Indonesia needs public campaign on queuing

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The chronic traffic congestion that occurs in the capital every day is caused not only by the great number of vehicles on the road or the inadequate roads, but also because of people's attitude.

Traffic jams often worsen because of motorists' selfish desire to get there first. Instead of inching along patiently they would make every effort to get ahead of the other vehicles.

This clearly reflects their reluctance to queue.

Unfortunately, people jostling in line is a common sight in public places here even though the Please Queue sign is posted everywhere.

"Indonesians tend to ignore signs," Suhati Kurniawati, a sociologist from the University of Indonesia, said on Monday.

Therefore, she suggests that the government initiate a public campaign to make people aware of the need to line up.

"A campaign to queue will only be effective if it is enforced on the streets and in other public areas," she told The Jakarta Post.

To make people disciplined, the presence of police officers on the street is needed.

The campaign could also include sectioning off areas with a rope barrier where only a single line of people could line up.

"Such stringent control is required as the problem of queuing has become commonplace in our society," Suhati said, adding the people regardless their generation and background show no concern for the problem.

People's unwillingness to queue is attributed to the strong influence of certain values and norms in traditional culture.

"Traditional society which puts community in the center, coupled with a clear class structure, is still there," said Suhati.

In such a society, jumping the line or overtaking a row of motorists is not a big deal.

"On one hand, people who consider they belong to the upper echelons of society feel they deserve certain privileges everywhere and all the time at the expense of other people who have waited longer in the line," Suhati said.

Meanwhile, other people belonging to the lower classes, would follow the example given by the upper classes, as part of their effort to identify themselves with a higher status.

In such a society, people would tend to forgive other's faults as harmony in the community is a central value in society. Harmony results from the avoidance of possible conflict, she added.

Other Asian nations may have similar feelings. But for them, like the Japanese, queuing is not a problem because they have a concept of time.

As Indonesians do not really respect time -- as reflected in "rubber time" -- queuing becomes a distant concept.

Sociologist Ery Seda said the campaign would be effective if the leaders in society provided a consistent example of the discipline of queuing.

But she warns that it would take some time.

"The habit of standing in line is a new culture here; we must admit it is a Western cultural value. We need a long period of time before they can be assured that it beneficial for them."

Indonesian society is in transition, evolving into a modern society from a traditional one, she said.

"In the long run, the discipline to queue should be imbibed in people starting even in childhood," she said.