Independence Day observed in somber mood

JAKARTA (JP): Unlike in previous years, when Indonesia's independence day was greeted with glee in the capital, this year's 53rd anniversary was no different from any other public holiday.

Many city residents fled the city in the run up to yesterday and many more opted to spend the day at home with their families.

Most of the capital's main thoroughfares were deserted and there were no special bazaars, exhibitions or the usual parade of floats.

Shops and shopping centers received only a handful of visitors who shuffled around under the watchful eye of armed security personnel.

Only a few neighborhoods marked the anniversary by staging the games traditionally played by Jakartans on the annual Independence Day celebration.

Hotels and entertainment centers which usually stage special events also remained quiet.

The somber mood which characterized this year's celebrations in the capital and its surrounding areas was not only due to the economic turmoil engulfing the country, widespread rumors of renewed rioting in the city also served to put a dampener on the day's festivities.

City police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said yesterday that the capital was safe.

"We hope nothing bad happened here. We are doing our best to guard and protect Jakarta. I've joined patrols around the city and I saw that many business centers had closed down.

"They were probably afraid of more rioting... but we (the security forces) will try to prove them wrong. We hope everybody gets on with their lives as usual," he said at the Atrium Hotel in Central Jakarta.

A merrier state of affairs could only be found in the few residential areas where local people staged games for children, including sack races and kerupuk (crackers) eating contests.

Games involving teenagers and adults, such as tugs-of-war and areca palm climbing contests, were hardly seen this year.

In Condet, East Jakarta, the area known as the home of the Betawi people (Native Jakartans), independence day passed very quietly.

No games or Ondel-Ondel (Betawi puppet) shows were staged, residents instead choosing to watch television at home after attending a special morning prayer at nearby mosques.

"This year we thought it would be best to keep our money to buy food rather than waste it on a fancy celebration. Let's keep it simple and solemn," H. Abdullah, a resident, said.

Abdullah said he felt something was missing this year.

"It's a bit sad because we used to have such cheerful celebrations. In past years we spread the celebrations out over seven days by staging activities ranging from Lenong (a traditional Betawi play) to food festivals," he said.

"This year I made a solemn promise to give away some of my money to the poor. I could not think of a better way to share my luck with the needy in this time of crisis.

"So I decided to distribute packages of staple food," the 55- year-old gas station manager said.

Hundreds of residents from Kartini subdistrict in Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta, could not hold any festivities at all because their homes were damaged by a fire on Saturday.

"We wanted to stage some games but we need to think about how we are going to eat first," Suwarta, a local resident, told The Jakarta Post.

Some residents were busy cleaning up their houses, while others were collecting steel from their gutted homes for sale to scavengers.

Private radio station Sonora donated 500 kilograms of rice to the fire victims yesterday.

Sawah Besar district head Asri Ilyas said he hoped more Jakartans would donate rice and clothes to the fire victims.

Only a handful of residents managed to hold minor celebrations yesterday. They could be seen holding a pillow fight on logs suspended over the Kali Malang river in East Jakarta. They also held an areca palm climbing contest.

However the gifts stuck at the top of the palm stalk yesterday were fewer in number than in previous years and consisted mainly of clothes and cheap plastic toys.

The somber mood also hit the earnings of flag and areca palm stalk traders, usually popular items ahead of independence day.

Many traders complained that their sales had dropped drastically this year.

"Two days before Aug. 17 last year I sold 40 stalks but this year I have only managed to sell two," Ahmad Yani, a Tangerang street trader, told Antara.

Areca palm stalks are greased before contestants climb up in an attempt to snatch prizes stuck to the top.

Both the stalks and prizes are purchased with money collected by local communities.

This year the price of a nine meter stalk was Rp 175,000, while last year it was Rp 110,000.

The street traders said they planned to sell leftover stalks to construction material shops for Rp 40,000 each. (bsr/jun/edt/ind)