retired military officer.
Her sole income comes from her husband's pension, amounting to Rp 574,000 (about US$64) every month. That is below the official minimum wage for workers in Jakarta, which was recently increased by 6.81 percent, to Rp 631,554.
"The officials should take a bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicle), instead of using luxury cars in order to feel the people's suffering," she said, grandson in tow, as they walked towards the Kebayoran Lama market under the scorching sun.
The weather in Jakarta has been extremely hot for days, indeed. Heavy rains are forecast for the end of the month. So, while having to tighten their belts due to soaring prices, families in Jakarta will also have to suffer the prospects of an unpleasant change in the weather.