Indonesians haggle over everything

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians love to bargain.

You don't believe it? Take my sister...

One day she told me she was really ashamed of herself.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I wanted to buy some papaya, and I haggled and haggled and pressed the abang for a lower price. He finally said, 'Ma'am, take it! For you, it's free.' I was so embarrassed I thought I was going to faint," explained my sister.

If you think the incident cured her, you're wrong.

She's rich. Whenever she goes out she could be wearing over Rp 5 million worth of stuff. What's Rp 100 or Rp 200 to her? But she just cannot give up her habit.

Her secretary once complained to me.

"You won't believe this. She wanted to buy some material for a new dress. I went along, I hovered around her, I went outside, had a cigarette, I walked around again, I squatted, had another cigarette, and she still hadn't finished haggling," said my sister's secretary. "And all she got was Rp 500 less."

It's not just prices Indonesians barter for. They also wrangle the law.

When the new 1992 Traffic Law was introduced in 1993, the public simply went nuts about the high fines for traffic violations.

"How can we afford such high fines?" was the common protest.

The protesters argued that the fines would only legalize bribe taking by the police.

Actually, the answer to their argument is simple -- don't break the law.

But it's close to inconceivable for Indonesians to grasp this. It's as if they don't understand why laws and rules are needed. When the government announces a new law, everybody starts looking for loopholes, or negotiates for a postponement. Just so they earn something from their fuss.

Which they did with the traffic law. The highest fine for Jakarta, for example, was lowered from Rp 6 million to Rp 60,000 for anyone driving a trailer without proper licenses. The maximum penalty for drivers of passenger cars is Rp 25,000, again for those who don't possess a current drivers' license.

The government has already postponed the seat belt requirement for front seat passengers and drivers and the compulsory insurance for vehicle owners. These, and several other regulations of the 1992 Traffic Law, will not be implemented until this year.

It's very human to test everything, and I must agree that Indonesians are very resourceful at it. On the first day of the implementation of the new Traffic Law, for example, a motorbike passenger was caught wearing a washbasin instead of a helmet. It was a creative attempt at dodging the requirement to wear a helmet when riding a motorbike.

"I don't understand. It's to protect their own heads, and still they bargain," commented a friend upon seeing the picture of the man with the washbasin on his head in the paper.

The three-in-one kids are another example. Motorists use them to avoid the three-in-one restrictions. Although the regulation itself was considered illogical even before it was applied, the use of the three-in-one kids is a perfect example of how natural it is for Indonesians to haggle whenever possible. It's not just that they fail to see the objective of the misconceived law.

More than anything, haggling over the law is kind of fun. They are able to boast: "See, I beat the law."

-- G.A. Koesoemowinoto