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)