Jakarta quiet as Megawati ascends to the presidency
Jakarta quiet as Megawati ascends to the presidency
JAKARTA (JP): After being apparently undeterred by the rising
political tension of the last two days, the city was remarkably
quiet on Monday during the Special Session of the People's
Consultative Assembly that appointed Megawati Soekarnoputri to
the presidency.
Fearing unrest, especially from die-hard supporters of ousted
president Abdurrahman Wahid, most Jakartans preferred to stay at
home, leaving many roads in the capital relatively free of
vehicles.
Activities in schools, universities and offices ran as usual,
except that several schools and offices decided to give their
students and employees a day off.
The offices of information technology company PT Astra Graphia
and computer producer Compaq -- both located in Wisma Standard
Chartered Bank on Jl. Sudirman -- gave their employees a day off.
A marketing analyst at Astra, Annie Widjaja, said that she had
arrived at her office, only to find it empty.
"The information was apparently given through SMS (cellular
phone text messages), but I had just lost my cell phone," she
told The Jakarta Post.
But rather than going straight back home, Annie preferred to
stay at the office to follow the unfolding situation through the
Internet.
Several other offices, meanwhile, allowed their employees to
go home after lunch.
"Besides fear of unrest, we're afraid that there won't be any
public transportation," said an employee of a private bank on Jl.
Sudirman.
Shopping malls were still open, but there was an obvious drop
in the number of visitors seen in Plaza Senayan, Central Jakarta.
Similar situations also occurred at Blok M shopping center,
South Jakarta; Glodok electronics center and Senen market,
Central Jakarta and Mangga Dua wholesale center, North Jakarta.
Antara reported that several shops in those areas were closed
and the number of visitors fewer than usual.
"Up until noon, there have been only 60 vehicles parked here.
Usually, it can total over 110 vehicles," said a parking
attendant at Blok M.
Shop owners at Glodok electronics center reported a 50 percent
drop in revenue.
"Normally, we can sell up to 10 television sets by noon, but
today, only half of that number was sold," said Akiun, a shop
owner at Glodok Plaza.
Although city residents seemed to be afraid of unrest, there
were no signs of an exodus, as occurred back in 1998, when
thousands of Chinese Indonesian fled the country.
The activities at Soekarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang were
normal on Monday.
According to member of ticketing staff Metty Rofainy, there
had was no significant increase in the number of passengers.
"In fact, it dropped slightly," she told the Post.
Singapore Airlines, however, saw an increase of 50 passengers
on Monday.
"The passengers had actually booked tickets for Wednesday and
Thursday, but they moved their flights forward to today," said a
staff member at the airline office.
She added that the passengers also held open tickets, which
meant they could return to the country any time they wanted to.
Local flight companies Garuda Indonesia and Merpati,
meanwhile, saw nothing extraordinary in their ticket
reservations.
Merpati, however, stated that one of their airplanes had been
chartered by Dutch citizens.
General Manager of Corporate Affairs at Merpati, Imam Turidy,
said that the plane was chartered for flights during July 29 to
Aug. 2, in anticipation of a possible deterioration in the
security situation, following the Assembly Special Session.
"But the session was moved forward. So far, there hasn't been
any request to use the plane, although we've been asked to be
ready," he told the Post over the phone.
He added that the plane, which had a capacity of 100 seats,
had been chartered for possible flights to Batam, Riau; Denpasar,
Bali or Singapore.
Imam said that the Dutch citizens chartering the plane were
not diplomats.
Separately on Monday, president of city market operator PD
Pasar Jaya, Syahrir Tanjung, stated that the supply of vegetables
and fruit to the city had decreased by about 10 percent, due to
the Assembly Special Session.
"Some of the suppliers, mostly from Sumatra, reduced their
supply of vegetables and fruit here," Syahrir told reporters at
City Hall.
However, he added, trading activities at traditional markets
all over the capital -- managed by PD Pasar Jaya -- were quite
normal.
Meanwhile, a taxi driver, Kusyandi, felt sickened by the
activities of the political elite.
"Whatever the political elite does, it always has an impact on
people like me," he said.
As most people had preferred to stay home, they paid close
attention to the unfolding political situation.
A group of people were seen gathering at the side of Jl.
Salemba, Central Jakarta, listening intently to a radio that
carried a live broadcast of the Special Session.
In between, people discussed the progress of the session with
each other.
Similar scenes could also be found at food stalls in the
nearby Cikini area, which had made available television sets for
their customers to watch.
"The debate in the Special Session is exciting. It is full of
suspense. It feels like watching a boxing match!" laughed
Mahubessy, 35, a customer.
Upon Megawati's installment as President, many people,
especially those from the lower economic bracket, voiced hopes
for a better life.
"Actually, it doesn't really matter who leads this country. As
long as the person can improve the economy," said a street vendor
in Senen market, Central Jakarta. (team)