Gratitude of Former TMII Cleaner, Called Back for Lebaran Assistance

JAKARTA - The weary expression on Mansur’s (46) face and the streams of sweat could not be hidden as he swept up the remnants of rubbish in front of the gallery area at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), East Jakarta.

However, behind the perspiration amid thousands of holiday visitors during Lebaran, there was a profound sense of gratitude.

Mansur is a former cleaner at TMII who was affected by contract termination and is now temporarily re-employed as assistance staff.

“Back in 2024, my contract wasn’t renewed because of staff reductions; many people stopped working then,” said Mansur when met by Kompas.com during his duties on Sunday (22/3/2026).

“So now I’m not working; after being laid off at the end of my contract due to the reductions. But sometimes I’m called in when it’s Lebaran season.”

“Not just for Lebaran, sometimes for New Year too because it’s busy then. Most of the assistance staff here are prioritised from former employees,” said Mansur.

For this man from Cilangkap, the call to return to work cleaning the TMII area is greatly appreciated amid economic hardships.

This is because, during this Lebaran moment, he says he feels ashamed if he has no income to meet the needs of his wife and school-age child.

“Insha Allah, whatever there is, we’ll make do. Even so, I’m really thankful to TMII for calling me back for assistance; at least I have income for Lebaran,” he said.

He is undertaking this assistance work for 10 days, from Lebaran day on 21 March until 30 March.

Each day, he works for eight hours, from 08.00 to 16.00 WIB, with a wage of Rp150,000 per day.

When he was still an employee at TMII a few years ago, Mansur received a salary of around Rp2.3 million per month.

Although it doesn’t reach the minimum wage, he says he is very grateful to have a job and a fixed salary every month.

Despite the heavy workload as a cleaner, Mansur says he doesn’t want to complain much. He considers it a risk of his job.

“Honestly, I’d still want to be employed again. Hopefully in the future, I’ll be taken on again at Taman Mini, made a permanent employee with a fixed salary.”

“The important thing is I have a salary for my wife and child,” Mansur added.