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JP/8/Recreation

Families in Jakarta cut down on recreational activities

Evi Mariani
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Families in Jakarta are adjusting their lifestyles in line with
the utility price hikes. They are cutting down on recreational
activities due to the soaring cost of their primary needs.

Sri Utami, a housewife who lives in Bintaro, South Jakarta,
has to provide meals for her nine family members. She said that
she cannot reduce expenditure for her family's primary needs.

"I provide meat, either chicken or beef, for the whole family
once a week and fish about five times a week. Three of our family
members are children who need more nutritious meals. So, I cannot
cut expenses again," she said while buying beef for cooking
rendang (a spicy meat dish cooked in coconut milk, a la Padang,
West Sumatra) at Kebayoran Lama market, South Jakarta.

Instead of scrimping on food, her family has been forced to
dine out less and cut down on recreational activities.

Evi, a young mother of a three-year-old son, who was shopping
at a high-end supermarket in South Jakarta, the Club Store, has
also been forced to cut down her family's expenses. "We have
reduced our family outings. I also buy fewer snacks for my son
because the price of milk has increased," she said.

The recent price hikes may not had a major impact on people in
Jakarta in the middle to high income bracket, but certainly they
have forced people -- rich and poor alike -- to live more
modestly.

Meanwhile, they also see that many officials are not suffering
the same hardships.

"I'm angry because of the hikes. The officials should also
tighten their belts. But I see that they live a luxurious life
and make us pay for it," said Sahniar Sudarno, the wife of a
retired military officer.

Her sole income comes from her husband's pension, amounting to
Rp 574,000 (about US$64) every month. That is below the official
minimum wage for workers in Jakarta, which was recently increased
by 6.81 percent, to Rp 631,554.

"The officials should take a bajaj (three-wheeled motorized
vehicle), instead of using luxury cars in order to feel the
people's suffering," she said, grandson in tow, as they walked
towards the Kebayoran Lama market under the scorching sun.

The weather in Jakarta has been extremely hot for days,
indeed. Heavy rains are forecast for the end of the month. So,
while having to tighten their belts due to soaring prices,
families in Jakarta will also have to suffer the prospects of an
unpleasant change in the weather.